Boom! Studios 2018
Written by Cullen Bunn
Illustrated by Jonas Scharf
Coloured by Alex Guimaraes
Lettered by Ed Dukeshire
A new drug is sweeping through the streets of New Orleans—one made from the ashes of the dead. Wars are being fought over who will control the supply, while the demand only rises. While the crime families wage war, users begin to experience terrifying visions of the dead coming back to life—through them.
Well I have to admit that this is something else entirely and who knew that by taking the bones of the dead and grinding them up mixing it with some chemical stuff and then add a hearty dash of voodoo or something like it and you could make the newest craze in street drugs? The idea is exceptional and while we aren’t going to be privy to the recipe, because that would just be insane, we don’t need to be because it’s in a world of pure imagination, yes Gene Wilder’s version because that is one that fits.
I love the way the book is structured and how we see the opening of the series. While I was singing earlier the book opens with lyrics to a song, one in which I am actually not familiar with and its mesmerising and seeing the people pass him by and hoot and holler or livestream him and what have you because well it’s New Orleans and nothing is too unusual to be happening on it’s streets. To see it merged with a concert of the man singing it originally at a concert there’s this amazing vibe going on because as a reader we have no idea what’s going on but since it’s so damn fascinating you just can’t look away and you NEED to know more.
So what happens made me cringe a bit, as a couple kids approach Dante about buying some Ash, the name of the latest, hottest street drug. Why does it make me cringe well in my younger years I ran for someone and sold cocaine in clubs so when someone you don’t know approaches you, says your name and says I heard you might be the guy to talk to it gets weird for me. It is a part of who I am or who I was but seeing it here makes it all rush back and that connection for me is one I won’t forget, the connection to this book that is. So this is important for a number of reasons but you’ll have to read it to figure those out for yourself.
The interior artwork here is amazing and surpasses what I was expecting even though backgrounds aren’t as utilised as often as I would like to see. Still the manipulation of the linework and how we see the characters faces is exceptionally well done and just look at Dante for proof he’s incredibly handsome for a rapscallion. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows off such a strong eye for storytelling. The dark overtones throughout really make this feel creepy and even in the red lighting Alex manages to keep the colouring dark and foreboding without it feeling contrived.
This first issue feels like it’s a double sized one but it’s a standard twenty four pager. It is an excellent introduction to the world these folks inhabit, the product they are bringing to the street, the family behind it and those representing other’s interests. It has this sense of a supernatural soap opera only a lot more deadly and considering the back stabbing that goes on within them well yeah that’s saying something. Still this is something we haven’t really seen and it’s about time that something this complex and interesting hit stands.