'Black Opus Vol 1'

Dog Star Comics, 2010, 32 pages (this digital edition)

Written by Donnie Lee

Illustrated by R. E. Brown, Howard Daniels

Black Opus Vol. 1 is a collection of four grimly dark and surreal episodes with a classic sequential introduction marking a "ride on the slipstream of thought before the moment of transcendence". Or as it is so eloquently put in the introduction: "Soul gathering with a little rock n’ roll".

Rain (Wash My Love) - A distraught, jilted man wanders the dark, inner-city struggling with his broken relationship. He is sparked into a fury of anger and passion. In his momentary insanity, he murders… He's chased through the streets where he meets his transcendence at the barrel of a police revolver.

Prince of the Universe - Dedicated with respect to the memory of Freddie Mercury. A ghost of a man at his dying moment rides a river of thought back into his life. He explores his accomplishments, his failures and his cowardice. He’s a man, once a demigod, but now faces his own humanity and mortality.

The Kiss - A failed artist inflicted with drug addiction and insecurity rebels against the ideal of society. His last act is to create the masterpiece that has eluded him. In his slide to the underside of his consciousness, his masterpiece is his own blood.

The Flying Boy - A story of innocents, idealism and isolation. A boy's dreams and fantasies isolate him from his peers. His dreams of soaring on wings and breathing air never before breathed are granted to him.