Stephanie Phillips and Goran Sudzuka are headed down south to Florida — where you can beat the heat if you beat the charges too — for a new series from BOOM! Studios. Red Before Black “is a violent, hyper kinetic, women-led Florida crime thriller”that begins in August.
“For me, Florida is like that relative that you make fun of but become defensive about the minute you hear someone else making fun of them. I grew up there…I’ve been chased by water moccasins, had to call someone about alligator removals, thrown more than one hurricane party, and dressed like a pirate for the annual invasion of Tampa’s bay,” Phillips said. “There is truly no better place I could think of to set Red Before Black–a weird crime story with an even weirder setting. Val and Leo might be our main characters, but Florida is ever present and Goran truly draws the s*** outta this curious place that will forever feel like home for me, no matter where I live.”
Based on the cover and the preview pages, “Red Before Black” seems to be a reference to the old rhyme about coral snakes and the milksnake, one of which is deadly poisonous and the other isn’t. The way my dad shared it was “Red and yellow, kill a fellow. Red and black, friend of Jack,” but I understand there are multiple variations. Also, I prefer the advice to just leave snakes alone no matter what they look like.
It sounds like Val, the main character of Red Before Black, maybe should follow that advice, too:
A disgraced army veteran, Val, arrives in everyone’s favorite state: Florida. Her goal? Hunt down an infamous drug runner named Leo. But soon she finds that the pair have an unexpected enemy in common, turning the time-honored game of cat and mouse into something far more sinister!
Here’s a look inside the first issue:
And here are Cliff Chiang and Dave Johnson’s variant covers for the first issue:
Look for it in stores on Aug. 7.