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"The Fourth Book of Blood": The splash page is a reproduction of a page from the Crime Bible; The Fourth Book of Blood, Chapter 3, Verses 1-12. In it, the First continues his wanderings and comes upon the one-eyed Caitiff in the lands of the "righteous and good." The people recognize the First a

Crime Bible: Five Lessons of Blood #4 is an issue of the series Crime Bible: Five Lessons of Blood (Volume 1) with a cover date of March, 2008.

Synopsis for "The Fourth Book of Blood"

The splash page is a reproduction of a page from the Crime Bible; The Fourth Book of Blood, Chapter 3, Verses 1-12. In it, the First continues his wanderings and comes upon the one-eyed Caitiff in the lands of the "righteous and good." The people recognize the First and plead with him to abandon his beliefs and join them in their beliefs. His anger at these attempts takes over him and he slays every one except the Caitiff. He realizes that he has just learned the Fourth Lesson of Blood, that if you cannot take life, you do not deserve to keep your own. He begins to cry realizing that he has learned the final lesson and is complete. He sends the Caitiff out to teach the Fourth Lesson to the world.

Appearing in "The Fourth Book of Blood"

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Synopsis for "The Lesson of Murder"

Flay kills eleven police officers in a Hub City bar sparing only one man, named Munroe. Munroe cowers in fear but Flay lets him live, marks him with blood and tells him to practice murder in order to become strong.

Renee and Dr. Rodor are at the lighthouse jointly left to them by Vic Sage. After examining the fake Crime Bible, the two learn from the television that sixteen police officers have been killed in the last three weeks. In addition Mayor Myra Fermin has been hospitalized. Believing the assault is an invitation by Flay, Renee heads to Hub City. Munroe, meanwhile, kills another police officer collecting his badge as a trophy, several of which he wears on a chain around his neck.

O'Toole sits outside Mayor Fermin's office waiting for the Question. She appears but O'Toole was expecting the first one. They go into Myra's room who reveals the hospitalization was a ruse in order to make contact with the Question. Question informs Myra of Vic's death but Myra stays focused on the serial killings. O'Toole tells them a seventeenth officer's body was found earlier that night and that all of the victims were honest cops. Question asks who's the most honest cop. Apparently it's Munroe. Question becomes concerned for O'Toole's safety and investigates the earlier incident where Munroe lived. O'Toole states it wasn't part of the official case because 1) those cops were dirty and 2) they know it was done by an outsider. Question leaves O'Toole in the police garage (after secretly swiping his badge) where O'Toole is quickly confronted by, and drugged by, Munroe. Munroe takes him to his hidden torture area where O'Toole is handcuffed to some pipes. Question arrives. Munroe threatens to kill O'Toole but Question produces O'Toole's badge, which Munroe desperately craves. The two fight by Munroe escapes to the roof with Question in close pursuit. Munroe tries to leap off the roof to another building but fails. His arm is caught by Brother Flay who taunts Question claiming that Flay is weak and, despite Question's pleas, drops Munroe to his death. Flay places the coordinates to the Shores of the Abandoned on the roof telling her to arrive in exactly four weeks or he will return to kill "everyone who has ever had meaning in your life...Renee Montoya."

Appearing in "The Lesson of Murder"

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Other Characters:

  • Carson
  • Weiland (Dies)

Locations:

  • Hub City
    • Lighthouse
    • Riley's Bar
    • Hub City Hospital

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Vehicles:

  • None

Notes

  • Renee's pursuit of the issue's villain results in his death which suggests she has learned the Fourth Lesson of Blood. Her saving grace is that she pleaded with Flay to save his life.
  • A bonus, hidden excerpt from the Crime Bible is provided in code along the borders of the excerpt. The key to solving the code and it's full translation can be found here.
  • The coordinates to the Shores of the Abandoned are: Latitude 22 degrees, 27 minutes, 35.13 seconds North and Longitude 91 degrees, 43 minutes, 09.91 seconds East. In our world this corresponds with a shore in Bangladesh near the city of Sitalpur. GoogleEarth shows this location to have seemingly derelict ships along it.
  • Includes DC Nation #97 editorial by Dan Didio.

Trivia

  • Documents on Dr. Rodor's desk contain the repeated phrase, "Just a bunch of jibba jabba here folks."


See Also

Recommended Reading

Links and References