I Reads You Review: DREAD AND ALIVE #4

DREAD & ALIVE #4

ZOOLOOK, LLC

CREATOR/WRITER/STORYBOARDS: Nicholas Da Silva

ARTIST: Allan Jefferson
COLORS: Giovanna Guimaraes
TRANSLATOR: Ryan Fraser
COVER: Rodney Buchemi
24pp, Color

Dread & Alive is the first superhero comic book with a Jamaican as the protagonist. This new comic book series is created and written by Nicholas Da Silva. The other thing that is unusual about Dread & Alive is that each issue of the series comes with a music compilation. Essentially a soundtrack to a comic book, the music is meant to accompany the reading of the comic book. Readers can listen to tracks from reggae stars such as Lady Saw, Bunny Ruggs, and I Octane.

The hero of Dread & Alive is Drew McIntosh, the roaring Lion – half man/half animal and protector of the animal world (an eco-warrior, of sorts). Drew’s powers come from the Maroon Medallion, a sacred amulet created by the Jamaican Maroons (a group of runaway slaves and their descendants). Drew’s stomping ground is San Francisco, particular the Haight-Ashbury district where he makes his home.

In Dread & Alive #4, Drew and his love interest, Brandy Savage, get the lowdown on international animal poaching from Casey Forrester, an investigative reporter who focuses on environmental issues. Forrester has been targeted by Gryphon, a world renowned hunter and poacher, for assassination. In fact, Drew, as the roaring Lion, saved Casey from one of those attempts.

That battle between Drew and Gryphon captured the attention of the San Francisco PD. Now, two officers, Paz and Williams, are investigating San Fran’s new vigilante and getting closer to Drew. Meanwhile, the powerful shape shifter and Obeah man, ShadowCatcher, is stalking Brandy.

Dread & Alive reminds me of 1970s Marvel Comics titles like Marvel Chillers (featuring Tigra) and Vampire Tales (with Blade) – dark, moody, character-driven soap operas. Even as the writer, creator Nicholas Da Silva is quite visual in his storytelling. His attention to detail concerning motivations – all the characters’ motivations – can slow the story down a bit, but that will make the reader pay attention. If every character matters, the reader cannot dismiss anyone because he will never know from where the next surprise is coming.

Allan Jefferson (who is apparently replacing former series artist, Rodney Buchemi) has good storytelling skills, and his design style is from the Neal Adams school. I think he will serve Dread & Alive quite well. There is room for improvement on all fronts, but this is already a good comic book.

You can find a good overview of the series at Comic Vine.

Purchase CD and Comic Books here.

Dread and Alive #4 music compilation album on iTunes.

Album on Amazon.com.

I Reads You Review: DREAD & ALIVE #3

DREAD & ALIVE #3

ZOOLOOK, LLC

CREATOR/WRITER/STORYBOARDS: Nicholas Da Silva

PENCILS: Rodney Buchemi
INKS: Eber Ferriera
COLORS: Giovanna Guimaraes and Mike Kelleher
TRANSLATOR: Ryan Fraser

According to the creator and publisher, Dread & Alive is the first superhero comic book with a Jamaican as the protagonist. This new comic book series is created and written by Nicholas Da Silva. There is something else unusual about Dread & Alive besides the Jamaican hero. Each issue of the series comes with a music compilation, essentially a soundtrack. This is a “musical journey” that is meant to accompany the reading of the comic book. Readers can listen to tracks from reggae stars such as Lady Saw, Bunny Ruggs, and I Octane.

The hero of Dread & Alive is Drew McIntosh, the roaring Lion – half man/half animal and protector of the animal world (an eco-warrior, of sorts). Drew derives his powers from a sacred amulet, the Maroon Medallion, created by the Jamaican Maroons (a group of runaway slaves and their descendants). His stomping ground is San Francisco, particular the Haight-Ashbury district, where he makes his home.

In Dread & Alive #3, two adversaries join forces. Hugo Harley, a major player in the black market for exotic animals, and ShadowCatcher, a powerful shape shifter, cautiously feel each other out about their mutual problems. Meanwhile, the San Francisco PD continues its investigation into Drew’s activities, although they know nothing about Drew specifically. Drew’s mentor, Cudjoe, warns him against underestimating ShadowCatcher.

Before I could really get into this comic book, I had to do some research to learn more about the characters and the story up to this point (as I hadn’t read the first two issues). Still, I enjoyed Dread & Alive #3 because I recognized some elements and also enjoyed the newness and novelty of it. It reminds me of Marvel superhero comic books of the 1970s and early 80s, more urban, earthy, and soap opera than colorful and fantastic like earlier Silver Age comic books. What makes this different (the novelty and the newness) is that the superhero is a strapping black guy wearing Dreadlocks, and he doesn’t have a superhero name (yet).

The problem that I see with the series, concerning the pacing of the story, is that it reads like a chapter in a larger graphic novel. The story seems more decompressed that it needs to be. Personally, I’d like to see more self-contained issues this early in a new comic book, especially in an indie title trying to get readers’ attentions. Still Dread & Alive is different, without seeming contrived. There is an air of mystery about it, indeed, something magical that will make me come back to it again.

You can find a good overview of the series at Comic Vine.

You can purchase CD and Comic Books at the following link.

The Dread and Alive #3 Music Compilation is available at iTunes via the following link.

The album is available at Amazon.com through this link.