I named an island in my D&D campaign after Frank J. Barbiere. I was creating it around the time that his Five Ghosts series, with artist Chris Mooneyham, hit the high seas for a storyline, and since the island had pirates on it, “Barbiere” made a fun name and actually fit really well. Now I’m thinking I need to add a town on it called “Santos” run by two thieves who fell for each other.
Why, you ask? (Or even if you didn’t, because you aren’t one of the three other people in the universe who cares about my D&D adventures …) Because Frank J. Barbiere and Victor Santos (Polar) are teaming up for a brand-new comic, Violent Love. The main characters, Daisy Jane and Rock Bradley, are two of the most notorious bank robbers in the American Southwest — and then they fell in love.
“Violent Love is a dream project for me in a lot of ways. First and foremost, I think Victor is one of the most talented graphic storytellers around, and it’s an honor to be collaborating with him and have him as my co-creator on Violent Love,” Barbiere said in the press release. “I’m also thrilled to be back at Image where I launched my career in comics. I’m a big fan of crime in comics, and I think it’s very important to find something new and interesting to say within the genre. With Violent Love, we’re bringing a unique style, story structure, and romantic angle to crime comics—we can’t wait for you to fall in love with these characters and see where our story goes.”
Barbiere and Santos released a “comic trailer” for the book, which is pretty fun:
“My first work in the U.S. was at Image—a graphic novel titled Zombee,” Santos said in the release. “This was ten years ago, Image was different but promising. Later I worked on Mice Templar for almost five years. I am proud of how Image has been linked to my career, always giving me the chance to develop personal projects. Now with Violent Love, I am a more experienced artist and can again work with a close collaborator—a talented writer and a good friend—on the kind of stories I love to do and read. This book has the big words: Romance, Crime, Violence, Betrayal and Love. I’m sure you’ll fall in love with this couple of rebel souls.”
They’re working with designer Dylan Todd on the ongoing series, which launches in November. Check out the first issue’s two covers below:
