Val and Leo may be my new favorite duo in comics. On one side you have a highly damaged ex-con, working as a double agent to take down the mob. On the other, you’ve got an unhinged criminal who loves pancakes and just wants to be friends. And based on Red Before Black #2 from BOOM! Studios, this wild, weird pairing is just getting started.
Written by Stephanie Phillips with art by Goran Sudžuka, the first issue of this series was a stand-out, full of big action scenes, dark humor, and some intriguing mythological implications for our main characters. The second issue only doubles down on those highlights and makes them more interesting and exciting. Val is our window character here, given her PTSD, and prison shower fights take center stage in the issue. But Leo is perhaps the more fascinating character. There’s the aforementioned love of pancakes, always a plus. There’s the fact that she’s much smarter than the world is giving her credit for. And there’s what happens on the jaw-dropping final page, that makes the next issue a must-read.
That’s ably aided by Sudžuka’s art, which continues to provide some of the best acting currently in comics. Val looks strung out and exhausted in every interaction, just wanting it all to end but unable to stop moving forward. Leo is bright and chirpy, Harley Quinn without the clown makeup, and somewhat more hinged — something that comes in her expression, too. Sudžuka draws all of this with ease, making everything from a diner conversation to the shower fight tight and tense.
Phillips ably fleshes out the world in issue two, as well. It would be (relatively) easy to focus on Val and Leo’s violent getting-to-know-you session in the diner and leave it at that. But the twisty, sweaty Florida noir widens out the cast and amps up the danger around the duo — even if they’re not strictly a duo as of yet.
Oh and also? It’s very funny. While the scenes with Val are mostly dark and disturbing, Leo provides a dash of humor throughout. A sign on the diner reading “Come for the pancakes, stay for the inevitable gun fight” is not just a good joke about Waffle House-style restaurants, it’s also a not-too-subtle tease about what we’re about to read.
Fast, funny, two great central characters… What’s not to love? Put Red Before Black at the top of your stack, Jack.
Red Before Black #2 Rating:
Red Before Black #2 Official Synopsis:
A PTSD flashback brings Val back to prison, with an intimate look into her character and origins before Florida.
Meanwhile in the present, Leo is in her crosshairs, but the operation will have to be carried out at a place with far too much collateral present…