There are vampires; vampire, most legends agree. This means that in many vampire myths there are two different types of vampires: the original vampires, who are most likely born this way, and those who are “turned,” humans into vampires. In the world of Lina Lim evil bloodThe former are mostly so-called “pure bloods”, while the latter are just plain old vampires. They don’t necessarily need to be flipped go through Purebloods, but unless they get some fluids or fight like hell, the lifespan of being a vampire is only five years. This means that if they don’t want to die out (and someone clearly doesn’t want them to), they have to continue to ensure that large numbers of humans change.
This is the situation in South Korea when the story begins. It’s been ten years since vampires first appeared (or at least since transformed vampires started causing problems), and humanity has had enough. As vampires become more and more brazen and it is no longer safe for people to go out at night, protests begin to occur, especially at the university, which makes Hayon Pak very nervous. Why? Since she’s a pureblood vampire, pretending to be human just to live her life, she wants things to stay that way.
Hayan does a great job with this. An orphan, she was adopted as a child by Father Michael of the local Catholic church, who taught her how to maintain her human form and hide in plain sight. But this doesn’t always work, and an incident in elementary school leads her to reveal her true nature to a friend, who soon runs away. (I’d be shocked if he didn’t grow up to be leading man Hwang Eun-tae.) Things have been quiet on that front since then, though, especially since Father Michael gave Ha-young a crown of thorns as a talisman against change. form. But now that other vampires are openly wreaking havoc, her life is torn apart—especially when Eun-tae, the new detective in charge of the anti-vampire task force, moves into the neighborhood.
The first volume of the series is largely dedicated to this setup – Hayan and Euntae meet, establishing the vampire legend and forcing Hayan to leave her comfortable life and take action. Volume 2 is where things really get exciting (not that Volume 1 wasn’t fun): Hayan and Entae are in action, and the story begins to explore what drives someone to become a vampire when they know they’ll only become one From the moment they change, they have five more years to live. This is where Lin comes into his own, with the second volume exploring three different scenarios in varying depths. The first is just a passing mention: the remains of two sisters were discovered five years after their disappearance; they chose to isolate themselves until time ran out so as not to harm anyone. For them, turning around is clearly an involuntary and unwelcome act. But Eun-tae’s colleague, a policewoman, changes after years of emotional toll, missing out on promotion after opportunity while her corrupt male colleagues get better jobs. Likewise, a high school student dreams of turning around because he was bullied; for both women, becoming a vampire provides them with the power they’ve been lacking in their lives. Does this make a person a better police officer? No, but it gave her the confidence to move up, and the other person was safe, knowing that now she had the physical strength to hurt her bully. These two are in very different situations than Ha Yan, who was born with powers she never asked for, and the two dead sisters who see their changes as a curse rather than a blessing.
This may indicate a deeper social metaphor lurking beneath the surface behavior. Hayan’s desire to be normal underlines everything she does. Her greatest wish is to become a human and live with her adopted siblings. She’s willing to leave them temporarily when she fears she can’t keep them safe, but all in the name of being like everyone else. This is in stark contrast to female police officers and high school students, who believe that “normality” has no value, or at least has been stripped of it. Most of the men we meet who turn into vampires do so to gain a sense of superiority, which is telling. Even the backstory we get for Luci, one of the most powerful of the group, revolves around his ego. Still, it doesn’t seem fair to say that these women are more psychologically complex, as both Father Michael and Eun-tae have more to do, even if Eun-tae’s motivations remain in the shadows.
Even though this aspect of the story becomes more prominent in the second volume, this is still primarily an action series. Fights were frequent and bloody, and the social actions of protest also hid an anger that could erupt into violence at any time. Lin relies a bit on speed lines for the action sequences, but mostly does a good job of conveying the action and gore, although the most gruesome elements are covered in mosaics; I’m not sure if the same was true for the original online publication. It’s not distracting, though, and you can usually see what’s being covered. Lin’s other artwork is very attractive and a treat for everyone to look at.
evil blood It starts out okay but evolves into a much more interesting story in the second volume. Hayan and Entae are interesting characters, and most of the main players’ underlying motivations are well developed, even if they don’t end up sticking around for very long. With attractive art, some great moments of humor, and a great take on vampire lore, this is a series worth watching – especially if it gets stronger as the story goes on.
