Noir Is The New Black, an anthology featuring noir comics by Black creators, is getting a new expanded edition, out everywhere today.
And today The Beat has some exclusive insights from a pair of the involved creators, specifically Joseph P. Illidge and ChrisCross, who created the new short story “The Winterfields,” which is a prelude to the upcoming full-length graphic novel The Winterfields coming out in 2025 from Noir is the New Black publisher FairSquare Comics. In addition, we have some new exclusive art to share…you can find it all below after a promo image by Cross and colorist Chris Sotomayor, enjoy!
Noir Is The New Black
Illidge had this to say about The Harlem Renaissance as the setting of a story:
“The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s was such a revolutionary time of amazing Black writers, artists, and musicians. Against such a backdrop, the people who are just trying to find their way can be just as heroic and considerably more tragic. Cain Winterfield is the kind of guy who lives in harm’s way by being a bodyguard so he can make enough money to live and raise his son. He may not change the world, but he will provide for his boy, Carver. Carver Winterfield is a pre-teen living on the line between violence and adolescence. Unlike teenage superhero sidekicks who smile and joke through battles while living the good life, Carver is more attuned to the realities of the street…but inside he’s trying to figure out who he is outside of being his father’s son.”
And Cross had this to say about noir as a genre:
“Noir to this day has never really been a diverse genre. As broad as it is in the medium, I think of the old great film noir titles like Rear Window, Double indemnity, Vertigo…I imagine how the movies would have been with a Black lead. My job with The Winterfields is to make the art as interesting as the visuals in those films. It’s not always black and white, but alongside our “Devil with a Blue Dress On”-style femme fatale, Joseph and I get to tell a story about Cain (who is reminiscent of novelist Walter Mosley’s character Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins), who has a son, Carver, who may be developing to be as crazy as Mosley’s Raymond “Mouse.” But the father and son dynamic will prove to have a method to the madness. We will see exactly why this generation of Winterfields are to be a necessary force in 20s Harlem. My job is to show you just that.”
Finally, below you can find an exclusive reveal of artwork from the expanded edition by Chriscross with colors by Toyin “Morby” Ajetunmobi.
Joe will be signing Noir is the New Black at Bulletproof Comics on 2/9 (this Friday) and Megabrain Comics in Rhinebeck on 2/13.
