Kennel Block Blues (2016) #1

Kennel Block Blues 1

Prison comics are, often from Boom!, now a thing. Ryan Ferrier and Daniel Bayliss’s Kennel Block Blues is an animal kennel–a cross-species animal kennel–as a prison. It’s one of those books I sort of wish I’d see from Vertigo. Well, Vertigo a few years ago. Something media-friendly without being prepackaged for other media. It’s mainstream pop culture, but the more erudite varieties.

It’s also excellent.

Ferrier’s protagonist, whose name I don’t remember–Buddy, maybe–is freshly incarcerated. He’s the entry point. Through him, we meet the other canine inmates–the cats are the dominate species in Blues. There’s male and female inmates together. Not even a thought, presumably because they’re all spayed and neutered.

There’s funny pet stuff, there’s depressingly bleak prison stuff. Ferrier’s got the right tone and he’s got the right artist. Bayliss has been kicking around for a while and Blues has his work the tightest I’ve seen it. He gets to be busy but still restrained, still focused on moving the story forward.

Knowing Ferrier, the ride will be rocky but rewarding–or maybe he’s got a better plot line this series. Blues is a confident, assured comic. The creators, the editors. It’s deservedly slick. Ferrier’s gotten to be a writer I look forward to reading. And Boom!’s brand comes with some built-in respect these days.

Kennel Block Blues 1 (February 2016)

Kennel Block Blues #1 Prison comics are, often from Boom!, now a thing. Ryan Ferrier and Daniel Bayliss’s Kennel Block Blues is an animal kennel–a cross-species animal kennel–as a prison. It’s one of those books I sort of wish I’d see from Vertigo. Well, Vertigo a few years ago. Something media-friendly without being prepackaged for other media. It’s mainstream pop culture, but the more erudite varieties.

It’s also excellent.

CREDITS

Writer, Ryan Ferrier; artist, Daniel Bayliss; colorist, Adam Metcalfe; letterer, Colin Bell; editors, Mary Gunport and Eric Harburn; publisher, Image Comics.

Batman: The Deal (November 2013)

Batman: The Deal Thanks to the Internet, unofficial, fan-made productions can get a lot of exposure. Why people haven’t been doing more unofficial superhero comics is beyond me. It makes great senses but you don’t hear about many.

I read about The Deal because of the artist, Daniel Bayliss, and tracked down the comic. Bayliss uses a finer line, Paul Pope type style. The story is just Batman and the Joker and he doesn’t do either of their faces well, but the movement of the bodies is fantastic. The detailed scenery is awesome.

As for Gerardo Preciado’s script… it’s predictable. Except maybe the lengthy quote at the end, which is a good quote, but doesn’t belong. Preciado tries to work out the problems between Batman and the Joker and flubs it. He goes way too far, way too obvious.

But the absurdity gives Bayliss the chance to show off his compositional skills.

CREDITS

Writer, Gerardo Preciado; artist, Daniel Bayliss; publisher, Moonhead Press.

Translucid 1 (April 2014)

Translucid #1 I'm confused, did the world really need an exceptionally pretentious superhero comic without anything to say? Because writers Chondra Echert and Claudio Sanchez don't do much so far with Translucid except lay out a superhero versus supervillain and, oh, if they aren't just alter egos (or at least one of them thinks they are). It's like Batman and the Joker… or not. Maybe Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus? No, not really.

It's actually a lot like Baphomet and Batman because Daniel Bayliss's design for the villain is a knight's chess piece and the two look similar. The less said about the hero's design, the better.

But everything else Bayliss does in the comic is fantastic. Even the bad designs are rendered well. Echert and Sanchez aren't going for a lot of realism, but they get it with Bayliss.

So does the world need the series? No. But yes to Bayliss's art.

CREDITS

Wild Horses; writers, Chondra Echert and Claudio Sanchez; artist, Daniel Bayliss; letterer, Ed Dukeshire; editors, Jasmine Amiri and Ian Brill; publisher, Boom! Studios.