Priest, Volume 11 Book

For those of you disappointed with the change of pace in volumes 9 & 10 (two books for a single fight level of self indulgence) you'll be pleased to note Priest gets back on track, reverting to its normal complexly plotted self for this 11th instalment.

Ivan saves Lizzie but when she tells him she's willing to be his beloved Gena, he ditches her and she finds some outlaws to join.

Coburn and his Posse are still going strong and have a new enemy to deal with: The Order of Saint Vertinez - there are 7 fanatics hot set on starting the apocalypse. These are the guys that set Ivan into opening the Domas Porada and are now on a killing spree. American Indian scout Cairo takes them on single handedly with bloody results.

So were back with multiple character threads and the complex epic story of good vs evil... but where its very hard to tell exactly who the good guys are!

The artwork in this volume is rather interesting and varies: we have some rough sketchy illustrations, some minutely detailed freaky art, one section of heavily shaded almost blurred art and of course the single panels recreating what I take to be original Medieval images and woodcuts. I don't know if different sections are done by different artists or not, but it makes this stand out from other manga, its visually arresting and goes really well with the story.

In feel we're getting back into Hellsing territory especially with the bespectackled, hook handed fanatical villain and all the limb severing. It is sort of Hellsing without the humour.