FAMILY SECRETS AND DOUBLE LIVES CONVERGE IN LITTLE BLACK BOOK, AN EXPLOSIVE NEO-WESTERN CRIME THRILLER BY ACCLAIMED WRITER AND EDITOR JEFF McCOMSEY
Teaming Up with Fan-Favorite Artist, Felipe Cunha, the 4-Issue Ruthless Crime Syndicate
Set Inside a Modern Western World Debuts March 13, 2024
LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 13, 2023 – “Their child-rearing years had just begun, but their lawless years lay ahead…” Jeff McComsey – the Editor-in-Chief of The New York Times best-selling anthology Fubar, and writer of THE FOURTH MAN, GRENDEL KENTUCKY, and ET/ER – and fan-favorite artist, Felipe Cunha (GATSBY) are returning to Artists, Writers & Artisans (AWA), the independent developer of bold and relevant stories from the world’s most outstanding creators, when LITTLE BLACK BOOK debuts on March 13, 2024. Split between the past and present, the original 4-issue series focuses on the ties that bind a father and son in Southwest Texas.
In this explosive new thriller, readers are introduced to Cole, a straight-arrow handyman who, alongside his pregnant wife, finds himself in the crosshairs of a ruthless South Texas crime syndicate when he discovers the little black book of underworld contacts that belonged to his deceased father, a career criminal from whom he’s been estranged for decades. 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…?
“LITTLE BLACK BOOK is about things we inherit from our father whether we want them or not,” said series writer, Jeff McComsey. “Sometimes they’re good things; sometimes they’re bad things. This is a story about one of the bad things. 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.”
AWA’s Chief Creative Officer, Axel Alonso added, “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?”
LITTLE BLACK BOOK is McComsey’s fourth project with AWA, following 2020’s Beowulf-inspired Grindhouse thriller GRENDEL, KENTUCKY, illustrated by Tommy Lee Edwards; 2022’s intricate crime thriller loosely based on real events, THE FOURTH MAN, illustrated by Mike Deodato; and 2019’s science fiction parody series, ET/ER, illustrated by Javier Pulido. Cunha returns to AWA quickly after his first title GATSBY, a contemporary take on the American dream inspired by the timeless classic by F. Scott Fitzgerald, debuted in May of this year. Working alongside writer Jeremy Holt, GATSBY debuted in May of this year and is the first graphic novel published under the AWA umbrella.
AWA’s LITTLE BLACK BOOK is written and created by writer Jeff McComsey with artwork by Felipe Cunha, with covers by Francesco Francavilla (THE BLACK BEETLE, DETECTIVE COMICS), colors by Marco Lesko (NEW THINK, DOCTOR WHO) and letters by Steve Wands (ACTION COMICS). Issue #1 will be available Wednesday, March 13, 2024, both digitally and in stores wherever comic books are sold. For more information on the LITTLE BLACK BOOK and other titles, visit AWA Studios on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and AWAStudios.net.
