Noir is the New Black

by Various

Overview

40 Black Creators. 16 Noir stories.

Unhinged. Unfiltered. Unstoppable... This is NOIR IS THE NEW BLACK!

There certainly have been many Noir Comics written and drawn by black creators in the past. Now, for the first time, the most revered Black American comic book creators (David F. Walker, Brandon Thomas, MD Bright, Melody Cooper, N.Steven Harris, Gary Phillips,...) as well as a new generation of writers and artists of color are banding together for a unique anthology of 100% creator-owned Black Noir comic stories!

This new edition includes one new story: The Circuit by TC Harris and David Brame, as well as a behind the scenes bonus section featuring black and white art.

Brandon Thomas (Excellence)
Gary Phillips
Greg Burnham (Tuskegee Heirs)
Brandon Easton (Judge Dredd)
Melody Cooper (OMNI)
Tyrone Finch (Swine, Major Ursa)
Mark MD Bright
Marcus Williams (Tuskegee Heirs)
MD Marie (Vindication)
Nick Allen
TC Harris
Don Walker (Agent: Wild)
Hannibal Tabu (Artifacts)
Greg A. Elysee (Is'Nana: The Were Spider)
N.Steven Harris (Michael Cray)
Christelle “TeeNa” Roche (Rodham Willows)
Deron Bennett
Mervyn McKoy
Erika Hardison
Dorphise Jean
Vlad Alexis
David Brame
Karen S. Darboe
Guile
Eric Van Elsande
Dietrich Smith
David Walker
Pat Masioni
Paris Alleyne
Quinn McGowan
Roxxy Haze
Eli Johnson
Toyin Ajetunmobi
Jackson GodWin
Todd Harris
Robin L.Davis

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780999276631
Publisher:	Fairsquare Comics Llc
Publication date:	09/14/2021
Pages:	148
Sales rank:	1,075,691
Product dimensions:	10.20(w) x 6.60(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	16 Years

Editorial Reviews

LIBRARY JOURNAL — Curated by editors Sapolsky (Spider-Man Noir) and Harris (RetrEoN Media Alliance blog), these 16 stories serve up cynical characters facing love, work, and relationships gone sour, as well as other 1930s-era scenarios through Afrofuturism. A current-day detective reunites with a previous lover through time-traveling to the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre; a 1980s Little Rock, AR police officer confirms his kid sister’s conspiracy ravings; a World War II veteran avenges a lynched friend; entertainer Josephine Baker, heading off to speak at the 1963 March on Washington, defies a threat against her; a heroin-fueled pulp fiction writer gets a finale he could have written himself. Running only six-to-eight pages, each story resolves with a twist while whetting appetites for more. The realistic color art is all very good or excellent. However, a prose selection and a concluding preview-excerpt need work. VERDICT The expert plotting that packs so much into each vignette can be breathtaking, while the skillful incorporation of historical injustices adds moral depth. This title will easily draw in mystery/crime readers looking to feed their fix.


PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (STARRED) — A new genre is forged in this crowdfunded anthology, which applies the moral shading of crime noir to cover injustices faced by African Americans. Editors Harris and Sapolsky (Spider-Man Noir) bring together 16 electric, challenging pieces from writers including Melody Cooper, Brandon Thomas, and David Walker, with art from Mark Bright, N. Steven Harris, and others. Wisecracking adventurers, jaded gumshoes, and climatic cliffhangers populate many revenge fantasies. “Vera's List” and “Ousley” offer blazing period pulp action while “Gemini Visions” builds a suspenseful whodunit in modern Baltimore. Both “The Black Constable” and “Southern Hospitality” lay out searing historical thrillers with enslaved rebels and a racist hierarchy in colonial Jamaica, and a barroom shoot-out between a WWII veteran and the KKK in 1940s Alabama. “C.A.N.O.P.Y.” and “Igbo Landing” project noir into the future with soldiers fighting viruses, conspiracies, and violent hatred in imagined civilizations. Dimly lit panels busy with stylized rogues and red-hot ferocity elevate the art, along with varied character appearances. Featuring tried-and-true cartoonists and indie discoveries, this anthology will leave readers longing for a second volume.





BOOK RIOT — This collection absolutely and completely blew me away. I had planned to talk about which of the entries were my favorite, but I can't because I'd end up listing 3/4 of the table of contents. Some of the stories herein are based on the traditional noir mold. Some start that way and end up in a place you would never expect. There are several LGBTQIA+ focused tales, a couple of which grabbed my heart and really dug in (one also happens one to be a ghost story, the other a family crime saga). History. Politics. Sex. Goat heads. Sex and goat heads. A little bit of everything really and all of it impeccably written, gorgeously illustrated, and immaculately organized into a hell of a book. I've read a lot of comics and a lot of comics anthologies and I have to say Noir is the New Black is probably my new all-time #1. I scarfed it down in one sitting which I don't have time to do very often these days so when I make time it's pretty telling vis a vis the relationship I'm having with the book that's in my hands at that moment. As a collection it's sharp, smart, and unafraid. So get thee forth.

From the Publisher

12/03/2021

Curated by editors Sapolsky (Spider-Man Noir) and Harris (RetrEoN Media Alliance blog), these 16 stories serve up cynical characters facing love, work, and relationships gone sour, as well as other 1930s-era scenarios through Afrofuturism. A current-day detective reunites with a previous lover through time-traveling to the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre; a 1980s Little Rock, AR police officer confirms his kid sister's conspiracy ravings; a World War II veteran avenges a lynched friend; entertainer Josephine Baker, heading off to speak at the 1963 March on Washington, defies a threat against her; a heroin-fueled pulp fiction writer gets a finale he could have written himself. Running only six-to-eight pages, each story resolves with a twist while whetting appetites for more. The realistic color art is all very good or excellent. However, a prose selection and a concluding preview-excerpt need work. VERDICT The expert plotting that packs so much into each vignette can be breathtaking, while the skillful incorporation of historical injustices adds moral depth. This title will easily draw in mystery/crime readers looking to feed their fix.

Library Journal