New Comic - Dominique Laveau: Voodoo Child #1

Happy New Comics Day, y'all! I picked up the usual favorites at my local shop earlier today, and also grabbed myself a copy of the all new Dominique Laveau: Voodoo Child #1, published by Vertigo.  As you may have noticed, I'm a sucker for all things NOLA, so this new title was right up my alley. After reading this first issue, I'd say it gave me the taste of New Orleans I craved, while making for an entertaining read. The story is a typical one: young heroine thinks she'll lead a normal life until all goes wrong in her town and she discovers she's at the center of the chaos - forced to fight for her life and chosen to save her home. Very Buffy the Vampire Slayer, without the humor. But several aspects of the comic made it special for me.

The first issue carries us through several beautiful and distinct locations of New Orleans - from Treme to Louis Armstrong park to St. Louis Cemetery to the Garden District - taking me back down memory lane to that magical and haunting city.

Even more special was the lyrical narrative woven throughout the comic by writer Selwyn Seyfu Hinds. He describes it best in his own words in the "On the Ledge" note written at the end of the comic: "I wanted to find a narrative style that captured the thematic richness of New Orleans music, the pain and the joy, as well as the structural aspects of the town's songwriting, particularly with regard to jazz - the steady reprise of a verse structure, the improvisational flights of a solo." He surely succeeded, as the narrative adds the flavor and rhythm necessary to make Dominique Laveau a true New Orleans ballad.

Finally, I was instantly struck by the mystic beauty of the cover created by Raphael Grampa (above). It is simply gorgeous and shouts out to art nouveau, which I adore. I'm certainly looking forward to future covers by Grampa - check them out and other artwork by Grampa here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rafaelgrampa/

I leave you with more on NOLA from the pen of Hinds, also from "On the Ledge": "New Orleans swings... hard. Music and struggle code its DNA. It's as if the Fates were constantly running the city through some kind of cosmic balance meter. Sure you can birth Louie Armstrong and jazz itself; now here's a Yellow Fever outbreak to go with that. Man, that Mardi Gras and Essence Music Festival seem like too much fun, so how's about a murder rate high enough to make you weep? This is a city where you take your laughter with a side of tears and try to keep dancing the whole while."

Dominique Laveau: Voodoo Child #1 is written by Selwyn Seyfu Hinds with art by Denys Cowan, and inks by John Floyd. Created by Hinds and Cowan.