#IReadsYou Review: DARK BLOOD #6

DARK BLOOD #6 (OF 6)
BOOM! STUDIOS

STORY: LaToya Morgan
ART:  Moisés Hidalgo
COLORS: A.H.G. with Allison Hu (pp. 18-21)
LETTERS:  Andworld Design
EDITOR: Dafna Pleban
COVER: Valentine De Landro
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Juni Ba; Valentine De Landro; Tiffany Turrill
24pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S. (January 2022)

Dark Blood created by LaToya Morgan

Dark Blood is a six-issue comic book miniseries created and written by screenwriter LaToya Morgan (AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” “Into The Badlands”).  Published by BOOM! Studios, the series is drawn by Moisés Hidalgo and Walt Barna; colored by A.H.G.; and lettered by Andworld Design.  The series focuses on a Black World War II veteran who discovers that he has strange powers.

Alabama, 1955.  After leaving his job at the diner, “Hardy's Eats,” Avery Aldridge, also known as “Double A,” has a fateful encounter with a racist.  Double A is a highly decorated World War II soldier, a former fighter pilot, a member of the soon-to-be-legendary “Red Tails.”  He is expected to act like a boy … when he is actually a very powerful man.  But this is “The Night of the Variance,” and everything is going to start to change – even the things some don't want changed.

Dark Blood #6 opens in 1955 – late into the Night of the Variance.  Avery confronts Dr. Carlisle and Dr. Marshall, and he learns that he is the “Variant,” the one who responded “positively” to their formula (apparently dubbed "Formula 687") and treatment.  Now, his powers are raging, and powerful as he is, it comes with a devastating cost.

Meanwhile, Sheriff Wright has finally caught up with Avery.  If Avery wants to see his wife, Emma, and daughter, Grace, again, the racist lawman insists that he must play by his rules.  But does he?  Can Avery make sure that no one ever goes through what he has?  Can he protect his wife and child?  Will it cost him everything to do this?

THE LOWDOWN:  I recently learned, via “CBS Evening News,” that the United States Air Force museum had been keeping a secret.  In 1949, a team from the famed all-Black “Tuskegee Airmen” won the first “Top Gun” contest.  This contest was a gunnery competition among pilots from across the Air Force.  However, the Air Force's record book listed the winner as “unknown.”

The winners' trophy was hidden in the bowels of the Air Force museum until a historian discovered it in 2005.  Now, the trophy is on display at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.  The Tuskegee Airmen have finally been recognized with Top Gun honor – 73 years after winning the first contest.

The “Red Tails” (the 332nd Fighter Group) were part of the Tuskegee Airmen, and in “Dark Blood,” Avery Aldridge” was a Red Tail.  I didn't take this revelation as mere coincidence that I learned of it less that a week before the release of the final issue of the Dark Blood comic book miniseries.

In Dark Blood, television writer-producer LaToya Morgan (AMC's “TURN: Washington's Spies”) offers a comic book that is steeped in the history of African-American participation in World War II.  Dark Blood is allegorical in the way that it references the “Tuskegee Experiment” (a study which observed the effects of untreated syphilis in Black men).  The series also opens at the dawn of the “American Civil Rights Movement” (1954-68).  Dark Blood has been historical.

Yet it was not until Dark Blood #5 that I realized how much this comic book is also a rip-roaring science fiction yarn.  The series' narrative blood is certainly Black history and culture, but Dark Blood's DNA is pulp science fiction literature.  Its pedigree is the world of weird science fiction and fantasy comic books that emerged after World War II.  While reading issue #5, the sci-fi reality of Dark Blood came at me like a space rocket.

Morgan, artists Moisés Hidalgo and Walt Barna, and colorist A.H.G. have presented readers with a comic book series that looks and feels like it came out of the 1950s.  In an alternate reality, I can see it as something that William Gaines would have published through EC Comics.  Yes, Dark Blood would have been one more nail in EC's coffin, but Morgan's mixture of reality and sci-fi would have been a perfect fit for EC's mixture of morality and blood and guts genre.

Dark Blood #6 offers both – history and drama and also the astounding yearnings of golden age science fiction.  The drama has a powerful resolution, and the super-powers are the fireworks of comic book magic.  Superheroes and mutants – Dark Blood #6 promises readers an interesting future as the series comes to an end.  Whatever may come, what we have now in Dark Blood, dear readers, it is a blast to read.  And if you haven't read it yet, Dark Blood flows at comiXology.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of golden age science fiction and of super science fiction comic books will want to read Dark Blood.

A+

10 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


Dark Blood trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzzXIYr_FrA&feature=youtu.be
Dark Blood first loook: https://www.boom-studios.com/wordpress/archives/dark-blood-1-first-look/
https://twitter.com/MorganicInk
https://twitter.com/WaltBarna
https://twitter.com/AHGColor
https://twitter.com/andworlddesign

https://twitter.com/boomstudios
https://www.boom-studios.com/wordpress/
https://www.facebook.com/BOOMStudiosComics
https://www.instagram.com/boom_studios/


The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: DARK BLOOD #5

DARK BLOOD #5 (OF 6)
BOOM! STUDIOS

STORY: LaToya Morgan
ART:  Moisés Hidalgo
COLORS: A.H.G. with Allison Hu
LETTERS:  Andworld Design
EDITOR: Dafna Pleban
COVER: Valentine De Landro
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Juni Ba; Valentine De Landro; Ernanda Souza
24pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S. (December 2021)

Dark Blood created by LaToya Morgan

Dark Blood is a new six-issue comic book miniseries created and written by screenwriter LaToya Morgan (AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” “Into The Badlands”).  Published by BOOM! Studios, the series is drawn by Moisés Hidalgo and Walt Barna; colored by A.H.G.; and lettered by Andworld Design.  The series focuses on a Black World War II veteran who discovers that he has strange powers.

Alabama, 1955.  After leaving his job at the diner, “Hardy's Eats,” Avery Aldridge, also known as “Double A,” has a fateful encounter with a racist.  Double A is a highly decorated World War II soldier, a former fighter pilot, a member of the soon-to-be-legendary “Red Tails.”  He is expected to act like a boy … when he is actually a very powerful man.  But this is “The Night of the Variance,” and everything is going to start to change – even the things some don't want changed.

Dark Blood #5 opens in 1955 – the Night of the Variance.  But this night feels the weight of a time a decade earlier when World War II servicemen, Avery and Henderson, two pilots of the Red Tails, face injustice masquerading as justice in Austria.  Oh, how it resembles the same process of injustice in the United States.  What happened that night may have laid the groundwork for Avery's situation now.

What Avery discovered about himself six weeks before the Night of Variance seemed like a good thing, but this night, there is horror and there must be a reckoning.  As Avery's condition continues to manifest and become more intense, is his search for answers merely going to lead him to something far worse?

THE LOWDOWN:  In Dark Blood, television writer-producer LaToya Morgan (AMC's “TURN: Washington's Spies”) offers a comic book that flows through multiple genres, including science fiction and fantasy, horror, and history.  It has layers and subtexts.  There is metaphor and symbolism and history made reality.  Morgan presents her readers with a beautiful and complex work.

On the other hand, I see the art of Moisés Hidalgo, who has been the regular artist on this series since the third issue.  I read his signs and graphics and symbolism, and I realize that Dark Blood #5 is just so much fun to read.  I feel like a kid again discovering something every time I read a new comic book or new issue of a favorite series.  Even if I were too ignorant to figure out the layers behind this story, Hidalgo turns this tale into a wild adventure of mad scientists, Nazis, and rotten cops.  It is pure escapism, and ain't nothing wrong with that.  Hell, Dark Blood #5 is the magic and the mystery of the Golden Age of Comics before busybodies ruined this outsider art form with the “Comics Code Authority (CCA) in 1954.

A.H.G.'s beautiful colors on Hidalgo's art makes this vintage mode (so to speak) feel so real.  I hope the upcoming final issue of Dark Blood also has a touch of escapist entertainment in it.  I also hope that it isn't the end...

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of modern science fiction and dark fantasy comic books will want to drink Dark Blood.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


Dark Blood trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzzXIYr_FrA&feature=youtu.be
Dark Blood first loook: https://www.boom-studios.com/wordpress/archives/dark-blood-1-first-look/
https://twitter.com/MorganicInk
https://twitter.com/WaltBarna
https://twitter.com/AHGColor
https://twitter.com/andworlddesign

https://twitter.com/boomstudios
https://www.boom-studios.com/wordpress/
https://www.facebook.com/BOOMStudiosComics
https://www.instagram.com/boom_studios/


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

------------

Amazon wants me to inform you that the affiliate link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the affiliate link below AND buy something(s).

#IReadsYou Review: DARK BLOOD #4

DARK BLOOD #4 (OF 6)
BOOM! STUDIOS

STORY: LaToya Morgan
ART:  Moisés Hidalgo
COLORS: A.H.G.
LETTERS:  Andworld Design
EDITOR: Dafna Pleban
COVER: Valentine De Landro
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Juni Ba; Valentine De Landro; Jonboy Meyers
24pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S. (October 2021)

Dark Blood created by LaToya Morgan

Dark Blood is a new six-issue comic book miniseries created and written by screenwriter LaToya Morgan (AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” “Into The Badlands”).  Published by BOOM! Studios, the series is drawn by Walt Barna and Moisés Hidalgo; colored by A.H.G.; and lettered by Andworld Design.  The series focuses on a Black World War II veteran who discovers that he has strange new abilities.

Alabama, 1955.  After leaving his job at the diner, “Hardy's Eats,” Avery Aldridge, also known as “Double A,” has a fateful encounter with a racist.  Double A is a highly decorated World War II soldier, a former fighter pilot, a member of the soon-to-be-legendary “Red Tails.”  He is expected to act like a boy … when he is actually a very powerful man.  But this is “The Night of the Variance,” and everything is going to start to change – even the things some don't want changed.

Dark Blood #4 opens in 1955 – the Night of the Variance.  Avery is on the run with Sheriff Wright closing in on him.  Avery is certain that the police have blamed him for an accidental death that occurred behind the diner where he works.  His younger brother, Theodore “Theo” Aldridge, is waiting for him, and li'l bro will be shocked by what Avery has to reveal.

Those revelations include what happened ten years ago in World War II – behind enemy lines – when Avery had an encounter with ... werewolves.  Can Avery clear his name and find out what's really happening to him?

THE LOWDOWN:  I thought that the term “Nazi werewolves” was merely some B-movie or cheap sci-fi/horror trope.  Though Pocket, the reading list service, I discovered Lorraine Boissoneault's article for Smithsonian Magazine that detailed the World War II guerrilla fighters referred to by that name.

In Dark Blood, television writer-producer LaToya Morgan (AMC's “TURN: Washington's Spies”) offers a comic book that flows through multiple genres, including science fiction and fantasy, horror, and history.  It is a reality-based drama that treads the borders of the fantastic the way Rod Serling did in his legendary TV series, “The Twilight Zone.”

On the other hand, Dark Blood #4 throws readers into the thrill of the hunt, as two similar kinds of human wolves hunt Avery, ten years apart.  In this way, Morgan reminds us that there are thrills, chills, and action flowing in Dark Blood.  Like EC Comics' famous war comics titles, Frontline Combat and Two-Fisted Tales, Dark Blood drops readers behind enemy lines into the treachery and menace of war.  In 1955, as Avery eludes his pursuers, fans may be reminded that there is nothing like the thrill of watching an unsuspecting person wander into the Twilight Zone and end up being hunted.

In Dark Blood #4, Moisés Hidalgo, who also drew issue #3, delivers the kind of comic book storytelling that will have readers burning through the pages, and rereading much of the it.  The naturalism of his illustrative style keeps the story from being constrained by time.  What happens is more important than when it happened, making the story feel timeless.  In a sense, what occurs in Dark Blood #4 is always an occurrence – to one person and another, at one time and another.

A.H.G.'s beautiful colors on Hidalgo's art brings forth the power of this story, and for me, it's like riding lightning through Avery's (mis)adventures.  As usual, Andworld Design's lettering throws gasoline on the fire.

So, dear readers, at least you who need a change from what you read every month, here it is.  Like Rodney Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander's Killadelphia (Image Comics), Dark Blood is the … new blood your imaginations need.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of modern science fiction and dark fantasy comic books will want to drink Dark Blood.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


Dark Blood trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzzXIYr_FrA&feature=youtu.be
Dark Blood first loook: https://www.boom-studios.com/wordpress/archives/dark-blood-1-first-look/
https://twitter.com/MorganicInk
https://twitter.com/WaltBarna
https://twitter.com/AHGColor
https://twitter.com/andworlddesign

https://twitter.com/boomstudios
https://www.boom-studios.com/wordpress/
https://www.facebook.com/BOOMStudiosComics
https://www.instagram.com/boom_studios/


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

------------------

Amazon wants me to inform you that the affiliate link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the affiliate link below AND buy something(s).

#IReadsYou Review: DARK BLOOD #3

DARK BLOOD #3 (OF 6)
BOOM! STUDIOS

STORY: LaToya Morgan
ART:  Moisés Hidalgo
COLORS: A.H.G.
LETTERS:  Andworld Design
EDITOR: Dafna Pleban
COVER: Valentine De Landro
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Juni Ba; Valentine De Landro; Christian Ward
24pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S. (September 2021)

Dark Blood created by LaToya Morgan

Dark Blood is a new six-issue comic book miniseries created and written by screenwriter LaToya Morgan (AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” “Into The Badlands”).  Published by BOOM! Studios, the series is drawn by Walt Barna and Moisés Hidalgo; colored by A.H.G.; and lettered by Andworld Design.  The series focuses on a Black World War II veteran who discovers that he has strange new abilities.

Alabama, 1955.  After leaving his job at the diner, “Hardy's Eats,” Avery Aldridge, also known as “Double A,” has a fateful encounter with a racist.  Double A is a highly decorated World War II soldier, a former fighter pilot, a member of the soon-to-be-legendary “Red Tails.”  He is expected to act like a boy … when he is actually a very powerful man.  But this is “The Night of the Variance,” and everything is going to start to change – even the things some don't want changed.

Dark Blood #3 opens in 1945, ten years before the Variance.  In Alabama, Emma Aldridge, Avery's wife, feels the penetrating eyes of a member of the local wolf pack, also known as a police officer, specifically Officer Wright.  Meanwhile, near the Austrian border, Avery and a fellow pilot race for safety with another kind of wolf pack, in the form of a Nazi commandant and his soldiers, nipping at their heels.

Ten years later, back in the present, it is the “Night of the Variance.”  Once again, Emma evades a wolf, while Avery runs away from one.  As he did a decade before, Avery will once again have to decide when he should stop running and turn around and start fighting.

THE LOWDOWN:  The indignities that Avery Aldridge suffers in Dark Blood #2 are familiar to me because I have experienced some of them and others were told to me via first hand or second hand accounts.  A theme that runs throughout Dark Blood, thus far, is the notion that Black people are often being hunted.  Sometimes, even being watched is a form of being hunted; the difference is that the hunter hunts with his stare or gaze.

Television writer-producer LaToya Morgan (AMC's “TURN: Washington's Spies”) offers in Dark Blood a comic book that flows through multiple genres, including science fiction and fantasy, horror, history, and reality-based drama, to name a few.  As a television writer, she knows how to deliver action, suspense, and thrills along with the character drama.  And Dark Blood #3 offers the thrill of the hunt.

This third issue finds husband and wife, Avery and Emma Aldridge, living and surviving on the razor's edge more than once, over two time periods.  It would not be inappropriate to compare this issue's hunters, Alabama law enforcement and Nazi military personnel to one another.  After all, one was the teacher of codified racism, and the other was the student.  [I'll let you, dear readers, figure out which was which.]

Morgan delivers Dark Blood's most taut thrills and fraught drama, thus far, and this time she has a different artist as her creative partner.  Moisés Hidalgo, who drew a few pages of Dark Blood #2, returns to draw Dark Blood #3's dark nights of pursuit to life.  Hidalgo's compositions seem inspired by the surreal madness of Steve Ditko's comics and also the impressionism and and wild-eyed emotions of Japanese manga.  Here, Hidalgo makes the reader feel, as if he refuses to allow the reader to experience Morgan's story only in a rational way.  His art wants us to be fearful, desperate, and even irrational.  While reading this issue, I believed that I had to feel this story if I was really going to have a chance of understanding the characters' plights.

Once again, I must praise A.H.G.'s coloring for Dark Blood.  I read comiXology's digital editions of Dark Blood when I am reviewing the series, and A.H.G.'s colors look gorgeous in this format.  The coloring makes Dark Blood's interiors look like pages from a vintage comic book, so Dark Blood seems to be not a comic book about the past, but a comic book from the past.  It is like a memento from a time capsule, a story that has been waiting for us.

Strangely, Dark Blood #3 confirms what I have been thinking since I started reading this series.  Dark Blood is the comic book that some comic book readers need and have needed for a long time, though some may only discover this later via a Dark Blood trade paperback.  So, once gain, I highly recommend Dark Blood.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of modern science fiction and dark fantasy comic books will want to drink Dark Blood.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


Dark Blood trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzzXIYr_FrA&feature=youtu.be
Dark Blood first loook: https://www.boom-studios.com/wordpress/archives/dark-blood-1-first-look/
https://twitter.com/MorganicInk
https://twitter.com/WaltBarna
https://twitter.com/AHGColor
https://twitter.com/andworlddesign

https://twitter.com/boomstudios
https://www.boom-studios.com/wordpress/
https://www.facebook.com/BOOMStudiosComics
https://www.instagram.com/boom_studios/


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

----------------------

Amazon wants me to inform you that the affiliate link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the affiliate link below AND buy something(s).

#IReadsYou: Review: DARK BLOOD #2

DARK BLOOD #2 (OF 6)
BOOM! STUDIOS

STORY: LaToya Morgan
ART: Walt Barna with Moisés Hidalgo (pp. 10-12, 19)
COLORS: A.H.G.
LETTERS: Andworld Design
EDITOR: Dafna Pleban
COVER: Valentine De Landro
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Juni Ba; Valentine De Landro; Taurin Clarke
24pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S.(August 2021)

Dark Blood created by LaToya Morgan

Dark Blood is a new six-issue comic book miniseries created and written by screenwriter LaToya Morgan (AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” “Into The Badlands”).  Published by BOOM! Studios, the series is drawn by Walt Barna; colored by A.H.G.; and lettered by Andworld Design.  The series focuses on a Black World War II veteran who discovers that he has strange new abilities.

Alabama, 1955.  After leaving his job at the diner, “Hardy's Eats,” Avery Aldridge, also known as “Double A,” has a fateful encounter with a racist.  Double A is a highly decorated World War II soldier, a former fighter pilot, a member of the soon-to-be-legendary “Red Tails.”  He is expected to act like a boy … when he is actually a very powerful man.  But this is “The Night of the Variance,” and everything is going to start to change – even the things some don't want changed.

Dark Blood #2 opens six months before the Variance and reflects that which occupies Avery's oft-troubled mind.  He thinks of his wife, Emma, and their daughter, Grace Emmadell.  We see his life in “Vale Junction,” a small Black community where everyone knows him and loves Emma's “Vale Junction Book Mobile.”  Even his wartime experiences, especially from a particular time in Austria, circa 1945, flits in and out of Avery's memories.

However, reality intrudes after an altercation leaves Avery hurt.  Dr. Carlisle, a white university doctor, is the unlikely bystander who steps in to help, offering Avery immediate first aid.  As luck … would have it, Dr. Carlisle also operates a clinic “right outside of town on the old Rickman Farm” where he offers free medical care.  But nothing is really free...

THE LOWDOWN:  The indignities that Avery Aldridge suffers in Dark Blood #2 are familiar to me because I have experienced some of them and others were told to me via first hand or second hand accounts.  I admire a writer who can take such things and transform them into drama.  When a writer takes reality and inflicts it on make-believe people in a way that hits the audience in the soft spots (the heart, the soul, the mind), that is some mighty powerful storytelling.

Television writer-producer LaToya Morgan (AMC's “TURN: Washington's Spies”) offers in Dark Blood a comic book that is both science fiction-fantasy/horror and historical or reality-based drama.  She makes the Jim Crow world in her corner of Alabama truly an awful place, but at the same time, she presents in Vale Junction a Black community permeated with love and possibilities.  And that was the world that Black Americans lived not that long ago.

There are times when Avery suffers the insults of White people, and I can feel the hoary ghost of Nat Turner scratching at every window of my soul.  A documentary film or a work of journalism in our world would take Avery's experiences and attempt to engage our intellect.  Great drama takes those same experiences and engages our soul and ensnares our imagination.  It is through such mighty and imaginative drama that Morgan makes Dark Blood work as serialized fiction, a kind of fantastic fiction born in our reality based histories.

By page design and panel composition, artist Walt Barna brings the compelling drama of Dark Blood #2 to life.  With each panel, he is like a photographer working the right angles and capturing the perfect moments as he builds this chapter/issue.  There are also some beautifully drawn pages by guest artist Moisés Hidalgo.  Of course, A.H.G.'s gorgeous colors shift with the winds of Avery's memories, as well as with the linear jooks of Morgan's narratives.  So I credit the colors with forcing me to pay attention to the graphics throughout Dark Blood, especially this second issue.

After reading the first issue, I thought that LaToya Morgan, Walt Barna, A.H.G., and Andworld Design were off to a most excellent start, offering something that had great promise.  Dark Blood #2 aggressively delivers on that great promise.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of modern science fiction and dark fantasy comic books will want to drink Dark Blood.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


Dark Blood trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzzXIYr_FrA&feature=youtu.be
Dark Blood first loook: https://www.boom-studios.com/wordpress/archives/dark-blood-1-first-look/
https://twitter.com/MorganicInk
https://twitter.com/WaltBarna
https://twitter.com/AHGColor
https://twitter.com/andworlddesign

https://twitter.com/boomstudios
https://www.boom-studios.com/wordpress/
https://www.facebook.com/BOOMStudiosComics
https://www.instagram.com/boom_studios/


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

-----------------

Amazon wants me to inform you that the affiliate link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the affiliate link below AND buy something(s).

#IReadsYou Review: DARK BLOOD #1

DARK BLOOD #1 (OF 6)
BOOM! STUDIOS

STORY: LaToya Morgan
ART:  Walt Barna
COLORS: A.H.G.
LETTERS:  Andworld Design
EDITOR: Dafna Pleban
COVER: Valentine De Landro
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Juni Ba; Dan Mora; Valentine De Landro; Marcus Williams; Javan Jordan; Mico Suayan; Felix Icarus Morales with Robert Nugent; David Sanchez with Omi Remalante; Karen S. Darboe; Ingrid Gala; Marco Rudy
24pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S.(July 2021)

Dark Blood created by LaToya Morgan

Dark Blood is a new six-issue comic book miniseries created and written by screenwriter LaToya Morgan (AMC’s "The Walking Dead," "Into The Badlands").  Published by BOOM! Studios, the series is drawn by Walt Barna; colored by A.H.G.; and lettered by Andworld Design.  The series focuses on an Black World War II veteran who discovers that he has strange new abilities.

Dark Blood #1 opens in Alabama, 1955.  It's night.  Avery Aldridge, also known as “Double A,” is leaving his job at the diner, “Hardy's Eats.”  In the alley, he has a fateful encounter with a racist.  Double A is a highly decorated World War II soldier, a former fighter pilot, a member of the soon-to-be-legendary “Red Tails.”  He is expected to act like a boy … when he is actually a very powerful, grown-ass man.  But this is “The Night of the Variance,” and everything is going to start to change – even the things some don't want changed.

THE LOWDOWN:  As I much as I love the original Star Wars movies and a number of classic Walt Disney animated features (Peter Pan), my all-time favorite movie moment occurs in 1967's In the Heat of the Night.  Involuntarily assigned to a homicide case in Sparta Mississippi, Philadelphia police detective Virgil Tibbs (played by Sidney Poitier) is interviewing a suspect, a local and powerful rich white man named Endicott (Larry Gates), when Endicott slaps him in the face.  Tibbs slaps him right back.  The first time I saw Tibbs slap Endicott, it took my breath away … and it still does.

Television writer-producer LaToya Morgan (AMC's "TURN: Washington's Spies") offers a sci-fi/horror spin on Tibbs' slap as the spine of the first issue of her new comic book, Dark Blood.  This time, the confrontation is longer, and Avery Aldridge's response is made a bit more complicated, partly because he seems unstuck in time.  Morgan does everything to tell her readers a lot by whetting their appetites for more, because they don't know the half of it, and she makes that “it” intriguing.

For all that I am intrigued by Dark Blood #1's story and concept, this first issue is also a showcase for the art team of illustrator Walt Barna and colorist A.H.G.  Barna's compositions are some of the most convincing period art that I have seen in a modern comic book in years.  Barna's Alabama, 1955 looks so “old-timey” that I could believe that it is something Barna drew at least half-a-century ago.  Barna's aerial sequences depicting Aldridge's time as a Red Tail reminds me of the comic book art one might find in EC Comics' legendary war comic book, Aces High (1955).

A.H.G.'s colors are gorgeous and also from a time machine.  If I didn't know better, I would say he hand-colored this comic book and manually separated those colors in a back office at a NYC-based comic book publisher – in days gone by.  Seriously, his colors shimmer, but are also earthy, and they make the storytelling's time periods look and feel authentic.

And I always enjoy Andworld Design's lettering, which is always stylish in a way that brings immediacy and power to the drama.  So LaToya Morgan, Walt Barna, A.H.G., and Andworld Design are off to a most excellent start, and Dark Blood #1 sparkles with promise.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of modern science fiction and dark fantasy comic books will want to drink Dark Blood.

A

★★★★+ out of 4 stars

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


Dark Blood trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzzXIYr_FrA&feature=youtu.be
Dark Blood first loook: https://www.boom-studios.com/wordpress/archives/dark-blood-1-first-look/
https://twitter.com/MorganicInk
https://twitter.com/WaltBarna
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I Reads You Juniors: March 2022 - Update #95

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon.

NEWS:

MARVEL - From GamesRadar:  In "The Amazing Spider-Man #93," Spider-Man gets a mysterious new enemy, "Chasm."

EN MEMORIAM - From BleedingCool:  The British comic book artist, Garry Leach, has died at the age of 67, Saturday, March 26, 2022.  He is best known for reviving "Marvelman" with Alan Moore for "Warrior," the magazine published by Dez Skinn's Quality Communications.  With Dave Elliot, Leach started Atomeka Press, best known for the comic book anthology, "A1."

From 2000AD:  The website for "2000AD," the magazine for which Garry Leach made his debut, has put up a tribute page for him.

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MARVEL STUDIOS - From BleedingCool:  According to James Gunn, his Disney+ special, "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special," will introduce "more than one great new MCU character."

MANGA - From BleedingCool:  Yen Press announces 9 new manga and prose titles due for September 2022.

MARVEL STUDIOS - From BleedingCool:   "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" star, Simu Liu, will not sign "Master of Kung-Fu" comic books.

DC CINEMA - From Variety:  Director Matt Reeves released a deleted scene from his superhero film, "The Batman," featuring Robert Pattinson’s Batman facing off against his classic nemesis, the Joker, played by Barry Keoghan.

BRITISH COMICS - From BleedingCool: Rebellion has announced "Judge Dredd by Mick McMahon Apex Edition."  It will collect the artist's Judge Dredd stories, published in their original size in a deluxe limited edition.

DC TV - From THR:  Actor Misha Collins ("Castiel" on The CW's "Supernatural") has been cast as "Harvey Dent" in The CW pilot for "Gotham Knights," based on the DC Comics characters.

IDW PUBLISHING - From GamesRadar:   IDW is collecting Berkeley Breathed's Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper comic stip, "Bloom County," in a new edition.  "Bloom County Library: Book One" is scheduled to arrive Fall 2022.

DC TV - From THR:  The CW network (which is up for sale) has given an early renewal to seven of its scripted dramas, including "Flash" and "Superman & Lois."

MARVEL - From GamesRadar:  The site has a first look at "Legion of X #1," which is due from Marvel April 20th. The series is written by Si Spurrier and drawn by Jan Bazaldua.

DC TV - From Deadline:  Actors Fallon Smythe and Tyler DiChiara have joined The CW's pilot for the DC Comics-based series, "Gotham Knight."

MANGA - From BleedingCool:  Titan Comics will launch its "Titan Manga" line with a new edition of "Afro Samurai Vol. 1" by Takashi Okazaki, on June 26th, 2022.

RUMORS /MARVEL STUDIOS - From ScreenGeek:  A hot rumor is that "Wolverine" will appear in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," but he will not be played by Hugh Jackman, the actor who portrayed the character in Fox's "X-Men" films.

DIGITAL COMICS - From GamesRadar:  "Zestworld," a new digital publishing platform, wants to help comic book writers and artists with creating and maintaining comic book intellectual property.

DC CINEMA - From BleedingCool:  Comedian George Lopez, Academy Award nominee Adriana Barraza, Elpidia Carrillo, and Damián Alcázar joined the cast of Warner Bros.' "Blue Beetle" film, its first starring a Latino character.

MARVEL - From GamesRadar:  Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson team up for "Captain America #0" and then movie on to their respective "Captain America" titles. "Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty" features Steve Rogers, and "Captain America: Symbol of Truth" returns Sam Wilson to the mantle of Captain America alongside Steve.

MANGA TO ANIME - From BleedingCool:  In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Cartoon Network's "Toonami," a new image from the anime adaptation of Junji Ito's legendary manga, "Uzumaki."

MARK MILLAR - From BleedingCool:  Mark Millar announces "The Magic Order 3" with Italian artist Gigi Cavenago, with the first issue due in July.

DC COMICS - From Variety:  Actor Paul Dano, who played the "Riddler" in the current hit, "The Batman," will write the comic book, "Riddler: Year One."

DC TV - From DCBlog:  Showrunner Robert Patino talks about his new streaming series, HBO Max's "DMZ," based on the Vertigo comic book series.

DC CINEMA - From Deadline:  "The Batman" crosses the 500 million dollar mark in global box office.

SONY MARVEL U - From Deadline:  Sydney Sweeney of HBO's "Euphoria" is joining Sony Pictures Marvel Comics character film, "Madame Web."

DC CINEMA - From Deadline:  The mega-hit film, "The Batman," is due to stream on HBO Max on Tuesday, April 19th ... maybe.

SONY MARVEL U - From Variety:  "Morbius" star Jared Leto has made the cover of "Variety" magazine.

MARVEL - From GamesRadar:  "X-Men: Hellfire Gala #1" is supposed to radically change the Marvel Universe. This comic book ships in June.

DC COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Writer G. Willow Wilson and artist Marcio Takara will launch a new "Poison Ivy" comic book this year.

BOOM STUDIOS - From BleedingCool:  Former comic book artist, J. Scott Campbell, will provide a variant cover for the first issue of writer Dan Panosian and artist Giorgio Spalleta's "Alice Ever After" comic book from BOOM! Studios.

DC COMICS - From GamesRadar:  "Flashpoint Beyond #0" will arrive April 5th, but readers can read the first five pages in all DC Comics titles released on March 29th and April 5th.

MARVEL STUDIOS - From GamesRadar:  Samuel Jackson may have let it slip that Martin Freeman will reprise his role as CIA agent "Everett Ross" in the Disney+ series, "Secret Invasion."

SONY MARVEL U - From GamesRadar:  Jared Leto is starring as Marvel character, "Morbius," and he'd like the vampire to cross over with Tom Holland's "Spider-Man."

DC CINEMA - From GamesRadar:  The Batman's secret website, "Rataalada" has a cryptic message teasing the Joker.

DC COMICS - From DCBlog:   Writer Christopher Priest and artist Rafa Sandoval will help DC Comics launch its new "Black Adam" comic book series. "Black Adam #1" arrives Tues., June 21st.

MARVEL - From GamesRadar:  Jessica Jones will return in "The Variants," a new "multiversal" series from Marvel Comics and written by Gail Simone and drawn by Phil Noto.

DARK HORSE TV - From Deadline:  Netflix has given "The Umbrella Academy" Season 3 a teaser, first photos, and a release date (Wed., June 22nd).

DC VIDEO - From DCBlog:  In a video interview, writer James Tynion IV talks about his horror comic book, "The Nice House on the Lake."

MANGA TO TV - From TheWrap:  Netflix rounds out the cast of its "One Piece" adaptation with six more cast members.

MANGA - From BookRiot: "The Evolution of the Magical Girl in Manga and Anime" by Emily Martin.

MARVEL - From GamesRadar:  Marvel Comics is reprinting Neil Gamain and Mark Buckingham's first six issue of "Miracleman" in "Miracleman: The Golden Age Vol. 1."

DC TV - From Deadline:  HBO Max has ordered a miniseries, "The Penguin," based on the villain from "The Batman." Colin Farrell will reprise his role from the film as the character.

DC CINEMA - From WeGotThisCovered:  The DC Comics film, "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" has a new release date.  It is moving from Summer 2023 to Dec. 16, 2022 - the same day as "Avatar 2."

From WeGotThisCovered:  The DC Comics film, "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" is moving its release date from Dec. 16, 2022 to March 17, 2023.

From WeGotThisCovered:  DC Comics films are changing release dates:  "DC League of Superpets" moves to July 29, 2022, and "Black Adam" moves to October 21, 2022.

SONY MARVEL U - From Deadline:  Actor Christopher Abbot ("Catch-22") has joined Sony Pictures' Marvel Comics character movie, "Kraven the Hunter," as the film's main villain, "The Foreigner."

DARK HORSE - From THR:  Filmmaker and sometime comic book writer, Kevin Smith, is launching a line of comic books via Dark Horse Comics.  Called "Secret Stash Press," some of the titles will feature characters from some of Smith's films.

THE BATMAN - THR:  "The Batman" opens with an estimated gross of $128.5 million to win the 3/4 to 3/6/2022 weekend box office.

From Here:  I Reads You's (and "Negromancer) review of "The Batman."

From DCBlog:  The DC Comics blog rounds up the "Easter eggs" in "The Batman."

From Variety:  "The Batman" director Matt Reeves says that actor Colin Farrell was NOT supposed to be so unrecognizable as "Penguin."

From Variety:  "The Batman" director Matt Reeves says that ending in Arkham Asylum does not mean that HE will be in the sequel...

From Deadline:  "The Batman" looks at a $250+ million dollar debut at the worldwide box office.

From Variety:  "The Batman" director Matt Reeves could not attend the film's world premiere at Lincoln Center in New York because he tested positive for COVID-19.

From Variety:  "How ‘The Batman’ Director Matt Reeves Made a $200 Million Bet on Robert Pattinson’s Darker Knight,"

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DC CINEMA - From ScreenRant:   Warner Bros. president Toby Emmerich says that the strength of DC Comics movies like "The Batman" lies in their filmmaker-driven approach.

MARVEL/TRAILERS - From GamesRadar:  The Zeb Wells-John Romita, Jr. relaunch, "The Amazing Spider-Man #1," has a trailer.

DARK HORSE - From BleedingCool:  Dark Horse Comics will publish the autobiography of "Watchmen" artist, Dave Gibbons, entitled "Dave Gibbons' Confabulation: An Anecdotal Autobiograhy."  Written by Gibbons and Tim Pilcher, the book will also contain Gibbons' side of his break-up with "Watchmen" co-creator Alan Moore.

BOOM STUDIOS - From PreviewsWorld:  The site interviews television writer-producer LaToya Morgan ("The Walking Dead") about her fantastic comic book miniseries, "Dark Blood."

COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Ablaze announces two new titles from the Pacific Rim.  There is the Korean Webtoon, "Heavenly Demon Reborn!" and the "Shonen Jump" title, "BLITZ."

COMICS - BleedingCool:  AMC Networks has started its own comic book division, MC Networks Publishing.  Metallica guitarist, Kirk Hammett, will be writing one of the debut titles.

SONY MARVEL U - From Deadline:  Hot off her historic win at the 2022 SAG Awards, actress Ariana DeBose has joined the cast of Sony Picture's "Kraven the Hunter" film as the Marvel Comics' character, "Calypso," a voodoo priestess.

BRITISH COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Alan Moore and Ian Gibson's "The Ballad of Halo Jones" is comprised of three books. Rebellion will collect them in an omnibus edition due in January 2023.

COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Lunar Distribution will also distribute titles from Vault Comics, beginning May 2022.  However, Vault will continue its relationship with Diamond Comic Distributors.

MANGA - From ComicBook:  "Fire Force" and "Soul Eater" creator, Atsushi Ohkubo, might not be retiring after all.

THE BATMAN:

From IndieWire:  "The Batman" star Robert Pattinson says that "The Batman" is a "sad movie" and that Bruce Wayne is a "weirdo."

From Variety:  Robert Pattinson guarantees comic book movie fans will know Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” is unlike any other Batman movie ever made as soon as they see the opening shot.

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FEBRUARY 2022 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:

From BleedingCool:  Ablaze for February 2022

From BleedingCool:  AfterShock Comics for February 2022

From BleedingCool:  Ahoy Comics for February 2022

From BleedingCool:  Antarctic Press for February 2022

From BleedingCool:  Archie Comics for February 2022

From BleedingCool:  AWA for February 2022

From BleedingCool:  BOOM! Studios for February 2022

From BleedingCool:  Dark Horse Comics for February 2022

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics for February 2022

From BleedingCool:  Dynamite Entertainment for February 2022

From BleedingCool:  Heavy Metal for February 2022

From BleedingCool:  Hero Collector for February 2022

From BleedingCool:  IDW Publishing for February 2022

From BleedingCool:  Image Comics for February 2022

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics for February 2022

From BleedingCool:  Oni Press for February 2022

From BleedingCool:  Rebellion for February 2022

From BleedingCool:  Red 5 Comics for February 2022

From BleedingCool:  Scout Comics for February 2022

From BleedingCool:  Titan Comics for Feburary 2022

From BleedingCool:  Valiant Comics for February 2022

From BleedingCool:  Vault Comics for February 2022

MARCH 2022 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:

From BleedingCool:  Aardvark-Vanaheim for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  Ablaze for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  AfterShock Comics for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  Ahoy Comics for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  Antarctic Press for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  Archie Comics for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  Behemoth Comics for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  Black Mask for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  BOOM! Studios for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  Dark Horse Comics for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  Dynamite Entertainment for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  Heavy Metal for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  Hero Collector for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  Humanoids for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  IDW Publishing for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  Image Comics for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  Kodansha Comics for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  Mad Cave Studios for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  Oni Press for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  Rebellion for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  Scout Comics for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  Titan Comics for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  TOKYOPOP for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  Vertical Comics for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  VIZ Media for March 2022

From BleedingCool:  Yen Press for March 2022

 

APRIL 2022 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:

From BleedingCool:  Ablaze for April 2022

From BleedingCool:  AfterShock Comics for 2022

From BleedingCool:  Ahoy Comics for April 2022

From BleedingCool:  Antarctic Press for April 2022

From BleedingCool:  Archie Comics for April 2022

From BleedingCool:  Aardvark Vanaheim for April 2022

From BleedingCool:  AWA Studios for April 2022

From BleedingCool:  Behemoth Comics for April 2022

From BleedingCool:  BOOM Studios for April 2022

From BleedingCool:  Dark Horse Comics for April 2022

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics for April 2022

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics Batman's "Shadow War Crossover" for April 2022

From BleedingCool:  Dynamite Entertainment for April 2022

From BleedingCool:  IDW Publishing for April 2022

From BleedingCool:  Image Comics for April 2022

From GamesRadar:   Marvel Comics for April 2022

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics' "Star Wars" for April 2022

From BleedingCool:  Oni Press for April 2022

From BleedingCool:  Rebellion for April 2022

From BleedingCool:  Red 5 Comics for April 2022

From BleedingCool:  Scout Comics for April 2022

From BleedingCool:  Source Point Press for April 2022

From BleedingCool:  Titan Comics for April 2022

From BleedingCool:  Valiant Entertainment for April 2022

From BleedingCool:  Vault Comics for April 2022

MAY 2022 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:

From BleedingCool:  Ablaze for May 2022

From BleedingCool:  Action Lab Entertainment for May 2022

From BleedingCool:  AfterShock Comics for May 2022

From BleedingCool:  Archie Comics for May 2022

From BleedingCool:  AWA Upshot for May 2022

From BleedingCool:  Behemoth Comics for May 2022

From BleedingCool:  BOOM! Studios for May 2022

From BleedingCool:  Dark Horse Comics for May 2022

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics for May 2022

From BleedingCool:  Dynamite Entertainment for May 2022

From BleedingCool:  IDW Publishing for May 2022

From BleedingCool:  Image Comics for May 2022

From BleedingCool:  Kodansha Comics for May 2022

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics "Hulk Vs Thor: Banner of War" for May 2022

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics "X-Men" solicitations for May 2022

From BleedingCool:  Oni Press for May2022

From BleedingCool:  Opus Comics for May 2022

From BleedingCool:  Rebellion for May 2022

From BleedingCool:  Titan Comics for May 2022

From BleedingCool:  Scout Comics for May 2022

From BleedingCool:  Seven Seas Entertainment for May 2022

From BleedingCool:  Valiant Comics for May 2022

From BleedingCool:  Vault Comics for May 2022

From BleedingCool:  VIZ Media for May 2022

From BleedingCool:  Yen Press for May 2022

From BleedingCool:  Z2 Comics for May 2022

JUNE 2022 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:

From BleedingCool:  Ahoy Comics for June 2022

From BleedingCool:  Archie Comics for June 2022

From BleedingCool:  Behemoth Comics for June 2022

From BleedingCool:  BOOM! Studios for June 2022

From BleedingCool:  Dark Horse Comics for June 2022

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics for June 2022

From BleedingCool:  Dynamite Entertainment for June 2022

From BleedingCool:  Hero Collector DC Comics Graphic Novels for June 2022

From BleedingCool:  IDW Publishing for June 2022

From BleedingCool:  Image Comics for June 2022

From BleedingCool:  Kodansha Comics for June 2022

From BleedingCool:  Mad Cave Studios for June 2022

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics for June 2022

From BleedingCool:  Marvel "Banner of War" for June 2022

From BleedingCool:  Marvel "X-Men" for June 2022 

From BleedingCool:  Oni Press for June 2022

From BleedingCool:  Opus Comics for June 2022

From BleedingCool:  Vault Comics for June 2022

From BleedingCool:  Vertical Comics for June 2022

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