Get Black and Blue

Black and Blue, a graphic novel by Diami Virgilio and Mark Cage, is a coming of age story set cross roads of the streets of the Bronx and the Las Vegas Octagon of Mixed Martial Arts.

The story begins in Las Vegas with the two fighters engaged bloody hand to hand combat.  I have read all four chapters.  It is all combat.  There is Violence, Mystery and Sex in just about every page of this book.  Mark Cage has chosen to illustrate this book in manner the way a prison artist, a detention junkie, an addict slacker or street derelict would giving the story authenticity and legitimacy.

I am not going to spoil this book.  I do recommend that you read it and buy it.  And here's why.  Diami Virgilio's writing is very good.  He understands the Aristotelian dramatic structure handed down to us from the ancients and practiced to this day by the likes of JJ Abrams and the boys.

Diami Virgilio does not write to be politically correct.  He writes to be real describing what it's like to grow up in the Section 8 world of the Bronx and yes, it does suck.  But he writes from the heart too.  Our hero gets punched in the heart - not from a physical body blow, but one of those punches from the meanest MMA fighters called LIFE.  But Diami Virgilio also does something at the end of each chapter that make you want to know the rest of this story.  He throws in twist that is like reacting to a baby with a live hand grenade.  You want to know what happens next.

As I mentioned, Mark Cage's illustrations are authentic to the street and the first four frames of Chapter Three were in my opinion the best.  He does some things in Chapter One that are clever.  His style is solid though I do think the characters sometimes look similar at least in the beginning they do.  I do wish the framing particularly in the fight scenes were more creative.  I understand that Mr. Cage was a London MMA fighter.  So I am looking forward to more installments.

This is a really good book.  It's cheap.  The first chapter is free.  The next three chapters are a buck a piece.  Check it out it is an insight into the mind of Diami Vigrilio and into the soul of Mark Cage.

For more information
http://www.mmacomic.com/index.html
Social Media:
https://twitter.com/MarkBlackBlue
https://twitter.com/BLACK_and_BLUE