Bellaire, del Rey’s ‘Redlands’ offers deep-fried witchy noir

Image conjures up the new title in August.

Originally announced at the Emerald City Comicon, Image Comics has released more information about Redlands by Jordie Bellaire and artist Vanesa R. del Rey.

Redlands is my sick, weird love letter to Stephen King, Florida and Riot Grrrls everywhere but ultimately, hate mail for everything else,” Bellaire said in a press release. “Inspired by the strange complexities of real world politics and crime, the characters of Redlands play victim and villain, attempting to understand themselves and others, through murder, magic and mayhem.”

Redlands is the name of the book and the town where it is set — Redlands, Florida, which seems to have a bit of a witch problem, as they decide to take over for the local law enforcement. “The witches are impatient, tired, hungry women who have been around an awfully long time and are simply sick of the patriarchy’s s—,” Bellaire told Entertainment Weekly back when the book was announced. “Since the witches in our story have been around for so long, they know the best way to maintain absolute control is to take a job in government. Taking the job of the police is the best way to keep Redlands under their thumb. Finally being in a position of power and responsibility, things slowly change for them. They suddenly have loving relationships and see each other as family, real family. Balancing control and fraternity is going to force them into awkward situations.”

“The world of Redlands was brewed in darkness, it is murky waters, it is a gloomy day in the humidity of the mangroves,” del Rey said in the release. “There is ferocity in this land, it is savagery that goes deep noir. The stories that develop in this world are as intricate as the etched lines that depict them.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.