Written and Illustrated by Keef Cross
Everyone knows that Vampires and
Zombies are in. While the Zombie franchise is still kicking butt,
vamps have really taken a back burner unless you are a Justin Beiber
fan. The terror and the near invincibility of these monsters has been
replaced with teenage angst and wanna be rock star vampires. Pretty
much the life blood of Vampires have been sucked out of pop culture.
Every now and again someone writes a nice book about vampires.
American Vampire is probably the best comic book adaptation of the
genre. Yet these stories are few and far inbetween.
Keef Cross, both a writer and artist,
really takes the Vampire genre back home. The story itself is more
about the town, DayBlack, instead of the protagonist Merce. He became
a vampire while still as slave in the South. He calls DayBlack, his
home. DayBlack is a town in Georgia where there is no sun light due
to pollution caused by a corrupt corporation. This makes DayBlack an
ideal home for Merce.
Due to his immortality, Merce takes on
several occupations through various lifetimes. Currently, he is a
tattoo artist.
DayBlack is refreshing not just to the
Vampire genre but to the artwork. Cross' work is stupendous. While
his pencils and inks come from modern times and the past, it looks
extremely futuristic. His otherworldly illustrations brings Merce's
world to life. As Merce scrolls through his smart phone, the pictures
of his groupies come from a hip and fresh world that draws the reader
in.
In the first few pages, Cross
introduces the reader to someone else before Merce comes into the
picture. This adds a great air of mystery to the story without losing
the reader. So Cross not only can draw, he can flesh out a story.
This reader is curious as to how it all turns out.
