First published within a single compilation volume back in July of 2015, the thirteenth instalment in the post-apocalyptic ‘Crossed’ series was entitled ‘Crossed Volume 13: Badlands’ and collected together issues 71 – 74 which contained the ‘Five Bloody Fingers’ story which was written by David Hine with artwork by Nahuel Lopez, along with the ‘Crossed Special 2014’ story which was written by Justin Jordan with artwork by Fernando Heinz.
Five Bloody Fingers
Three days after the sickness hit Tokyo, Uboshita Satoshi knew he couldn’t stay put any longer, sitting within his apartment at his computer, watching as the Crossed madness unfolded around him. Out on the streets of Tokyo, the infected were causing mayhem. However, despite the violence, Satoshi knew he had to find his friends. After all, they had a pact. A blood pact that bound them to each other.
The five of them had been friends since they were kids. They’d been inseparable. Hazuki, Mku, Kaki, Taro and of course Satoshi himself. Satoshi knew he had to get to them and knowing the best chance they had at surviving this thing was to stick together. They’d once promised they’d do just that, with their five bloody fingers placed together in a blood pact.
He’d pick up Taro first from the internet café he now lived in, then the pair would go to where Hazuki lived. Satoshi knew Hazuki’s father was the head of the criminal Yakuza gang. They’d undoubtedly have guns there. With such, Satoshi and Taro could then go after the others.
However, the murder and mayhem raging across the streets was worse than they could ever have imagined. They barely made it to Yamada’s luxurious residence alive, only to find Hazuki wasn’t there. Her and Mku had gone to a cosplay festival and were now trapped there, with the Crossed surrounding them.
The two friends, together with Hazuki’s father, his ferocious pet lion, and his loyal gang members, need to get across the bloody streets of Tokyo, to the site of the cosplay festival, and rescue the girls from the marauding Crossed. They have weapons and a savage lion on their side. But the Crossed are everywhere. And trust is a fickle thing in the face of a potentially violent death…
The ‘Crossed’ comes to Japan! To quote the story’s lead character – Satoshi – from within the first couple of pages “It was happening all over the world, but we do this shit bigger and better in Japan”. Oh boy, don’t they just, too. Yeah, it’s a bold claim alright. Although the sheer brutality of the characters is ramped up to eleven here.
So, we have Hazuki’s father – Yamada – who’s the big boss of the organised criminal syndicate (the Yakuza). If you’re not already aware, the Yakuza are in fact a real-life criminal gang, known for their strict codes of conduct and their vicious and cruel actions. Essentially, you don’t mess with these guys if you value your life!
Ergo, with Yamada and his boys doing their thing, you gotta expect a hell of a lot of bloodshed. But throw a full-size adult lion into the mix. Yep, that’s right…a fucking lion…and you’ve got even more carnage.
You’re probably getting a flavour for what to expect within this four-part offering. Over the top violence, Japan style! There’s also a palpable line of loyalty that runs through the story. The bond between close friends. A blood bond that’s stronger than even a bloodline.
It’s all pretty fucking crazy, with blood, sex and fidelity splattered across almost every page. Writer David Hine weaves in a number of layers to the story, including the complexities of fatherhood when you’re a criminal boss. We even see the loyalty behind the blood pact managing to overcome the influence of the Crossed infection. Yeah, a pretty bold development for Hine to bring in…and yeah, we have that fucking lion!
All in all, another superb Crossed story. It’s a four-part offering that stands on its own two feet, taking the whole thing away from the US and showing us how Japan fairs in the face of C-Day. We have a small Easter Egg of a connection to Hine’s earlier story ‘Gore Angels’ from ‘Crossed Volume 8: Badlands’ (2014), but other than that, it’s a standalone story. A beautiful beast of a Crossed story it is too!
Crossed Special 2014
Jesse Bullock wasn’t the sort of inmate who took things lightly. Jesse held his own. Would fight on, even when the odds were stacked against him. Jesse Bullock was no one’s bitch. However, in SCI Bedford, staying out of trouble isn’t that easy.
Jesse found himself locked away in solitary confinement again. Another small mishap whilst he was in the communal showers, led to three beaten and bleeding inmates, although Jesse’s pride was still intact.
He’d only spent a few hours in solitary when he gets pulled out of his cell. Apparently, there’s someone being transported to the SCI who’s more deserving of the spot. An absolute maniac by all accounts.
Unfortunately for all those residing within SCI Bedford, this new inmate was more than just a vicious bastard. The new inmate was dangerous on a whole new level. This new inmate, who’d arrived at Bedford on a stretcher, was infected. A red cross emblazoned across his face.
The Correctional Institution is about to find out what happens when the Crossed get inside their facility. Prison riots are one thing, however what they’re about to experience is something on a whole different scale. This is madness. This is violence unbound. This is what happens, when the Crossed got into SCI Bedford…
This is a great single shot Crossed story. Essentially, it delivers the outbreak of the Crossed inside a highly secure correctional facility. It’s an environment that presents its own unique challenges. It also brings with it, a uniquely different set of characters. No one’s a saint in this story. Instead, we have the underside of society facing the Crossed. Thugs and criminals. Those who society wanted cast away from them, up against an even more terrifying foe.
Our principal protagonist is Jesse Bullock, who’s a hard-as-nails inmate, highly volatile and willing to do what it takes to defend himself and his cousin – Otis – who’s also locked up within SCI Bedford.
There’s a handful of other inmates playing their own parts in the story, the most notable being the gigantic beast of an inmate – Callahan. This character’s an absolute monster! Well over 7ft of pure muscle, covered in Neo-Nazi tattoos and as violent and powerful as a rhino of coke.
We’ve also got a bunch of prison guards who’re thrown into the erupting chaos. Good eggs and bad eggs – the usual story. However, the focus remains on the inmates rather than these guards. They’re pretty much just fodder to the Crossed.
The end result is a story that explodes into a desperate sequence, where our small band of inmate survivors need to break out of the prison, in a hope of getting away from the Crossed that are tearing the facility apart.
We have unlikely character arcs, unexpected shows of loyalty and bravery, and tonnes in between. We also have hope and defiance that’s dashed with defeat and loss. It’s all thrown in there, into the mix of another highly entertaining Crossed story.
Fernando Heinz’s artwork is also on point too. Masterfully depicted scenes of violence, displayed from well thought out angles, and deliver in ‘Cannibal Corpse’ style scenes of extreme carnage. Spot on.
All in all, another absolute textbook ‘Crossed’ story, delivery harrowing storylines and over-the-top violence and bloody gore in explicit detail.
The compilation volume runs for a total of 144 pages.
© DLS Reviews
