Dark Ark #4 - Review

Ark-ade Fire

Written by: Cullen Bunn
Art by: Juan Doe 
Publisher: Aftershock Comics
Release Date: 20 December 2017
Reviewer: Andrew McAvoy 

At the end of the last issue of Dark Ark, its captain Shrae and his crew looked royally screwed as an attack on his vessel came from both within and without. I suppose that this is only to be expected upon a vessel populated by the worst monsters in all of creation. Let's see how he fares in this latest installment. 

Well Nex was the main instigator of the attacks on Shrae, but they soon come to nothing. As Nex's teeth pierce Shrae's neck he finds that Shrae's blood is toxic, and he soon regrets his choice of refreshment as it burns him. Nex forgot the lesson that all sorcerers' blood is cursed. As Shrae's blood is spilled it is transferred to the rain and serves to repel Nex's army of vampires which have descended upon the ship. 

Elsewhere on the Ark things aren't looking as rosy for the human cargo, as they fend off Nex's army of vampires from all quarters. They are aided in this by Kruul the Manticore who assists Shrae's family after the vampires attack his partner. As the battle continues there is a particularly harrowing scene in which a pregnant member of Shrae's clan finds herself at the mercy of Nex's vampire hoards. 

Eventually an unsteady equilibrium descends on the boat, although new allegiances have been forged and old ones forgotten. Soon though they have another matter to contend with as angels, the messengers of God's Wrath, appear from the sky...

Bits and Pieces

This issue was a little confusing and this wasn't helped at times by the similarity in appearance of the vampire hoards. Likewise the character depictions of Shrae's clan and the human inhabitants tend to look quite similar. There is a slight sense of this issue stretching out aspects of the story that probably could have been dealt with in the previous issue. That said, with the angels descending on the vessel for the next issue I'll definitely be tuning in to see where Shrae's journey goes from here. 

Score 6.6 out of 10