AWA Studios have announced “Little Black Book,” a four-part neo-western crime thriller, written by Jeff McComsey (“FUBAR,” “Grendel, Kentucky”), with art by Felipe Cunha (“Gatsby”), coloring by Marco Lesko (“Newthink”), and lettering by Steve Wands (“Action Comics”).
Set in Texas, the book follows Cole, a repairman whose late father was a career criminal. When he discovers his father’s book of underworld contacts, Cole and his pregnant wife become the targets of a ruthless crime organization. “Cole’s father believed the best thing he could do for his son was to stay out of his life, and he might have been right, but how far does the apple fall from the tree…?”
Axel Alonso, AWA’s chief creative officer, states, “This is a blood-drenched crime story with heart that examines the deep imprint that fathers and sons leave on each other’s lives. At the core of our story is the relationship between a hardened career criminal and the son he abandoned. When the son steps into a world of danger, what help can the father offer from beyond the grave?” McComsey says, “‘Little Black Book’ is about things we inherit from our father, whether we want them or not. Sometimes they’re good things; sometimes they’re bad things. This is a story about one of the bad things.”
The project marks McComsey’s fourth at AWA, following “Grendel, Kentucky,” “The Fourth Man,” and “ET-ER,” as well as Cunha’s second after “Gatsby.” The writer says, “I feel very lucky to have found a pair of editors like Axel Alonso and Michael Coast who like my particular brand of small-town crime stories. Together, I think we make some good comics. It was also a pleasure to bring this story of gritty people in a shady desert to life with artist Felipe Cunha.”
Issue #1 will be released on March 13, 2024, with a main cover by Francesco Francavilla, and variants by Dave Johnson, and Chris Ferguson with Cunha. You can check those out below, along with a preview, in the meantime.
