Title:
Family Blood
Date of Publication
October 1992
Cover Price
Our Rating:
Credits:
Comic Book Synopsis / Plot
Late one night, Pat Savage is walking along a street with her friend Constance when the pair are accosted by armed thugs delivering a warning to Doc Savage to stay out of mob business. Pat’s instincts kick in and she vanquishes her assailants, receiving a razor slash in the process. Connie rushes Pat to Doc’s headquarters where the Man of Bronze patches up his cousin’s wound. When Connie reveals the reason behind the attack, Doc assembles his men and sets out to deal with the mob, leaving Monk behind to guard Pat and Connie. Pat sneaks out after Doc but finds herself being followed by a gangland type. She overpowers the hood and finds he is Francesco Dragna, a Luciano soldier sent to guard Pat from harm; it seems a rival gang is trying to get to her in a scheme to bring Doc Savage down on the Luciano mob. When they return to Doc’s HQ, Francesco recognizes Connie as the wife of the rival gang boss, Carmine Ferro. Connie orders her men to kill Pat and in the melee Francesco takes a bullet meant for the Woman of Bronze. Pat trails the crooks to Ferro’s hideout where Carmine and Connie are torturing Monk. Pat opens fire with mercy bullets, taking down the hoods and punches Connie’s lights out, just as Doc Savage and his men arrive. Pat’s greeting: “It’s about time you got here.”
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Reviews
By Peter Silvestro
An unprecedented solo story for Pat (at least in the comics—I DIED YESTERDAY appeared in the pulps) is a fun and fast-paced adventure, aided by Pat’s dryly humorous narration. The art is livelier and more vibrant than anything else from this publisher. In an odd decision the art is shared among several pencilers and inkers and this, I think, hurts the tale a bit with Pat’s appearance shifting from section to section. For the record, my favorite artist is Scott Benefiel, whose pencils open and close the tale: his Pat slightly resembles Lucille Ball and contributes mightily to the screwball edge. As usual the colors are inconsistent, with Pat going from normal to bronze to yellow and back in the course of the issue. My only real quibble is the cover, which would be nice for a dark noir story but makes Pat look a bit too slutty with the disheveled hair and low-cut blouse.
Score: 3 (out of 5)