This comic was a breath of fresh air, present a lot of elements than combinen, create a very original story. Yes, isn0t exactly the most inovated thing ever, but the way os presented makes you believe that it is.

***This review is SPOILER FREE***

I was kindly sent an eARC of this book but all opinions are my own.



In all honesty, while I have been enjoying my DC graphic novels, I really did not know what to expect from this stand alone story. Clearly I had no need to worry.

The Damned take place in the U.S during the prohibition era, if the Prohibition era had been swarming with demons. Essentially I'd class it as historical urban fantasy, which there really is not enough of. The city is rued by mister families, these families being of the demonic variety, who not only deal in alcohol, but there is a roaring trade in human souls. We follow Eddie, as he is tasked with finding a demon who had got missing and could hold the key to peace among these waring families.

Granted this premise has many things that I love to see, such as gangsters, urban fantasy, the prohibition, but the way they were combined was near perfection.

Before I talk about art in graphic novels, I always preface it by saying that I am not super well-read in the genre, nor am I any sort of artist, but I am going to judge the art anyway. I really loved the art style in this novel. It had a sort of film noir vibe that really fit with the narrative. It was clear, and easy to follow (something I really value) , but still was interesting, and worked alongside the story. 

Regarding the plot, it reminded me a lot of films like L.A Confidential and The Nice Guys, in the sense that the mystery builds and unravel is a way that seems natural, but you know that a lot of work has gone into making it happen like this.  There were a couple fo moments, and I mean maybe three panels, where I would find myself lost, but it was easy to recover myself, and fall back into the plot. This is no way affected the plot overall,  and I still found myself having a ball.

In addition to a great plot Three Days Dead managed to do something that is so hard to do in a graphic novel, and that is characterisation. As with most graphic novels this is around the 150 page mark, and you have very little chance to really explore a single character, especially when you have got to balance that with the plot itself, lest the novel feel dull. Somehow this feels like a fully fledged world, with fleshed out characters which have history, and backstories. I can't imagine a character I would not want to see more from. Eddie was a fantastic protagonist, who has a really unique voice, and I just want more.

  
Overall I am in love with this world, and this concept, and these characters. I want more from them, and this world! If you're unsure about graphic novels, give this one a whirl, and you won't find yourself disappointed.

Great story, mixing the Millers Crossing with Pans Labyrinth, you invest in the characters, looking forward to volume 2!

I had trouble getting into this story. The artwork is really well done, though.

Book – The Damned, Vol 1: Three Days Dead
Author – Cullen Bunn, Brian Hurtt
Star rating - ★★★★★
No. of Pages – 140
Cover – Perfect
Would I read it again – Yes
Genre – Comic, Gangster, Crime


** COPY RECEIVED THROUGH NETGALLEY **


This was an awesome, original story about old school mobsters. It had a really nice 1920's vibe to it, with the added intrigue of the paranormal element. Having demons acting as mobsters was really clever, especially the way that the authors used curses and deals between humans and demons to add another layer of the paranormal to the plot.

There was great plotting, storytelling, and a host of really well explored characters. The world building was brilliant. On top of that, the ending was intriguing and I can't wait to read more.

I liked this book. Great graphic style, very noir. Story bounced along nicely and left me looking for more.
Can't expect too much more from a graphic novel, I guess. But, then I'm fairly new to the genre. Still, books like this will keep me interested!

*mini review goes live 3/5*

Prohibition is at its height and two rival crime families are calling a truce. However, before things can be finalized, a bookkeeper - in possession of a ledger that could literally bring destruction to both families - is kidnapped. The solution? Put Eddie on the case. Have him track down the bookkeeper (<i>and</i> ledger) before it's too late. The only problem is that Eddie's corpse is lying in a ditch. Not that that's going to stop Big Al..

Prohibition, gangsters, demons, magic. Sounds like a great time, right? Unfortunately, I don't believe I'm the target audience for this one. For me, it was simply <i>okay</i>. The art was VERY noir-ish and the story was fun, but apart from the magic and demons, there really wasn't anything special about <i>The Damned</i>. It was just your run-of-the-mill crime story.

A pretty good horror graphic novel. The plot is well done and the art is pretty good. I'd definitely recommend it to fans of graphic novels.

The Damned Volume 1: Three Days Dead is a horror/crime noir set during the prohibition. The twist of the story is the crime Lords are not human they are demon gangsters. It follows two demon crime family's that gave a long-standing but are about to come to a peace agreement but before that happens the bookkeeper is kidnapped. I had high hopes for this book but was left a little underwhelmed however I did really enjoy the art style and I may give the next volume a go.

I've been reading a lot of comics so far this year! This is yet another graphic novel that I enjoyed and want to continue with the series. We follow a gun-for-hire who keeps coming back from the dead, as long as someone touches him after he dies, and a bunch of daemons having a gang war in the city. Yeah... it's an interesting concept! It's a classic noir comic with a twist of horror and a big dollop of death, a main character who you want to keep following and an art design that very much fits the genre with its sharp, angular preferences. 

This is a new release of a previously published comic, and the major addition seems to be that this is now in colour. Although a black-and-white theme would suit this style of comic, the addition of colour really brings the world to life and adds a whole new dimension. I don't want to say much more to let you discover what this graphic novel has to offer on your own. Definitely one to pick up if you like action, crime and a little bit of horror (I hate horror books or films but comics I can deal with for some odd reason) with some daemons thrown in for good measure.

I was excited to read this after I downloaded it. I recognized one of the authors from another really interesting comic that I really liked reading. Unfortunately, when I tried to open the file in adobe digital editions, all the pictures were missing. Usually I just have to re download the file, but in this case when I went to check it again on Netgalley, the book had been archived and therefore I couldn't download it to give it an accurate review. I'm really disappointed, as I was excited to read through it.

This story is set in the prohibition era, where demons head crime cartels and are all at loggerheads with each other. I was completely drawn into Eddie’s dark existence and read this in one sitting. Eddie, our protagonist can be brought back from the dead thanks to a curse from the Verlochin. Every time someone touches him, he returns to life with the unfortunate consequence of killing the person who touched him in the same manner he died.
This time, he has been dead for three days, enough time for the flies to start invading his rotting corpse. Cue for a one liner: As Eddie spits out a fly, a mobster quips “Excuse me waiter, there’s a fly in my –“ This dry humour is prevalent throughout particularly with Eddie. Back from the dead, on this occasion, he is taken to mobster leader Alphonse “Big Al” Aligheri, literally a demon with very large horns. He is planning a deal with another Demon mobster, Bruno Roarkes. The issue however is that the demon Lazio who is supposed to be brokering the deal has gone missing. Alphonse wants to find him before gang war breaks out again. Alphonse and Eddie haven’t got on in the past but Alphonse is prepared to call their rift quits if he can locate Lazio. Not such an easy task of course. And of course there is more to it than Big Al is letting on.
Eddie’s search for Lazio takes him back to his love Sophie. Her boyfriend Danny isn’t pleased but of course there is something Danny is hiding which could change everything between not just the Demon Aligheris and Roarkes.. Throughout Eddie is haunted sporadically by the realm he enters when dead. It is inhabited by more demons and lost souls, an eerie otherworld of which I hope to see more of in future books.
I loved all the action fight scenes and depictions of demons – the story is illustrated by some brilliant artists who I’m going to look up while waiting to acquire book 2. This story has all the hallmarks of a great series and I thoroughly recommend reading it!

Rating doesn't reflect on the graphic novel, the art was mostly sketchy black and white, sort of like a dud tv!
Couldn't folow the story through the quote bubbles alone.

It was an interesting first volume. I liked the art style but I wasn't completely sold on the story. I'd continue on if it felt like the issues I had with it had been changed.

I was unable to read this book. The pages were completely blank in the format it was in. This happened on 3 different devices.

I received a copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review. The copy I received did not have any illustrations. It was text only. My review will be based on the character dialog alone. It was decent. The conversations were original. From what I could understand, it appears that they are old school, tommygun style gangsters. The language was similar to that style, which is what I am basing this opinion on. As for the content, it was ok. A crime boss tries to make a deal with another crime boss but something doesn't go as planned and the go between ends up disappearing. The one boss gets the main character, Eddie involved by offering him something he can't refuse, his debt considered settled. Eddie is trying to figure out what is going on when he ends of getting double crossed. Long story short, Eddie figures out he wasn't told the entire truth about what was happening.

Prohibition but with demons fighting over souls. An interesting premise, and a solid read, especially if you need a break from capes and tights.

I really really really liked this. I don't read that many comics or graphic novels but I make sure to pick up one once in a while, and when that one-time decision is so good, I'm the happiest reader on Earth.

Shit, looks like 2018 would be me over-dramatizing everything, oops!

Three Days Dead is the first volume in The Damned and revolves around everything mysterious in the underworld with horror twists at every turn and characters that seem real even when they're dead. The prime focus is on the mortal souls trading among Demon gangs and the usual whiskey trading among regular gangs, but soon the focus goes onto a missing demon whose disappearance is jeopardizing a possible crime families' merging. In order to find this demon, a dead human—'damned'—is revived. Now, I might be new to the party and the whole mortal souls being traded trope is used often in comics but it was interesting enough for me, especially when Eddie (the dead human who had been revived) is carrying a probable curse that would not let him stay dead for long. This little bit might be slightly confusing and some might not be able to follow, but the story still proves itself.

The Damned is a classic noir, certainly with quite a number of fatal killings and a femme fatale that I would talk about in a second. There are paranormal, supernatural undertones that don't go over the top and are perfectly maintained with the mortal criminal world. However, the overall picture might be a little too much for readers who don't prefer darker aspects in a story, so consider this a warning.

Moving on to the graphical aspect of the comic; it was amazing and I loved it. The illustrations are on-pint with each scene having it's own limelight, so a big shout out to the illustrators, too! I would take a moment to also comment on the consistent color scheme that the comic follows—dark blue, blacks and reds. All of them gives this eerie, dark feel to each graphic and doesn't let me out from the sombre atmosphere that the story offers.

However, one thing bothered me too much—one single female character in the entirety of the book and she's a seductive, gets-things-done-for-the-lead-male heroine that I'm not a particular fan of. I know it's almost impossible to expect anything else in terms of female leads from a classic noir, but is it too much to ask for, especially in a time where things are changing and change might be good? Anyway, that's the only side that let me down.

I'll be recommending it to all those who are comfortable with dark, normal and paranormal, facets inspired comic with perfect illustrations to resonate along.

I enjoyed reading this, it was interesting with detailed history of characters and events as well as having a complex relationship between the characters. The only reason I can’t give it a full five stars is that it feels like I was dropped into the story mid progress and was very confusing tryin to figure out the important details.

I got a copy of this book from Netgalley.

Eddie is a hired thug for mob boss and actual demon Big Al. Eddie has a gift, or is it a curse - he keeps coming back to life. As Big Al tries to gain control from his rival Bruno, a fellow demon goes missing; in his possession is a powerful tool that could turn the tide of the mob war.

This was an interesting enough read but the plot was fairly formulaic. Setting it during the prohibition period meant it was a lot more analogue than contemporary set stories, which works to its advantage. However, the dialogue is quite grating at times - demons speaking like Italians looks weird on the page.

I also am surprised at the complete lack of diversity in this book. Only one female character, the typical gangster’s moll, Sophie, who has absolutely no personality or presence. There are no people of colour at all in this book. How does something like this even happen when you’re writing in the 21st century?

I didn’t like the art, at all. All the human characters look alike. All the demons looks alike, except for the different colour palette, reds, browns, blues. There were times when I was struggling to figure out which character was which. Eddie has scars on his face to distinguish him from the others but from afar, he could easily be mistaken for Big Al’s goon, Tony. It’s just confusing and takes you out of the book.

Also, it’s 2017, I think it’s about time we retired the strip club scene in all-male comic books. It’s misogynistic and alienates women readers.

There are a few plot lines that aren’t followed through which is frustrating. I won’t be picking up another issue so I guess I’ll never find out where Eddie goes when he dies or why Sophie was left to the mercy of demons. I’ll live with it but surely a volume of a series should be self-contained?

This is a good enough read for anyone with a passing interest in the supernatural or body horror but doesn’t give you enough to want to read more.