Is the California sheen just a cover for the criminal underworld, or is there a deeper ‘lair’?
The 1940s were the hope and the beginning of a new era of American dominance on the world stage, but the “war years” have nothing on the allure and promise of Los Angeles. The all-new series, Blood on Sunset #1, written by visionary newcomer Mark D’Anna with art by Arjuna Susini (Made Men), colors by Vittorio Astone (Canto) and letters by Andworld, explores the darker side of Los Angeles tinged with the bloody undercurrent of organized crime…and then some.
It’s June 20th, 1947. Former cop Clint Braddock is drinking at a bar on Sunset Boulevard when he gets a call from his ex-girlfriend, Beverly. Bugsy Siegel’s just been murdered, and she found the body. She’s terrified and needs his help. Fast. Braddock arrives to find the aftermath of a violent, sadistic murder. Not your typical mob hit. It almost looks like the work of…Eaters.
Amidst the carnage, Braddock finds evidence that someone may be trying to pin the murder on him. Braddock is part Eater, and he’s spent years keeping his true nature hidden. But it looks like someone knows what he is, and is using it to implicate him in the biggest crime to hit Los Angeles in decades. Now, the seat of power in the criminal underworld is up for grabs, and rumors of a Vampire crime syndicate emerging as major players look disturbingly plausible. As Braddock is pulled deeper into the hunt for Siegel’s killer, he’ll find he’s either the ideal ally for the Vampire cause, or the perfect weapon to stop it. It all depends on where his loyalties lie.
“I grew up in Los Angeles and have always been fascinated with this city’s history, which can be glamorous, beautiful, tragic, and incredibly violent, all at once,” said writer Mark D’Anna. “Years ago, I read a book called L.A. Noir by John Buntin, which laid out that darker side of L.A.’s history with organized crime in remarkable detail. I immediately knew I needed to bring that world to life in comics, and put my own horror spin on those classic noir tropes while paying homage to my hometown, and so, Blood on Sunset was born—
We’ve put a ton of research into the book, pulled hundreds of reference photos, and learned everything we could about the major players in the L.A. criminal underworld. Then we built our wild world of vampires, deception, greed, and murder around it. The amount of painstaking detail Arjuna Susini put into every panel still has me in awe. For someone who lives thousands of miles away from Los Angeles, he perfectly captured the soul of the city, and brought our world to life in a way I never imagined possible.”
“I loved immersing myself in this story because it is a really interesting period of American history,” said artist Arjuna Susini. “I have always loved historical reconstructions that refer to the recent history of the 20th century, in comics but also in cinema. While I was working on this project, I thought about films like Once Upon a Time in America—how all around that period were the great names in American organized crime despite the light of progress in the U.S. The shadows of violence created this horror mood, and the end-result, a very unique comic.”
Blood on Sunset #1 is out from Source Point Press December 29, 2021.
About Post Author
