‘BLACK [AF]: Devil’s Dye’ TPB (review)

Written by Vita Ayala
Art by Liana Kangas
Based on The Universe Created by
Kwanza Osajyefo, Tim Smith 3,
Jamal Igle, Khary Randolph
Published by Black Mask

The BLACK universe asks the question, “What if only Black people had superpowers?”

It came online after a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign, and has continued to grow. Writer and creator Kwanza Osajyefo has explored several corners of this world with BLACK AF: America’s Sweetheart, Widows and Orphans, and the latest mini-installment, Devil’s Dye.

This foray was led by a completely new creative team. It was written by Vita Ayala (Osajyefo plotted the story), illustrated by Liana Kangas, and has a stunning cover by Maika Sozo. But the cover, story, and art never completely coalesce.

Each separate piece is interesting in its own right, but to make a coherent installment more work needed to be done in bringing it all together.

The story begins with a drug score, a new high called VANTA.

It’s amazing for regular people, but for empowered Black folks it causes a total and violent loss of control. As the government is constantly trying to find them, The Project sends Indigo to investigate, teaming up with Kareem and former Detective Ellen Waters.

There is some great banter between them as Kareem is a little brother foil to the sisterly bond between Waters and an increasingly emotional Indigo. It’s not the VANTA, but a specific name from her past – Dr. Blank – that summons an almost uncontrollable rage. The following arc of Indigo going back and working through her trauma to process clues as to this mysterious figure’s role in her life is deftly handled, and fits naturally into the story line.

Ayala is excellent at channeling the soul of the BLACK series, weaving racial and gender-role commentary into the fantastical storyline.

But the art style used by Kangas is distracting to such a detailed story.

Several times I found myself re-reading the text because it did not seem to match what I was seeing. In comparison, the cover art is sharp and interesting but also has no bearing on the story whatsoever. It is almost like each creative was only given part of the brief.

Hopefully, as this is a new team they will find their rhythm. The series has been picked up for a possible feature film by Studio 8, and more should come in print before it hits the big screen.