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Dry Foot Vol 1
Dry Foot Volume 1 is a comic book trade paperback collecting Dry Foot issue #1 – #4. It’s about a heist set in 1980s Miami that goes south when secrets between 4 friends are kept hidden. It’s written by Jarred Lujan, art by Orlando Caicedo, colouring by Warnia K Sahadewa, and lettering by Justin Birch.
Synopsis: Set in Miami during its most dangerous and decadent decade, the 1980s, this coming-of-age tale follows four teens desperate to escape the drugs and violence of the city. Together, they plot a heist to steal large sums of cash from the most dangerous gang on Calle Ocho, Los Marielitos. Dry Foot is a fearless story infused with hispanic culture that deals with friendship, family, and sacrifice.
Dry Foot Vol 1 is Published by Mad Cave Studios and will be released on February 24, 2021.
The Dry Foot Story
The hallmark and attraction of Dry Foot is 4 Hispanic teens stuck in 1980s Miami. The need and want to move onto a better life is firmly ingrained in the DNA of the 4 youths by the end of Issue 1. The 4 of them plan to do this by stealing from the most dangerous gang on Calle Ocho, Los Marielitos.
What follows in the remaining three issues are some of the most arduous trials that will fall upon any group of friends. Secrets come out, family honor is laid bare and treachery comes bubbling to the surface. Though, not in the way you’d come to expect.
Dry Foot is a heist story unlike any other you’ve read before. Writer Jarred Lujan makes doubly sure of that. While the early pages of this trade paperback seem to play into unwanted stereotypes about Hispanic culture, these same stereotypes quickly disperse to reveal a well rounded set of four protagonists weighed down by the heavy burdens of adolescence, family and their culture. Lujan’s characters are well-liked for their faults, sensational for their weaknesses and agonising as they tug on your heart strings. It’s clear Lujan has tapped into his own cultural experiences to create a well grounded tale of fiction. A tale that’s thoroughly enjoyable from the first right through to the last.
The Dry Foot Art
The 80s Art Deco throughout Dry Foot is absolutely provocative. Artist Orlando Caicedo takes you on a stroll down memory lane. Complete with the thrills and spills that the 1980s dished out on a regular basis. With the turn of each page you can feel like you’re back in the era of Madonna and Guns N Roses.
This is brought further to life thanks to Warnia K Sahadewa’s playful palette of 80s wash colours. A palette that screams bright, bold, anti-authoritarian and somehow fashionable all at once. Sahadewa has an amazing understanding about separating the 80s nostalgia from the campy. That much is clear.
Dry Foot Conclusion
Dry Foot is a 1980s action packed heist where everything that can go wrong does go wrong. Though it’s a comic book filled with gangs, guns, and brawls – the real action lies in the discovery of friendships and secrets.
There’s an element of ‘coming of age’ story telling which Jarred Lujan doesn’t shy away from. A perfect juxtaposition to the perceived danger when the 4 protagonists are all but run out of down by the most dangerous of Miami gangs.
Dry Foot is the heist you didn’t know you wanted and the Hispanic ode to the 1980s that Comic Books have been begging for. Though it’s hard for a white Australian to emphasise the importance a comic like this would have to young Hispanics, I can still feel the positive influence and representation with the turn of each page.
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