Dead Body Road: Bad Blood #1: We’re Back… Again! (TPB in stores now!)

Editor’s note: In honor of the trade paperback collection of Dead Body Road: Bad Blood hitting shelves this week, we’re re-presenting our review for its first issue. Also, if you’d like to hear our interview with writer/creator Justin Jordan on The Comic Watchers Show, feel free to check it out here. Enjoy!

Justin Jordan is no stranger when it comes to penning a great story about a vigilante executing their own brand of justice. Jordan has a great knack for melding together elements that make up a great story that is not only compelling but keeps the reader engaged panel to panel. The story itself has really good pacing and the timing of introducing characters can be compared to that of a conductor leading an orchestra. The ingredients for great noir are all here– mystery, violence, and revenge will definitely have Dead Body Road: Bad Blood at the top of your reading list.

Bree Hale is a great character in the making. She leaves a life of crime, does a stint in the military, and comes back home in hopes of living out her new way of life without incident. Unfortunately, that doesn’t last too long. The dialogue that drives this book is sharp with a direct path that doesn’t tell all but teases just enough mystery and intrigue to keep the reader hungry for more as they turn the page. For instance, upon meeting Bree (who is part Dalton from Roadhouse and part Sara Connor from Terminator) we are introduced to a character with a checkered past but get an overall sense of her undying loyalty to her family. She has a take no shit attitude, however, and knows when to press the “big sister” button when one of her patrons has had too much and refuses to give them their car keys. She is a character you can get behind right out of the gate and you find yourself cheering her on when she breaking bones and taking names.

Benjamin Tiesma’s art is more icing on an already awesomely flavored caked. The way his art comes through the action sequences is absolute brilliance and up in your face. His character work and the attention he put into facial features is just as intense as the words put down by Justin Jordan. The ability to not show all your cards in the first issue with the main character is a talent that I think is sometimes taken for granted in comics, especially with crime stories such as this one. Justin Jordan knows how to play his hand and with the opening issue of the latest installment of Dead Body Road, we can only imagine what he is holding for the issues to come.

Dead Body Road: Bad Blood #1 is just a stellar example of how to start a crime series. Filled with realistic dialogue while leaving room at the podium for the art to tell its own story, you will be hard-pressed to find a more honest, humble, and badass story. Do not miss out on Dead Body Road: Bad Blood.