Cold Blood Samurai is published by Action Lab Entertainment. It is written by Massimo Rosi with art by Ludovica Ceregatti and colors from Renato Stevanato.
There is probably something that comes to mind when you read the title, “Cold Blood Samurai”, and that thought probably isn’t right. Or maybe it is. But I feel most people will see this title and think it’s just another angsty, revenge tale. And you aren’t too far off, but the “cold blood” in the title refers to literal cold blood, as in reptiles and amphibians. Reptiles and amphibians who are also samurai warriors in feudal Japan. Not only are certain aspects of the story taken from historical Japan, but it is largely inspired by Batrachomyomachia also known as The Battle of Frogs and Mice, a comedy epic poem written by Homer, you know, the famous one? Anyway, you tell me it’s historically inspired and I’m definitely going to give it a read.
Similarly to the poem, the story is about a war started by a misunderstanding due to an accidental death. While the feud between lizards and frogs grows more and more violent, a Gaijin (foreigner) salamander seeks a perfect, noble death, one that he can’t obtain being trapped in this world of war. Despite it having nothing to do with him, it will be the duty of this samurai salamander to create peace between these two groups before he can meet his end.
Ludovica Ceregatti’s pencils and Renato Stevanato’s colors are fantastic. I love that these creatures are not human-esque other than the upright way they walk and stand…and I mean, they wear clothes too, but their features don’t look human. There’s no weird pseudo-chests on females or awkward arm muscles on the males to make them resemble a person, a salamander just looks like a salamander, a frog looks like a frog, an iguana looks like an iguana, etc. It’s not even a cartoon-y rendition, which makes me happy because I love when stories about animals look like actual animals. And even though they are not human, even though they look like regular creatures, they still hold a lot in their features (ha, I rhymed). The sadness or anger is still very present in their face. It’s truly a job well done.
Massimo Rosi is clearly drawing from his ancient Greek source material, but he also making the story his own in a lot of ways. For example, mice aren’t relevant. But more importantly, he’s bringing life to characters he created. While certain aspects are similar to the original story, there is still much that is different to make this version unique and new. Even the reason behind the accidental death is different than that of the mouse from Homer’s tale. From a history and comic fan standpoint, I feel this comic is so far really well done and pays just the right amount of tribute to the source while still becoming its own story.
OVERALL SCORE: 8.5 / 10
Make sure to pick up a copy of Cold Blood Samurai #1 from your local comic shop!
Happy reading!
