I’m always looking for new graphic novels to read! I love discovering new stories in different formats. After seeing The Damned being advertised on Netgalley, I read the description and it sounded like something that I had never read before, so I decided to give it a go!

During the prohibition era, gangsters grew rich on our vices, and rivalries between criminal organizations resulted in open war. But unknown to the masses, a more sinister power controlled the crime cartels, using greed, gluttony, lust and other sins to fuel a much more lucrative trade: mortal souls.

The long-standing feud between two of the families is about the come to an end thanks to a brokered deal to consolidate power. But before things can be finalized, the bookkeeper tasked to brokering the deal is kidnapped along with a ledger that could spell doom for all the families. Hoping to find the missing bookkeeper before the deal falls apart, Big Al pulls Eddie’s corpse out of a ditch and puts him on the case. Now Eddie, cursed and unable to rest, finds himself caught up in the middle of a sinister web of kidnapping, murder and damnation.

Like I said before, I’m always looking for new graphic novels to read, and honestly? I’m really glad that I requested this off of Netgalley. I know that you’re probably thinking ‘well, she only gave it 3 stars, so why is she glad she requested it?’ Well… there were a lot of mixed reviews on Goodreads about this graphic novel. A lot of people loved it, a lot of people found it boring, a lot of people were sat on the fence with it. I’m one of the people that are sat on the fence. The story has an alright concept:  two very influential crime bosses that fight for power during the prohibition era; both crime bosses are demons so their commodity is souls. Wrap all of that up in a blanket of normal crime noir, and you have The Damned.

Once I had finished the volume, I was actually quite confused as to who was who and what was actually going on, so I started reading the second volume straight away so that I didn’t lose momentum on the story and could get some idea of what was going on. There is definitely some vestige of 1920s gangster films and a grungy, urban underworld. There is mystery and the supernatural which added a good twist to it and it’s very fast-paced.

The artwork really made this graphic novel. The colour scheme is mainly black to represent the dark undertones of the story, and I also love how the art style changes when Eddie dies and he goes to ‘the other place’.

Overall, this wasn’t a groundbreaking graphic novel, and it was confusing, but I’m interested to see where it goes and I want to learn more about this peculiar world.

Disclaimer: this book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review