Radical Comics sent me the first issue of Driver of the Dead. It’s an interesting story about vodoo magic, dead people, and scaly creatures set in the deep south; New Orleans to be exact.

The story is about Alabaster Graves, and as the title suggests, he is the Driver of the Dead. He is hired to drive dead bodies from the funeral homes to their final resting place. His specialty is keeping the voodoo magicians, and sorcerers away from the dead bodies.

The story starts with a character named Mose Freeman, a Morgan Freeman look-alike. Anyhow, Freeman is a voodoo specialist hired to help rid people of evil magic spells. He comes to a family in need, their boy is cursed, and has been sick for days. Freeman tries to rid the boy of the spell, but when a serpent-looking creature comes out from the boy’s mouth, Freeman gets bit. Freeman didn’t survive, and this is where Alabaster Graves comes in.

Freeman requested to his clients, that if he’s ever killed, to call Alabaster Graves for safe transport of his body.

The comic book was written by John Hefferman, whom was also responsible for Snakes on a Plane. Hence, the monster that killed Freeman, looked like a giant snake. The story is interesting, and it kept me wondering where it would go next. According to the cover, this is 1 of 3. But, the possibilities seems endless in how Hefferman wrote the first issue.

I like the background setting. New Orleans is always an interesting place, rich in history and culture, it is a perfect place for supersition-based stories. I would recommend this comic to fans of vampires, voodoos, scaly creatures; and a bad-ass tormented hearse driver.

Grade: A-

Release Date: 7/28/2010

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