Dead Body Road #3

By Justin Jordan, Matteo Scalera & Moreno Dinisio

It’s been great reading Dead Body Road and seeing what seemed like a usual revenge and heist crime story evolve into one hell of a thrilling ride. With this week’s release of issue three we get some more background on our main character Orson Gage, from a surprising source. Even though the criminal bank robbers Gage is after recruit some more muscle, it’s Gage’s unlikely new partnership that had turned this issue into a rollercoaster ride.

Orson is just trying to get revenge on the criminals who murdered his wife during a bank robbery. Unfortunately for him, not only will this be harder than he expected but this whole scenario is proving to be more complex for everyone involved. This issue of Dead Body Road picks up on the intense cliffhanger the previous issue left on. Although it looked like both Gage and Rachel were in quite a pickle, things aren’t always what they seem when loads of money is on the line. You got to hand it to Justin Jordan; he is really putting some of his best work out in the form of Dead Body Road. He seems to have a really good grasp on the gritty crime story. Sometimes when telling a grounded heist story a lot of nuance can be lost in the shuffle but that isn’t the case with Dead Body Road. Jordan’s style of writing has made this series flow incredibly well while still keeping the reader engaged on the edge of their seat while taking in every page.

There has been a resurgence of great comic writers in the past few years. However, it seems 2014 is bringing us back to the age when artists begin taking over the charge. One of the most recent stands out artistic talents is Matteo Scalera. As an artist Scalera has such a unique style that you can tell is his from just a glance, but it’s how versatile he is with his style that really makes him stand out. Currently, Dead Body Road and Black Science are his most popular work on the shelves and those two series couldn’t be any more different. His dirty style of art paired with Moreno Dinisio’s dusty colors really brings this desert crime story off the page and into your face. The thing that sticks out, particularly in this issue of Dead Body Road, is the violence. It’s a series called Dead Body Road; it’s going to be violent. It’s the way the art team handles that violence that makes it seem real, which in turn makes in more engaging and palatable.

I feel sorry for anyone who looked passed or dismissed Dead Body Road because this series is shaping up to be something really special. There has been a real lack of well done modern age crime fiction in comics lately, so it’s great to see a series out there hitting all the marks and hooking us readers into the story. Mind you, this is only the third issue, but it seems the tables turn in every issue of Dead Body Road. No matter how satisfied you are with the presently released issue, readers are excited to see what happens in the next one.