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Jennifer Blood (collected editions) #3
Jennifer Blood, Volume Three: Neither Tarnished Nor Afraid
Things take a grim turn for housewife-turned-revenge-killer Jen Fellows - alias Jennifer Blood - as she faces threats on three fronts in the third volume of the critically-acclaimed series. It looks like Jen's finally got everything she wants - her crusade against her murderous Uncles is over and done with and she's successfully fended off attacks by everyone from war profiteers to waffle salesmen. There's just one tiny fly in the ointment: Detective Elaine Pruitt, Homicide. Jennifer Blood killed her partner, but didn't quite manage to kill her. That was a mistake. Now Pruitt's out of her coma and out to nail Jennifer Blood to the wall once and for all! She's not the only ghost from Jen's past returning to haunt her present, as an old flame of her husband's re-enters his life. For anyone else's family, it'd be the makings of a sordid suburban psychodrama - but this is Jennifer Blood's family, and she'll go as far as she has to to preserve it! Finally, there's trouble from a third corner - Jen's first and most foolish mistake, the one that's been hiding in plain sight for the whole series. The one that's going to destroy Jen Fellows...and God knows who else! Al Ewing (Judge Dredd), Kewber Baal (Chaos Campus), and Eman Casallos (Ninjettes) come together for Jen's darkest hour.
152 pages, Paperback
First published April 9, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
January 5, 2023
I read the comic books Jennifer Blood #13-18, in which Jennifer Fellows tries to keep her private (mother and homemaker) life in tact, as her murder sprees start catching up with her. Interesting series, although the concept is far better than the execution! 7 out of 12 Three Star read.
2013 read
2013 read
May 7, 2019
Well if I thought Jennifer Blood was losing it in Volume 2, she went way over the top in Volume 3. No longer satifisifed with killing the mob figures that killed her parents, NOW if you even slightly tick her off she goes on and kills you. Changed the direction of this odd-ball series totally around. But thanks to Comixology Unlimited I can check out these volumes and see just how far she can take this.
July 10, 2022
(Zero Spoilers review for the entire run as a whole)
I saw the modest scores of this book before purchasing, and went ahead with it anyway. Average Garth Ennis is better than a great number of writers on their better days, so if this was a Garth Ennis by numbers story, then I was certainly going to give it a try. What I didn't expect though, was to be absolutely engrossed in the story before the end of the first issue. Sadly that love I had, which continued for the most part throughout the first two arcs of the story (8 issues) didn't extend throughout the entire run of the book (24 issues), but I was left feeling mostly satisfied by the end, albeit somewhat appreciating, but mostly lamenting some of the choices that were made towards the end of the run. I certainly would never have predicted the direction this would go or where it would end up. A few issues in and I expected Ms. Jennifer Blood to kick some ass each issue, with very little changing from story to story. Everything would be right back to where it was when each of the 20 something pages were over. Boy, was I wrong. This story ends up going far deeper and darker than I certainly would have expected it to. Ennis' willingness to cast aside convention and turn the typical hero narrative on its head (I can't so anymore without spoilers) was certainly interesting, although it was the earlier issues that had more of what I wanted. the later arcs of the character, while inventive, were not executed quite as well, and the intelligent and meticulous killer from the start of the book makes some incredible blunders to push the narrative in a certain direction. Better writing could have accommodated for these changes, although instead we are left with something a little less believable or fulfilling. It really did feel like Ennis had the original 12 issue arc in his head before writing, and when given the chance to take the story beyond those 12 issues, had to reach a bit for more content. There are a few inconsistency issues between the two, and a bit of narrative gymnastics to tie it all in together, although for the most part, Ennis mostly pulls it off well.
The art is a bit more of a point of contention for me. It was never what I would call bad. in fact, some of the gratuitous violence was wonderful, but there was a significant amount of inconsistency in some of the main character models, to the point where I would occasionally not realise it was Jennifer Blood. Yes, she was more recognisable when in costume then in her civilian garb, but her model rapidly fluctuated between issues, mostly in hair colour and breast size (hey, its important). There was also more than one issue which made poor use of panelling space, although in the next issue, it was usually a case of additional panels being utilised, so I would expect there were cutbacks in some issues to accommodate others. The art is done by the same artist, which is always a plus. but it does have a tendency to look a little like 'The Boys lite'. Again, that's not necessarily a bad thing, it just warrants a mention. It also has some of the sexiest covers I've had the privilege of seeing thus far, which again in this day and age, is a nice little addition.
If gore or crudity bothers you, then I'd advise you to give this a wide berth, although its Garth Ennis, what the hell did you expect. Some of the love I had for this book was down to this very fact. Ennis isn't afraid to do precisely what he wants with his stories (no examples due to spoilers). They may not always be amazing, but they are so often violent, rude and vulgar, and in this day and age of the modern comic, I was more than just a little grateful for this fact. Only occasionally is this to the detriment of the story. When Garth Ennis takes his Ennis-isms too far. Where the story would have been better served by reigning in the ridiculous and instead playing it straight. There were several occasions that a stronger editor may have pushed for more realism, although its Ennis' story at the end of the day. He can tell it how he likes.
In the end, I's definitely recommend you check out Jennifer Blood. it doesn't seem to be as popular as some of his other stuff, although with the popularity of The Boys, if you are looking for something similar, then Jennifer Blood may be right up your alley. It's a shame that Dynamite do such sub par collected editions, as this book certainly wouldn't win any beauty contests, but if you can look passed the few foibles I've mentioned above, you may just find a special little corner of your heart for Jennifer Blood. 4/5
OmniBen.
I saw the modest scores of this book before purchasing, and went ahead with it anyway. Average Garth Ennis is better than a great number of writers on their better days, so if this was a Garth Ennis by numbers story, then I was certainly going to give it a try. What I didn't expect though, was to be absolutely engrossed in the story before the end of the first issue. Sadly that love I had, which continued for the most part throughout the first two arcs of the story (8 issues) didn't extend throughout the entire run of the book (24 issues), but I was left feeling mostly satisfied by the end, albeit somewhat appreciating, but mostly lamenting some of the choices that were made towards the end of the run. I certainly would never have predicted the direction this would go or where it would end up. A few issues in and I expected Ms. Jennifer Blood to kick some ass each issue, with very little changing from story to story. Everything would be right back to where it was when each of the 20 something pages were over. Boy, was I wrong. This story ends up going far deeper and darker than I certainly would have expected it to. Ennis' willingness to cast aside convention and turn the typical hero narrative on its head (I can't so anymore without spoilers) was certainly interesting, although it was the earlier issues that had more of what I wanted. the later arcs of the character, while inventive, were not executed quite as well, and the intelligent and meticulous killer from the start of the book makes some incredible blunders to push the narrative in a certain direction. Better writing could have accommodated for these changes, although instead we are left with something a little less believable or fulfilling. It really did feel like Ennis had the original 12 issue arc in his head before writing, and when given the chance to take the story beyond those 12 issues, had to reach a bit for more content. There are a few inconsistency issues between the two, and a bit of narrative gymnastics to tie it all in together, although for the most part, Ennis mostly pulls it off well.
The art is a bit more of a point of contention for me. It was never what I would call bad. in fact, some of the gratuitous violence was wonderful, but there was a significant amount of inconsistency in some of the main character models, to the point where I would occasionally not realise it was Jennifer Blood. Yes, she was more recognisable when in costume then in her civilian garb, but her model rapidly fluctuated between issues, mostly in hair colour and breast size (hey, its important). There was also more than one issue which made poor use of panelling space, although in the next issue, it was usually a case of additional panels being utilised, so I would expect there were cutbacks in some issues to accommodate others. The art is done by the same artist, which is always a plus. but it does have a tendency to look a little like 'The Boys lite'. Again, that's not necessarily a bad thing, it just warrants a mention. It also has some of the sexiest covers I've had the privilege of seeing thus far, which again in this day and age, is a nice little addition.
If gore or crudity bothers you, then I'd advise you to give this a wide berth, although its Garth Ennis, what the hell did you expect. Some of the love I had for this book was down to this very fact. Ennis isn't afraid to do precisely what he wants with his stories (no examples due to spoilers). They may not always be amazing, but they are so often violent, rude and vulgar, and in this day and age of the modern comic, I was more than just a little grateful for this fact. Only occasionally is this to the detriment of the story. When Garth Ennis takes his Ennis-isms too far. Where the story would have been better served by reigning in the ridiculous and instead playing it straight. There were several occasions that a stronger editor may have pushed for more realism, although its Ennis' story at the end of the day. He can tell it how he likes.
In the end, I's definitely recommend you check out Jennifer Blood. it doesn't seem to be as popular as some of his other stuff, although with the popularity of The Boys, if you are looking for something similar, then Jennifer Blood may be right up your alley. It's a shame that Dynamite do such sub par collected editions, as this book certainly wouldn't win any beauty contests, but if you can look passed the few foibles I've mentioned above, you may just find a special little corner of your heart for Jennifer Blood. 4/5
OmniBen.
March 17, 2019
This took a turn towards bad very fast. All of a sudden, Jennifer Blood is exposed as a nutcase and, while consistent with reality, I wonder why is the story still being told. All the potential of the story is down the drain. I'm not sure what's the plan for this character, but definitely it cannot be any good. On the other hand, it cannot get worse than this.
The mad housewife now kills everyone, tying loose ends and creating more loose ends, until she's exposed on Tv. There's no chance to redeem the character, there's no justification to the behavior. I'm afraid that the only route here is to idealize the insanity and the violence. *sigh*
The mad housewife now kills everyone, tying loose ends and creating more loose ends, until she's exposed on Tv. There's no chance to redeem the character, there's no justification to the behavior. I'm afraid that the only route here is to idealize the insanity and the violence. *sigh*
June 27, 2018
god, what a mess this series has jumped the shark. All the bad guys are dead in the series so now we take an interesting character and turn her into one of the worst characters ever. Fueled by paranoia Jennifer essentially goes on a bloodbath and kills nearly everyone even family. I felt like Al was trying to outdo garth Ennis on whacky/over the top scale except it turned more into some cheap garbage. There were some fun moments in this book but it wasn't enough to give this a good rating.
August 10, 2018
Yeah... no. This series started out as a revenge killing spree. The victims in book 1 were bad guys and Jen's actions therefore relatable and entertaining for me as a reader (as a reader! This is fiction, people...). The victims in book 2 were people threatening Jen's life and family... a bit more of a stretch morally, but still kind of understandable.
Book 3 however is crossing lines all over the place, with Jen being paranoid and killing (perfectly innocent) people at random. Couldn't get on board with this.
Book 3 however is crossing lines all over the place, with Jen being paranoid and killing (perfectly innocent) people at random. Couldn't get on board with this.
January 20, 2019
The fun from previous volumes is mostly gone, sadly, replaced with the mess that Jen has to clean up. Unfortunately, her sloppy work catches up with her, threatening her life and her family. It all gets out of hand in the last issue when Jen can't keep her dealings under wraps and makes a run for it. Overall, the story still makes sense as a repercussion of Jen's past dealings, though her choice of plowing through innocents can be a sign of a mania she didn't have in the beginning. She is different from before and the story also has a different, darker feel to it, but no less enjoyable.
Elaine Pruitt ended up in hospital with her partner Fulsom's voice in her head. She seems to be the only straight cop in the narcotics department. She will put Jen on the run by the end of another string of murders.
Elaine Pruitt ended up in hospital with her partner Fulsom's voice in her head. She seems to be the only straight cop in the narcotics department. She will put Jen on the run by the end of another string of murders.
April 11, 2023
In v2 Jennifer Blood cleaned up much of the mess left after her v1 takedown of her uncles: various mobsters and mercenaries related to the Ninjettes as well as her pervy neighbor Jack. Now she must contend with an honest detective...and her own 10yo son, who wandered into her basement armory by mistake.
For the first time in this series, JB commits an unqualifiedly evil act. All of her previous victims had been violent criminals of some sort and this feels like a clumsy ret-con. (It doesn't go completely unaddressed by the plot, but it still doesn't feel justified.)
Plot points:
For the first time in this series, JB commits an unqualifiedly evil act. All of her previous victims had been violent criminals of some sort and this feels like a clumsy ret-con. (It doesn't go completely unaddressed by the plot, but it still doesn't feel justified.)
Plot points:
July 27, 2022
There are some quite sniffy reviews about this book. A number of people who do not like where the character has gone. There is a view among some that this compendium is where the series jumps the shark. I disagree.
The art is still sublime in this and the action gets more and more visceral and we watch our protagonist and her life unravel. I think the problem for sum is that they wanted a female punisher. A character who used ultra violence again evil doers without any real consequence. This is a fair wish but a little unfair on the writer who clearly had an idea as to where this should go and I thought the artistic view of the direction of this story had real merit.
This book made sense to me. From the start, given the escalating actions of our heroine the direction of this tale makes real sense. The internal, self justifying monologue in the form or a diary is great for the tale and used brilliantly within the plot. The impact on family life is well handled as well and has a core of humanity that draws you you into the tale.
This volume is less funny. To be honest though it was never that funny. The violence and action is well handled but in this story we start to see real consequences.
The opinions of the other reviewers are not wrong. There is no right and wrong in the way you are effected by a book. I thought this was a strong volume. Unexpected and interesting. This series is going in a direction I was not expecting but is all the better for it.
The art is still sublime in this and the action gets more and more visceral and we watch our protagonist and her life unravel. I think the problem for sum is that they wanted a female punisher. A character who used ultra violence again evil doers without any real consequence. This is a fair wish but a little unfair on the writer who clearly had an idea as to where this should go and I thought the artistic view of the direction of this story had real merit.
This book made sense to me. From the start, given the escalating actions of our heroine the direction of this tale makes real sense. The internal, self justifying monologue in the form or a diary is great for the tale and used brilliantly within the plot. The impact on family life is well handled as well and has a core of humanity that draws you you into the tale.
This volume is less funny. To be honest though it was never that funny. The violence and action is well handled but in this story we start to see real consequences.
The opinions of the other reviewers are not wrong. There is no right and wrong in the way you are effected by a book. I thought this was a strong volume. Unexpected and interesting. This series is going in a direction I was not expecting but is all the better for it.
June 7, 2020
Jennifer's personality was basically ruined in this volume, she changed from a rather sympathetic character to a cold blooded killer. Yes it was fun, yes it was funny, but it's borderline mindless violence and gore. I am not sure how this will go but I can't stop reading.
July 7, 2020
This series goes places that most books go, thankfully, but this volume gets a little better but then turns so abruptly its impossible to recommend. The art is still basic and not pleasing to the eye. The gore is still the main character and its not for me.
June 18, 2023
Jennifer went from revenge to straight up murdering people in this volume as she found she could no longer hide what was going on. The descent into madness was kind of interesting but the series seems to be going off the rails.
June 11, 2019
And the hits just keep comming
Just when you thought things could not get any worse... really well written and drawn, bloody, bloody, bloody. NSFW, or kids, or the faint of heart.
Just when you thought things could not get any worse... really well written and drawn, bloody, bloody, bloody. NSFW, or kids, or the faint of heart.
July 28, 2019
This was okay, but this just isn’t the character Ennis created in his six issues. She was nowhere near this sloppy and impulsive.
August 5, 2019
Just when you think that Jennifer has sorted everything out
December 17, 2019
Action Packed!
I loved it. The writing had fantastic pacing and character backstory before getting to some of the greatest deaths that I've ever seen in a comic book.
I loved it. The writing had fantastic pacing and character backstory before getting to some of the greatest deaths that I've ever seen in a comic book.
November 30, 2020
Ennis does it again!
Compelling! Different! That's Garth Ennis all over. Hard to tell why we care about someone this evil, but we do...
Compelling! Different! That's Garth Ennis all over. Hard to tell why we care about someone this evil, but we do...
March 18, 2021
Yeah.... no. I'll finish the series but this nukes the fridge big time
October 11, 2021
DPL hoopla
July 17, 2013
And this is where the series derails. All the bad guys she wanted dead are dead, so now Jennifer Blood turns her skills onto undeserving targets. Fueled by her paranoia she sees enemies everywhere, and this inevitably ends in a bloodbath.
Remember how "Prison Break" was a fun, trashy TV series in its first season? And how it unraveled and degenerated into a tedious, unwatchable mess thereafter? Well, this is the equivalent of that.
Perhaps this was inevitable: once the core story was told, there really was nowhere else to go but down. No ending could have sufficed, and if she had uncovered an underlying mystery/organization, that too would have been ridiculous.
(Note that I did not read this TPB, only the individual comics collected therein.)
Remember how "Prison Break" was a fun, trashy TV series in its first season? And how it unraveled and degenerated into a tedious, unwatchable mess thereafter? Well, this is the equivalent of that.
Perhaps this was inevitable: once the core story was told, there really was nowhere else to go but down. No ending could have sufficed, and if she had uncovered an underlying mystery/organization, that too would have been ridiculous.
(Note that I did not read this TPB, only the individual comics collected therein.)
October 22, 2014
Jen's life spirals further out of control as the loose ends of her weeklong vendetta - a ticked-off cop, an unstable marriage and other elements - come back to haunt her in bleakly hilarious, bloody and super-violent fashion. The ending is a logical yet radical turn story-wise, one that looks like it will lead to promising developments in the next collection, Jennifer Blood: The Trial of Jennifer Blood.
(This review originally appeared on the Reading & Writing By Pub Light site.)
(This review originally appeared on the Reading & Writing By Pub Light site.)
March 8, 2015
Oh dear, it's all going wrong for Jen, all her little mistakes are catching up with her and things aren't helped by her going full psycho.
These are still great fun to read and I love the graphics. Bring on volume 4.
These are still great fun to read and I love the graphics. Bring on volume 4.
April 24, 2013
Far darker than the previous two volumes. The Jennifer Blood team sure isn't afraid to change things up! An uncomfortable installment, hard to put down as the plot becomes more and more twisted.
March 1, 2015
I had totally forgotten how good this was.
Baddies dead now and things turn to violent bloody soap opera.
Very good performance from the script Al Ewing.
Baddies dead now and things turn to violent bloody soap opera.
Very good performance from the script Al Ewing.
May 10, 2015
Here's where the series kind of jumps the shark and we begin to miss Ennis' humor and storytelling. But, still enjoyable and captivating.
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