Red Before Black #1 Review

 

Writer: Stephanie Phillips

Artist: Goran Sudžuka

Colorist: Ive Svorcina

Letterer: Tom Napolitano

Cover Artists: Goran Sudžuka & Ive Svorcina; Dave Johnson; Dani & Brad Simpson; Cliff Chiang; Tony Fejzula; Sajad Shah

Publisher: Boom!

Price: $4.99

Release Date: August 7, 2024

 

Val needs a job. So, she heads to the Albino Alligator. Val asks for Miles, the owner of the Miami bar. Instead, she gets Elliot. When the man chats her up, Val declines, but he won’t take no for an answer. Who will rescue Val? Or how might she get out of this sticky situation? Let’s leap into Red Before Black #1 and find out!

 

Story

Val isn't afraid to let her feelings show. Elliot's ego prompts him to assert his manhood. Thankfully, Miles’ arrival prevents Val from separating Elliot from his manhood. (Don’t just phone home, Elliot. Go home!) It’s been eight years since Miles heard from Val. Part of him rejoices in the reunion. But mostly, he’s worried. Val can be trouble. As for working at the bar, his premiums wouldn’t cover it.

 

Val isn’t interested in pouring drinks. She wants to do things not covered by typical insurance plans. Miles is not wild about her joining his operation. There are other people on his team to consider. Val's appetite for destruction could bring them unwarranted attention.

 

In Red Before Black #1, Stephanie Phillips reminds us that many veterans find adjusting to civilian life difficult. Val just got out of prison. She wants to get back on her feet again. But the military taught her to react to danger with deadly force. Becoming an enforcer in Miles’ illegal drug operation fits her skill set. He’s not sure he can work with her. He’s not sure he wants to try. But when Val suggests a way to prove her worth, he can’t say no. Two of his people are dead. Another person stole from him. Miles needs to assert his authority on the streets and fast!

 

Red Before Black #1 tackles weighty topics like post-traumatic stress disorder, the plight of the veteran, the abuse of power, and the link between swinging nightlife and illegal drugs. Miles seems like a good man. Yet he preys upon the weakminded who believe they can’t relax and have a good time without taking dangerous and addictive substances. Stephanie Phillips keeps the story light with humorous introductions, relatable characters, and Big Screen spectacle. The final act of this thirty-page story flips your perceptions and makes you wonder how Val will get out of the extraordinary mess she is in.

 

Art

Goran Sudžuka opens the story in the past by focusing on a snake. A silhouette spots the snake slithering over a body in the swamp before a black foot squashes it. Sudžuka rings in the present with a dark hooded figure waiting for a dark car to pass, then crossing the street in the rain. Straight lines reveal a well-ordered bar with plank timber floors, a pool table, and shelves of bottles interspersed with framed photographs. Miles breezes into the classy, respectable-looking establishment, carrying an umbrella while his patrons would likely rely on their jackets to keep them dry. Val's guarded expression and appearance evoke an older sister with dark secrets. Miles looks fun, hip, optimistic, and respectable.

 

Ive Svorcina paints the evening sky blue in Red Before Black #1. The red and green on Elliot’s shirt distinguish him from the others in Miles’ brown and yellow bar. Val’s darker green and brown clothes hint at her violent past. The red neon Albino Alligator contrasts with the glowing pink neon sign in the swinging Pulp nightclub. Orange and brown define Danny’s office, while yellow energizes Leo’s confrontation with Danny in the manager’s office. Yet none of that compares with a red and green flashback that links a violent act with a flashback in the swamp and reminds us of Val’s earlier confrontation with Elliot.

 

Tom Napolitano makes his large black letters in white dialogue balloons and colored narrative boxes easy to read and follow. The stately pink letters that alert us to the locale echo the glowing neon signs atop the buildings lining the rain-soaked street. Stately yellow letters form tongue-in-cheek introductions. Shocking giant orange letters turn the tables on Danny, even if Leo doesn’t say, “I’ll be back,” while pink music notes mosey through the dancers in the pink nightclub. Thanks to Boom! Studios for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

A childhood rhyme beginning doesn't lead to a fairy tale ending for Val when her life choices force her to endanger friendships old and new in the crime thriller Red Before Black #1.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.