Review: DayBlack 1 & 2

Tattoos are an interesting form of art. They have the ability to represent a myriad of things. From memorials to cultural, custom pieces to drunken nights of shenanigans. But whatever the reason is behind them, they tell a story. Keeping that mentality in mind, we have DayBlack. This book is one of the most creative books I’ve had the honor to read. Keef Cross brings not only an amazing story, but the art work to back it up.

The story introduces us to Merce, a slave who was bitten by a Vampire and has done everything there is to do within 400 years, and has found his passion; Being a Tattoo artist.

One would think how does he survive during the day? It’s simple really, the city in which he lives, Dayblack Georgia, has their skies so polluted that it blocks out the sun. Pretty slick move I think. So you ask how does this vampire eat? Well they’ve got that figured out too. Merce had developed a very unique tattoo machine that has an additional needle that while tattooing the client, the extra needle extracts the blood for Merce to consume later. I’m not going to lie, when I read that, that was absolutely genius. We get the pleasure of going along with Merce and his journey of living. The writing is unique as it’s a mixture of dialogue and monologue. The read is pretty easy to follow really, which makes for the rest of the experience to allow you to really soak up the art work.

When speaking of the artwork within the book, it’s important to note that Keef Cross is a tattoo artist himself. Artists have their unique style, and Keef rocks it with this book. It has that feeling of the American Traditional style with a limited color palette, and heavy with the black ink.

That’s what makes that style great, and I was super excited to see that Cross had utilized that within the book. This book is definitely not for younger readers as it does discuss mature themes and the artwork is not for kids, but don’t let that stop you from reading it. All in all, this book is a great read, and one that if you love Indie Comics, if you love Tattoos, and you love a bad-ass story, then this is a must have for your collection. Bravo to Keef Cross for taking his talent of artwork that is normally put on skin, and apply that to an amazing book with a phenomenal story to go with it.Â Random Dude Rating: 5/5

Written and Illustrated: Keef Cross

Purchase your copy here

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Author Profile

The Random Dude Josh Einfalt

Growing up, I'm a stereotypical nerd. I love comics, superheroes, video games, you name it I love it. Except tofu, that stuff is just different. Fast forward a few years, Now I'm living my dream where being a "nerd" is cool, and I have the wonderful opportunity to do exactly what I want to do; Read comics, play video games, and show off my passion for geek culture for the world to see and not care what critics may think. Aside from reviewing games, comics, being a member of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network and Geekery Magazine, I love sports of all kinds, and especially following all of my teams from the great state of Colorado. Being random is what I love doing because it why not be random, it makes life interesting. Make sure to also follow me on Twitter for updates on live gaming streams on other shenanigans at @TheRandomeDud3.