David Doub at ComicSpace

Order Dusk HERE

ABOUT DUSK — As a battered wife, Eve's only concern was to keep her marriage together. But when she is kidnapped into the sordid supernatural world of vampires and foul magic, Eve finds she doesn't want to leave. Her mysterious benefactor, the Vampire Lord Ash, wishes her to have a normal life but Eve chooses to stay in the service of Ash. Dusk is the stories about Eve and her challenges living in the darkness.

CLASSIFICATION: "Dusk is a supernatural action/drama story done in a dynamic blending of the sequential art styles of American Comics and Japanese Manga. Several artists help tell these stark noir tales of Vampires and Unrequited Love.

FORMAT/INFO: "Dusk " is 100 pages long and is the first book in the saga of Eve & lord Ash the Vampire. The graphic novel is published by Dusk Comics. The second chapter in the Dusk saga, will be hopefully released next year.

ANALYSIS: Dusk was self-published by David Doub and was released on 9^th March 2009. The book contains the tale of Eve a mortal female who though is unfettered, chooses to be beholden to the Vampire Ash. The entire graphic novel is broken down into 4 chapters which showcase Eve at various different time periods and places dealing with various situations.

I received the copy of Dusk after we received a review query & I was intrigued enough by it to give it a try. Of the four chapters, the first two are drawn by Maki Naro, the third by Jerry Gonzales & the last one by Franc Czuba. The stories are all written by David himself. There's also an alternate cover drawn by Franc Czuba which is visually stunning!

The story line in the four chapters isn't a linear one, the first one gives us the opening salvo in the life of Eve and her association with Ash. It deals with issues of newly created vampires and the trouble in dealing with one who has gone rogue. The second story gives us a rather short background onto Eve and how she acquired her recent role. It shows us how Eve came onto her recent lodgings, therein the life she has chosen and how much Ash means to her. The third story might be in the future or in the past, it's not specified and shows a rather different side about what Ash and his group are trying to do after all. It gives us a nice view into the world created by Doub and primarily shows us what motivates Lord Ash. The last one I believe is a rather strong tale which shows us shades of "Carrie" however has quite a twist in it which shows the limits to which Eve can go to complete her job & what she believes in! I liked this story the best and the artwork was one which really stood out amongst all of the 4 short stories.

One can easily gauge the enthusiasm and the work put together in these tales by its creator. I for one like this tale of vampires and the single mortal who walks amongst them. The world is created as are the characters now the only thing left is for the dance to begin. I really liked this tale about Eve and the role she plays in the Dusk saga. The world and back story are hardly touched upon in the first book but enough is told to give the reader a taste of things to come. David Doub has done his best and it shows in the variety of the nature of the stories. I would have liked to read a bit more about the nature of the world and the relationship between Ash and Eve however since this is an opening salvo such deficits can be overlooked and with the 2^nd volume hopefully more of these issues will be catered to.

CONCLUSION: I liked the story and character of this graphic novel and though it has its faults being a debut book. It has enough juice in the plot to hook the reader and make them anxious to read about Eve and Ash in the next book of the series. The artwork is a definitely plus in 3 of 4 stories. Plus with it being discerningly priced at$10, it really seems like a steal.

AUTHOR/ARTIST BIOS:

David Doub currently lives in Denton, Texas. He has had a long fascination with vampire stories and lore and has been disappointed with how vampires are currently viewed in Pop Culture (as a Hollywood Action Star basically). His main objective is to just tell good solid vampire stories that deal with the traditional vampire concepts of damnation, redemption, temptation, and sensuality. Dusk is his primary labor of love & dedication to the story he believes in!

Maki Naro is the artist of the first two stories in Dusk. He has been illustrating freelance since 2004, working on a wide variety of projects ranging from comic books to tattoo designs. His comic edge was honed on a childhood full of Calvin and Hobbes and the non-restrictive curriculum at Alfred University allowed him to dabble in ceramics, electronic media, animation, and metal sculpture

Jerry Gonsales is currently situated in Austin, Texas. He grew up reading comics and graphic novels and also has worked at a comic shop for nearly two years. His favorite artists are Frank Cho (Liberty Meadows), Alan Davis (Miracleman,), Adam Kurbet (Batman), Alex Ross (Kingdom Come), and Ben Dunn (Ninja High School). His main inspiration have always been Fred Perry, Jim Lee (Batman, X-Men), and George Perez. Read an interview with Jerry Gonsales HERE.

Franc Czuba is a self-taught artist, who frequently loves to adapt and better his drawing skills. He lives in Pennsylvania and has worked upon various other comic projects such as Shamrock: Origins and a web comic titled Jack & Jill. Read an interview with Franc Czuba HERE.