Publisher: Dynamite Creative Team: · Al Ewing · Igor Vitorino Grade: B+ cover by Sean Chen

Tweet

For months now, fans have wondered: "Who is Jennifer Blood?" Who is this supermom who kills with relish and abandon?

With this first annual of the series, writer Al Ewing -- joined by artist Igor Vitorino -- reveal the answer to a different question: "Why is Jennifer Blood?" The story is set in the past, in 1987, and focuses on Samuel Blute -- a vicious son of a bitch if ever there was one. He's a syndicate boss, and his sadism is such that his five brothers fear there's only one thing to be done with him: he has to be taken down.

But Sam Blute has another side -- a pastoral, daylight side, where he's a loving husband to his beautiful wife Jennifer and a doting father to his precocious little girl, Jessie. Jennifer knows her husband has a "job" to do, but she tries not to think about it. And then, one night, fearing for his own slipping sanity, Sam tells her. It's not really a surprise, but his confession is overheard by their little girl, who takes his philosophies to heart.

That's all it takes: one dose of hero worship, one stray comment, and a tea party incident, and the seeds are planted for "America's Deadliest Woman" to come to be.

If you're unfamiliar with Jennifer Blood, it's a disturbing bit of work. You'd be hard-pressed to find a "normal" person in it as you would be in any issue of Garth Ennis's iconic Preacher series. This annual issue is no exception. There's not a lot of blood, and because of this, when there is a scene of horror, the shock value carries all the more impact, all of which leads to a splash panel finale you're not likely soon to forget.