Drawing Blood is written by David Avallone (Bettie Page) and Kevin Eastman (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), illustrated by Ben Bishop (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), colored by Brittany Peer (Slam!), and lettered by Taylor Esposito (Constantine).
The story follows Shane Bookman aka Book. He is a successful comic book publisher, cartoonist, and is on his way to being a successful Broadway producer.
Okay, so I’m embellishing a bit. I should say that Book was a successful etc…etc..etc. So what happens when you have “early success” but that success is now dead? Book is now in his 40’s. He has recently discovered through a tragic event that all the money he thought he had no longer exists.
And, I’m not talking chump change. I am talking millions of dollars. Just. Gone. The worst part of it all? Book is also discovering some unsavory things about his once partner’s business endeavors. Like, how he took money from a loan shark. And, like, how that loan shark now wants paid in full.
There are so many small details in this comic that I have to talk about. There are a few scenes that stick us straight into Book’s head, and the distinctive art really makes these scences pop. Of course every character needs an origin and we get to see what inspired Book to become a cartoonist and publisher in a creative flashback that was illustrated by Kevin Eastman. There’s even some interesting hallucinations that we get to witness through Book’s eyes illustrated by Troy Little. There’s just so many small touches that help bring this story to life.
And, as always Eastman and Avallone nail it with character dialect. I can hear accents in my head. I can feel the sarcasm coming off the page. I legit feel worry for Book when shit goes down. And, I can damn near smell the dumpster in the alley with how well Avallone and Eastman write together and sets scenes.
Overall Drawing Blood is one of the most original comics with a distinctive style that I’ve ever read.
Rating: 8/10
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