Blood Punch Dreadnought: A Sepia-Toned Tribute
A Monumental Machine of War
This page from the fan comic If Doom Slayer Joins the Imperium of Man features a detailed, sepia-toned sketch of a massive Dreadnought—a towering war machine used by the Adeptus Astartes to carry fallen heroes into battle once more. The centerpiece of the drawing is a front-facing view of the Dreadnought, its form boxy and powerful, covered in gothic iconography and mechanical armor plating. Its most prominent new addition is a custom melee weapon humorously labeled “Blood Punch,” which resembles a huge armored fist with reinforced knuckles. The drawing style imitates a historical or sacred manuscript, complete with smudges, candle wax stains, and ink that appears aged and weathered. Even the details like rivets, hoses, purity seals, and chapel-like panels on its legs show reverence for the hybrid of machine and martyr. It’s part blueprint, part holy relic, and all war machine.
The Legacy of Kaldor Draigo
On the right side of the page, we see a more ceremonial rendering—a framed shrine or mural of the warrior entombed within the Dreadnought: Kaldor Draigo, Supreme Grand Master of the Grey Knights. The portrait is enclosed within a gothic arch adorned with candles and roses, symbolizing reverence, loss, and spiritual power. Draigo’s expression is grim and noble, wearing Terminator armor covered in purity seals and scriptural markings. Known for being trapped in the Warp and waging a one-man crusade against daemonic forces, Draigo is a legendary figure of almost mythical proportions. Placing him within a Dreadnought here isn’t canon, but rather a playful and dramatic artistic liberty taken for the sake of this fan universe. The implication is powerful: not even death would stop Draigo—he would fight on encased in this iron sarcophagus.
A Mix of Humor and Awe
The tone of the artwork plays between reverence and tongue-in-cheek fun, which is a hallmark of the If Doom Slayer Joins the Imperium comic series. The phrase “Blood Punch” written in sketchy all-caps adds a humorous contrast to the otherwise sacred tone of the drawing, like a heretical graffiti scribbled on an Imperial archive. It reflects the series’ mix of grimdark Warhammer lore with the explosive, over-the-top energy of DOOM. Even though this Dreadnought isn’t Doom Slayer himself, its brutal design and absurd melee weapon could easily fit into either universe. The blending of stylized blueprint art and gothic reverence gives this page a strong narrative flavor, suggesting both the scale of war and the reverence the Imperium holds for its heroes. It’s a loving fan homage that knows when to be epic—and when to be just a bit ridiculous.
