Tuesday, January 28, 2014

DayBlack Issue 1

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.  

Tuesday, January 07, 2014

Salute to Run Run Shaw

I didn't know he was still alive to be honest... He passed away earlier today at 106... yes you read that right...

As a b-boy, Martial artist, and Old school head, I have to say I could not imagine my childhood without the Shaw Brothers...

NYT does a nice piece on him here.