Gabriel: The Bloody Edition

Gabriel: The Bloody Edition is a 130-page, standard size, B&W, (photo manipulated) graphic novel with red splash color and extra full-color art pages. Created and written by Jaime “Jimmy” Portillo and published by Jimmy Daze Comics. This is an updated version of the original Gabriel graphic novel and contains new pages, dialogue, lettering, a pinup gallery, and splash color by Johnny Segura.

The title character, Gabriel, returns to his home town of El Paso after being away for a few years. He visits some of his old haunts and finds some things have changed but most remain the same under the scorching west Texas sun. Then, an unexpected encounter with an attractive stranger leaves Gabriel transformed and lusting for blood. What follows are a series of events that tie into the recent brutal history of the area and Gabriel and the citizens of El Paso’s sister city Juárez will never be the same again!

This graphic novel deviates from traditional comics storytelling by replacing the expected drawn and inked panels with photos. Jimmy composes each page with a series of grainy black and white photos of actors/models he has staged in appropriate settings to communicate the action of each scene. The graininess of the images establish a somber undertone while splatters of red punctuate the violence in some of the pictures and drive home the savagery of the story. All of the characters are well developed and the motivations and desires of a few are explored as the story unfolds. The use, placement, and style of word balloons and narration boxes are handled skillfully. Many times it’s the dialogue captured in text that detracts from photo comics, but not this time. Jimmy manages to incorporate the text artfully into the pages making Gabriel: The Bloody Edition not only look good but inviting to read!

You can brave the heat and join the horror of Gabriel: The Blood Edition in the desert at Jimmy Daze Comics - http://bit.ly/X4Fa5c

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