The Damned: Volume 1: Three Days Dead
by Cullen Bunn, Brian Hurtt
$14.99
Oni Press
July 17, 2007
144 pages

Today’s Friday Fright Feature is The Damned: Volume 1 by Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt, and I thought I would continue things on the supernatural crime front as it’s rare to find books like this that just blend two distinct genres so well. I’ve mentioned several times in reviews for other books how much I love William Hjortsberg’s rare classic, Falling Angel, made into a great film in 1987 called Angel Heart and it’s with good reason, as it’s one of the few books that succeeds not only in blending the supernatural with a mobster/crime story, but also with delivering a story with punch and an impact that stays long after you’ve read it–in other words, not just a cool shoot-em-up type of book with no character development whatsoever, or worse, character development that’s tacked on, which is the way I feel many “mob meets supernatural” books are. But I’m happy to say that The Damned is an epic read and it really jumps off the page. It would work well as a novel and all the elements are there in the comic book to make it work as a novel (good dialogue, plot, pacing, characterization, etc) but the best medium for this story really is the comic book, and it really is like watching a great mobster film.

I think one of the main reasons why The Damned is so cool and works on so many levels for me as a reader is because of the interplay between the supernatural elements and the gangster/mob story, and they’re intertwined–in other words, it’s not just a straight mob story or a Godfather ripoff with a few paranormal things added in for the sake of adding them in. Both elements, the mob and the paranormal, are essential to moving the story forward and are enmeshed within each other so that one can’t make sense without the other, which is the way it should be.

Here’s the official description of the book from Amazon:

During the prohibition era, gangsters grew rich on our vices, and rivalries between criminal organizations resulted in open war. But unknown to the masses, a more sinister power controlled the crime cartels, using greed, gluttony, lust and other sins to fuel a much more lucrative trade: mortal souls. The long-standing feud between two of the families is about the come to an end thanks to a brokered deal to consolidate power. But before things can be finalized, the bookkeeper tasked to brokering the deal is kidnapped along with a ledger that could spell doom for all the families. Hoping to find the missing bookkeeper before the deal falls apart, Big Al pulls Eddie’s corpse out of a ditch and puts him on the case. Now Eddie, cursed and unable to rest, finds himself caught up in the middle of a sinister web of kidnapping, murder and damnation.

I’ve also heard that there are plans to give The Damned the silver screen treatment and get an adaptation going; if done right and with the right director/actors, it could be as epic as Fight Club.

I think it’s a shame that more people haven’t heard of this graphic novel series, and if you’re a fan of mobster stories but not so much of the comic book format, this is one of those comics that features such a compelling story you’ll get over the format; it transcends format Buy your copy today, or click on here for more information and reviews. Besides, who doesn’t love the juxtaposition of gangsters with demons?