Keef Cross

DayBlack Vol 2: Page after page of black ink and red blood

Keef Cross! You slapped me in the face with a wiffle paddle of love.

I was late to read Volume 1 of DayBlack, only learning of the comic series a few years after it was released. At the time of review, I made comments about how long it was between issues. I made a comment akin to ‘blah blah several more years before volume 2’.

I know it was just your marketing calendar, BUT, you seemingly timed the announced release of Volume 2 about three(?) days after I ran my mouth... I felt the sting of the pain stick and the force of the beating, but not until after hearing the ferocious mouse squeak of air through its holes. I will refrain from that mistake in the future.

DayBlack, vol 2 (Keef Cross)
96 pages
Rosarium Publishing
ISBN-10: 0996769234
ISBN-13: 978-0996769235

DayBlack Volume 2 picks up where the first left off. Being a collected Trade Paperback, this would be awkward if it did otherwise so good job on that.

Merce, the narcoleptic vampire, finishes off some Mexican Luchador masked vamp hunters with aplomb. His 65cents a day adoptive son is haunting his town and sarcastically commenting on his reality. His twin brother and multi-hundred-year-old surprise dead girlfriend come to visit? Merce continues to try and find a way to keep his evolving reality from killing him directly or through annoyances.

As with the original volume, this collection of singles is full of stylized and hard-hitting artwork. All pages are dedicated to the craft using deep black/reds, the only colors vampires can see (according to DayBlack). Strangely, the front cover is also a page from the book, but where the vampire on the cover is stacked with tattoos, the interior art has none.Was this updated for marketing?

There also seems to be a bit more humor in this collection than the original, with the universe firmly set up, perhaps there is more room for it. Unfortunately, because the Comic is not text heavy, it felt very short. 96 pages is a bit lean as it is, but it makes the wait for more work.... harder.. l

Highly suggested for anyone who wants cutting-edge ideas with art that makes no apologies for its bad assitude.

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Disclosure:
This book was provided by the author or publisher for review purposes. Unlike people with lizard blood, this warm-blooded mammal does not allow such fickle things as review copies to sway my opinion. Fuck the lizard people. If something is terrible, I will advise as I cannot give garbage a free pass... Garbage is where the lizard people sleep with their knives.

Additional Artwork: (see toastx2 website)… (more)

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).… (more)