It's been a while

New series announcement and plenty of updates!

I haven't done one of these in a while. I have definitely been overwhelmed with work and in all of that, I lost track of some stuff like writing Substack posts. When I did remember, coming back to it after so long seemed kind of silly. But, with so much new stuff coming up this year - a new book announcement today, another new book announcement next week, two new ongoing titles kicking off at Marvel, and some non-comics projects - it seemed like a good time to come back to this channel. I’d like to say I’ll stick with it and post weekly, and I’ll certainly try… but, you know, something about the best laid schemes of mice…

So… where do we begin?

How about in Florida?

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RED BEFORE BLACK

Look, I get it. Florida is hot, the animals mostly all want to eat you or poison you, the cockroaches can fly AND be governor (coughRonDeSantiscough). But, hey, in the pros column, didn’t Florida get a Taylor Swift song? I haven’t heard it yet so I’m crossing my fingers it’s not a diss track…

Red Before Black #1 cover by Goran Sudžuka and Ive Svorcina.

I’m from Florida - I grew up in Tampa and did my MA and PhD at USF. And though I left before the ink on my PhD was dry, I still consider Florida home even when I’m not there. It’s like that relative you make fun of but when you hear someone else make fun of them, you immediately get defensive. Only Floridians that really know what it’s like get to absolutely s*** on it. To some degree, I’d say we’ve earned that privilege with the bugs and reptiles and republicans.

But, I digress. Point it, I wrote a book about Florida. It’s called RED BEFORE BLACK and it’s a crime story that takes place across this weird state that I love/hate and it’s drawn by the incredible Goran Sudžuka and published by Boom Studios. The story is about Val and Leo, two women with very different goals who come together for survival. Val is ex-military and gets mixed up with a former friend from her service years who is now heavily entrenched in a drug organization running out of Miami. Leo happens to be working for that organization, until she starts sampling the product and pissing off the higher-ups. They want her dead… or at least not anywhere they ever have to deal with her again, so they send Val to get rid of her.

What continues from there can only be described as weird, like the state of Florida itself. Because, along with being a pretty grounded crime story, this is my first real foray into writing magic realism - a serious look at crime, trauma, and friendship, with elements of the magical built into the very spine of the narrative.

And the third main character of the book is Florida itself, as Val and Leo explore some of the most bizarre parts of the state, like a commune of psychics, mermaids, and roadside attractions boasting live alligator wrestling.

I think RED BEFORE BLACK is an important book for me because I’ve spent years trying to figure out exactly what direction I want to move in as a writer. I’ve tried my hand at many different genres and styles, and I’ve found a place that feels firmly ME. Irregardless of the personal connection to Florida, RED BEFORE BLACK is the kind of story I want - need - to be telling and it feels like the start of something new for me in a really exciting way.

I also can’t say enough good things about Goran’s work on this book. When I asked Goran to work with me on the story, I kind of figured it was a shot in the dark. I love his work and assumed there was no way he would be into this little crime story or working with me… and I was so gladly wrong. I feel very lucky to have Goran on the project along with Ive Svorcina on colors, and Tom Napolitano lettering.

RED BEFORE BLACK refers to a poem I was taught as a kid to help identify poisonous snakes. There are two kinds of snakes that look pretty similar, but one will kill you, while the other is (mostly) harmless. The poem refers to the color markings on the snake - red before black, okay Jack. Red before yellow… kills a fellow.

You can view the full press release and more preview pages in the official announcement here.

RED BEFORE BLACK will be on sale July 7.

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ANOTHER ANNOUNCEMENT???

Yeah… I guess it’s that magical announcement time because next week I’ll be making another new announcement for an upcoming book. This one is for a project I’ve been teasing for a few months with co-writer Brian Azzarello. Back at the ComicsPro conference in February, DSTLRY announced that Brian and I were working together, but the title, artist, and sample pages won’t be revealed until next week.

Brian and I said we would want to work together if the collaboration came about organically and felt like a story we needed to tell together. We have two pretty distinct voices and writing styles, so we were intent and ensuring that a collaboration would be something that utilizes both our strengths, and I think we found a pretty cool way of doing it that plays with the medium and forces engagement with the literal comic book itself.

I have no problem making the claim that this is literally unlike anything I’ve written before.

And Brian and I will be signing at Coliseum of Comics in Tampa, FL on the 25th (this Saturday) so if you stop by and ask, we might tell you a little more about it…

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WHAT ELSE IS NEW?

I guess a lot, actually. Marvel has now announced that I’m writing two brand new ongoing series - Spider-Gwen and Phoenix. This is after wrapping both the Black Widow & Hawkeye and CapWolf mini series. This has been a long post already, so I’ll be sure to make later posts about these books individually to talk more about Gwen and Jean, two characters I’m really honored that I get to spend some time with.

SPIDER-GWEN #1 will actually be on shelves this Wednesday (May 22) and has art by Federica Mancin. There are tons of great covers, but this Jenny Frison variant is just so cool.

PHOENIX #1 will be in stores in July from myself and artist Alessandro Miracolo. Again, I know I’ve had a ton of requests to talk more about this title, so I’ll do that in a later post.

GRIM continues on and issue 17 will actually be in stores this Wednesday as well. This issue might be my favorite of the series. It’s a part of the GRIM universe that we’ve wanted to tell since day 1, but we wanted the perfect place to give Eddie his moment. This is his backstory and death story, and it hurt my own heart a little to write it. Flaviano and I both really love Eddie, and we’re glad he’s become such a fan favorite as well.

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CONVENTIONS

Honestly, not much on the horizon. My schedule has been incredible packed with all the comics stuff I’m writing, and this post hasn’t even dipped into the non-comics work I’m doing. It’s a lot, and as much as I love traveling and interacting with everyone at cons, I have to prioritize the work right now.

I do have the in-store signing at Coliseum in Tampa that I mentioned above, and then June 7-9 I’ll be at Niagara Falls Comic Con with a Tim Horton’s cup in hand.

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Okay, I have to get back to work but I’ll be back soon with more updates.

-Stephanie