Grab yourself a copy and read this super-stylized modern day vampire book. The look is part graffiti, part iconography, on top of the blazing dialogue. 4 bites out of 5.

DayBlack: Forever changing how I view tattoo guns and Inkmaster

I am blown away by how absolutely off game I am. The Trade Paperback DayBlack has existed since August 2015. AUGUST 2015! The universal haitus I took after my children's birth looks more and more like I just died and rolled under a rock. Granted, I am a long way from Atlanta, where Artist Keef Cross does his work.. Excuses, assholes, you know the saying.

Get a copy via Amazon today.
Series: DayBlack
DayBlack vol 1 (Keef Cross)
104 pages
Rosarium Publishing
ISBN-10: 0990319121
ISBN-13: 978-0990319122

Merce is a vampire. He exists in DayBlack Georgia, a city where a past industrial meltdown has blotted out direct sunlight. Merce finds himself passing out at inconvenient moments, seemingly being impacted by the extended darkness around him. Is his Circadian Rhythm screwed up or is there something about how he feeds which interrupts his waking 'life'?

Because of the AIDS epidemic, deadly to vampires, Merce had to get creative about how and when he feeds. He spends his days tattooing strangers and harvesting their blood with a modified tattoo gun. Drinking from the vein is just too dangerous.

After Merce gets ambushed by some Luchador Vamp Hunters in a record store, he has to decide what the best course of action is. He needs to survive the Hunters and keep vampire competition out of his town.

The off key and original story twists really shine and help this work stand out. The art in this TPB is also stellar and unexpected. It carries a distinct artistic design and asthetic that Cross works into his non-comic art and the tattoos he machines into people's skin.

The only frustrating bit about this TPB is the slow releases. When I buy the next three issues, either it will be the end of the story arc, or I will have to wait a year for the seventh issue. DayBlack vol 1 is a phenomenal comic, spanning the first three issues of the series. Cross appears to be insanely busy as the second three issues were released across the following year with large gaps. The entire series is available on the Kindle store for a very reasonable price.

I admit, I spent entirely too many minutes staring at the side of Merce's coffin. It is plastered with stickers and band logos. I saw a few too many references to Green Day for my liking ;)

According to KeefCross.com, this has been made into a movie which I will have to search out.

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Disclosure:
This Trade Paperback was provided for review purposes by the Publisher. While I sit here digesting the delicious semi-paleo pizza that was my beautiful wife Harry Potter magic'd together for dinner, I must contemplate the joy of lactose and wheat free pizza. I enjoyed it greatly and I would eat it again. Please trust I would advise vocally and with specks of food flying from my mouth if said pizza were disgusting. Same goes for books (specks of food complimentary).

Though this debut volume is mostly backstory, I was riveted. Merce’s origin story is unique, as is his feeding method. There are a few disappointingly lame vampire tropes thrown into DayBlack, but I can’t help but feel Cross included them to be sarcastic. The most striking thing about DayBlack is the art. It is clearly African inspired and the characters are mostly people of color, and all of them have strong personalities. Cross didn’t spend enough time on them in the first volume for me to determine whether the characters are dynamic, but it’s refreshing to read something where the hero/heroins aren’t all fair-skinned damsels in distress.

However, DayBlack is not for everyone.

DayBlack is an adult’s graphic novel. There’s blood, violence, drugs, and a few images that could probably be considered softcore pornography. If you’d rather not see that stuff, then steer clear of this series.

For people who are used to more traditional comic/graphic novel art (i.e. East Asian-Style art or European/American art) might not appreciate DayBlack’s style. It’s extremely in-your-face, and almost the entire novel is colored with white, black, and red (Merce actually gives a reason for this while talking about his life). The humor in DayBlack is somewhat dark, I imagine Merce to deliver his dialogue in a deadpan manner.

I will say that even though I’m intrigued by the premise and curious about what will happen to Merce, I’m more interested in DayBlack for it’s art than anything else. I’m not terribly invested in the story, but I do like closure and DayBlack ends on a cliff hanger. It might be frustrating if all of the volumes end that way, but since this is just the first book, it makes sense. I’m giving a DayBlack a tentative recommendation level of 4 stars.

Written and illustrated by Keef Cross, DayBlack is a graphic novel that introduces Merce, a vampire with narcolepsy who sleeps in a very cool coffin. Currently spending his time in a small town called DayBlack in Georgia, where the pollution is so all consuming it blocks out the sun, it's the perfect place to be a vampire.

Having tried out other occupations including mercenary and astronaut, he's currently a tattoo artist that specialises in black and grey tattoos with occasional red, because vampires are colour blind with the exception of red (fortunately).

Because of the risk of HIV, Merce doesn't obtain his blood the clichéd way. Instead he's rigged his tattoo machine to simultaneously ink people as well as extract their blood into a coffee machine. Unfortunately this new method has some side effects - narcolepsy and bizarre dreams.

Merce sponsors and later becomes a foster parent to Rodamez. Ironically his sponsorship money was spent training Rodamez to become a vampire hunter, which makes for some awkward moments between the two.

Keef Cross is an incredible illustrator and has played around with vampire mythology, incorporating the well known with the innovative. While I appreciated the artwork and the premise I don't feel like I was a member of the target audience. I wanted a more cohesive storyline and considering this graphic novel was Volume 1, I expected for it to sink its teeth into me (sorry, I had to!) and make me eager to read on to find out what happens in Volume 2. Sadly this didn't happen for me.

I received a copy from NetGalley (thank you to NetGalley and Rosarium Publishing for the opportunity) in exchange for honest feedback.

A strange and haunting series about a vampire. The illustrations are the highlight of this series. All of the artwork is rendered in black, white and red. The style of art is captivating and I found myself lingering on the art only pages.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The artwork was stunning and it made me want to finish it to find out!

3.5 stars

DayBlack is a unique graphic novel featuring a cotton slave turned vampire turned modern day narcoleptic tattoo artist. The main man of the hour, Merce, is a vampire that does tattoos and is the "foster parent" to a vampire hunter. When he isn't falling asleep on the job, sometimes quite literally, Merce sleeps in a coffin covered in skateboard and band promo stickers. Vans on the Wall, Mos Def, even a bright grapefruit sticker can be found plastered on the side. It's definitely not your every day story arc, but I think that's what makes it all the more interesting. It's dark and quirky.

Beyond the character driven, rather than plot driven, storyline this first issue also packs a strong visual punch. The bold artwork, similar in style to street tags, is incredibly striking. And many of the images are, in fact, several rolled into one which keeps the eyes roving as the reader tries to work out all of the distinctive details.

This first installment of DayBlack sets the scene for what could be quite an intriguing storyline. I look forward to seeing where the creator takes it!

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me this review opportunity.

A short investigation into the world of DayBlack, a town where the sun rarely shines and a vampire can live relatively undisturbed. An interesting update on vampire mythology with great graphic illustrations.

This is a unique, unexpected experience for me as I wasn't expecting much based on the cover. But the story and artwork are both outstanding. I would recommend it for the visual experience alone. Add in the great script and you've got a graphic novel that does it's job--entertainment--exceptionally well.

It was an interesting story , the pictures were very nice and the color ones were a nice touch. I thought some of the illustrations were a little weird looking at first but after taking a second look and pay attention to the details they were really awesome.