Blood Tree

Blood Tree #1-6

by Peter J. Tomasi (Writer), Maxim Šimić (Illustrator), John Kalisz (Colorist)

BLOOD TREE stars two obsessed NYPD detectives on the hunt for a vicious butcher called the Angel Killer, a sociopath who preys on innocent family members of known murderers in order to “purify" the rest of society. BLOOD TREE confronts the battle of nature versus nurture, how present and future generations are tainted by past generations, and asks who must pay for the sins of the fathers…and perhaps even the sins of the mothers.   From PETER J. TOMASI (The Mighty, House of Penance, Batman and Robin, Superman, Black Dark Age, Super-Sons, Detective Comics) and MAXIM ŠIMIC (Escape from New York, World’s Apart)   Collects BLOOD TREE #1-6

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Thriller

192 pages, Paperback

First published October 17, 2023

About the author

Peter J. Tomasi is an American comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics, such as Batman And Robin; Superman; Super Sons; Batman: Detective Comics; Green Lantern Corps; and Superman/Wonder Woman; as well as Batman: Arkham Knight; Brightest Day; Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors; Nightwing; Black Adam, and many more.

In the course of his staff career at DC Comics, Tomasi served as a group editor and ushered in new eras for Batman, Green Lantern, and the JSA, along with a host of special projects like Kingdom Come.

He is also the author of the creator-owned titles House Of Penance with artist Ian Bertram; Light Brigade with artist Peter Snejbjerg; The Mighty with Keith Champagne and Chris Samnee; and the critically acclaimed epic graphic novel The Bridge: How The Roeblings Connected Brooklyn To New York, illustrated by Sara DuVall and published by Abrams ComicArts.

In 2018 New York Times best-selling author Tomasi received the Inkpot Award for achievement in comics.

Reviews

[Jayson · Rating 3 out of 5]

(B+) 77% | Good
Notes: Decent thriller, hardly filler, twist and turn profuse, though not much thought connecting dots, just really logic-loose.

*Progress updates: Preamble ◦ Issues #1–3 ◦ Issues #4–6

[Matthew Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been pretty excited to give this one a read and it seriously did not disappoint! Very good detective, thriller, horror vibes in this one that felt like it belonged in the world of Dexter, which I also loved. Great story from beginning to end!

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

more of a 2.5 stars. this was kinda bad in so many ways. The art for one was horrible. The story wasn't original;. I swear wasn't this concept in an episode of Hannibal? Horrible cheesy dialogue didn't help it. generous by giving it a 3 star.

[Ryan Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got an ARC of this from Image and really enjoyed it. People are being murdered, dropped from high places in very public locations. They’ve got angel wings surgically attached to their backs. But who’s killing them and why? It’s up to two detectives to figure out what’s going on and catch this new serial killer. The plot moves along steadily in this first issue, mostly focusing on detective Azzaro, a family man balancing dead pet goldfishes with his job. That he was almost killed by the first falling angel suggests he may be more involved in these murders than we think, but I suppose that’ll reveal itself in later issues. Overall, Tomasi and Simic have given us a creepy comic that fans of dark thrillers will want to pick up. It’s appropriate for teens and up and hits stands on Feb 1.

[Rory Wilding · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this day and age where we’ve seen countless pieces of media about serial killers, from films television to shows and documentaries, no matter how shocking the content can be, it’s hard to really surprise us at this point. It’s also hard to find good horror comics, a medium where the horror must come from an illustrated page. In the case of Image Comics’ Blood Tree, do the creators manage to kill two birds with one stone?

Please click here for my full review.

[47Time · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a thriller deserving of a movie. It starts as a police procedural and escalates into a hunt for a serial killer. The latter has the advantage for most of the story. A detective with a hidden past is just what is needed to stop the murder spree.

A serial killer nicknamed the Angel Killer or Wingman gets his victims high on an opium drug and sews angel wings onto their backs. Then he guides them to throw themselves to their deaths. Detective Dario Azzaro is tasked with leading the investigation.

Dario deduces that the killer sews the wings onto his victims because he sees them as innocent and deserving of going to heaven. Some of his victims don't deserve it, so he just leaves them in a pool of their own blood. This happens to the first family he massacres - the father of the family is a rapist.

It turns out the Wingman is targetting the families of people related to old killers. He believes he is preventing them from turning into killers themselves. Dario finds that his own biological parents (he was adopted) are on the killer's list. They were serial killers, so Dario's family is not safe. He keeps this information from his partner Maria Diaz, but sends his family away. The mayor and commissioner order the other targets to be brought to a hotel under constant police surveillance.

The killer ups the ante hard. He poisons visitors at a prison, drugs visitors on the Empire State Building and convinces them to throw themselves off the top floor and poisons the air conditioning for the civilians at the hotel. Maria begins evacuating the civilians and is fatally shot by the killer from behind. Dario is too late to save her, but he is more determined than ever to get the killer. Dario finds a clue in the killer's apartment and tracks him down alone. He considers killing him, but ultimately arrests him.

The story closes with Dario receiving a drawing from his son. It's of the many pets that died under his watch - he drew angel wings on them...

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was actually a pretty fascinating read and I like how this story is kind of like that batman and robin story that Tomasi did with the killer killing the family of villains and all, and yeah the elements and maybe a bit of the plot/motivation is similar but I really love the execution here, with the mystery element of who the killer is, why is he doing this but its the personal stakes of the character, here "Dario Azzaro" and his partner Diaz and how it involves his family.. its a great character study of what makes them tick, the lines to be crossed by lawmen and its very fascinating the reveals particularly with Dario and like the thing with his son in the end is wild and harkens back to the title of the book "Blood tree"!

I like the villain/antagonist and he is just messed up, he is literally terrifying with what he does here and thinks himself an angel and what not and some scenes are just messed up with what he is doing but the final confrontation was awesome!

I love the mystery element like I said, and if you want a fun one and done crime thriller with solid writing, this book is the one for you!

[Anthony Rizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will read literally anything by Pete Tomasi, and he continues to solidify his place as one of my favorite writers. I think I have read nearly everything he has written from Batman & Robin, Superman, and Green Lantern Corps, all the way to books like Blood Tree, House of Penance, and The Bridge. The pacing is great, and the story works well. As other reviews point out, there's nothing really new or surprising in terms of story or the climax, but it is incredibly well written, entertaining throughout, and downright creepy and eerie with the realism at points.

[Karrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok…but according to Christianity (America’s religion 🙄), we have been murderers since the FIRST human babies were born. You would literally have to kill every human being.

Of course I don’t believe that, but that was what I kept thinking about the entire time.

I liked the story flow and art, but feel like the crazy guy should have touched on that. It would have been just as fine to end the human race if he was killing every family member related to a murderer.

[Paul Allard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hefty body count in this detective comic book series.

Detective Azzaro investigates a murder in which the victim has been given angel wings. Along with his partner, they follow various leads but many other deaths ensue. It's quite good as murder mysteries go but the artwork is not brilliant. It's quite good, all in all. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Woowott · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Serial killers, religious insanity, genetics--this is a fun one. I almost wish it could have been a pinch longer, especially at the end. It was just a pinch too abrupt a pace for me. That being said, I very much enjoyed this, and I loved Diaz.

[Russio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neat and self-enclosed volume that sees a serial killer trying to purify a city by targeting the families of criminals. Partly procedural, as the detectives close in on the suspect, and partly character study as one learns troubling facts about his own history.

[Steven Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good read. Love it when a detective comic is done to this level. It was all action go right from the start with no filler issues. The artwork is cool but more importantly the story is great. I could see Blood Tree being a really good tv/movie adaptation.

[Josh Neller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was incredibly well written, and from where the direction went, it felt like it was directed by David Fincher. That's a huge compliment in my book.

[Sam Owens · Rating 2 out of 5]

plot was okay? art wasn’t the greatest. It got a bit too ridiculous imo

[Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is easily middle of the road. Worth reading not ground breaking.
The ending does tie up the sub-plot tangent that I thought they works leave ambiguous.