Noir Is The New Black - The Noir Anthology Finale!

One month later…
13 days ago – Tue, Aug 04, 2026 at 05:21:06 AM

Hi everyone ,

Here's a bit of news in the dead of the Summer as we hope you all stay hydrated.
First, we went to the Eisner Awards during San Diego Comic Con.
Of the FairSquare Graphics/Noir Is the New Black crew, there was TC Harris, Joe Illidge, Quinn Mc Gowan, Uko Smith and, of course, Kristal and myself. 

Though we lost to DC Comics, it was a nice moment of pride when our cover was projected on the big screen to much applause. Next time, Eisners!

Work is underway to finish issue #3 and the collected editions of The Winterfields and Little Rock Files. Our artists are taking their time to make sure that quality comes first. 

You also should finally receive the surveys in the next two days or so. It'll come from our partner, Backer Kit. Once we collect your information, you'll have a chance to also add items you might have missed during the campaign or some of our other titles that were not offered then. 

Finally, and while I can't say too much, there's a lot of good stuff we're working on at FairSquare Graphics for 2027 and beyond. Get ready. In the meantime, a little shameless promotion as my next campaign, scheduled for October might be of interest to you. 
INTERTWINED, my biggest creator owned Kung-Fu Noir series is coming back for an all-new anthology style one-shot celebrating its 10th Anniversary. Some of the Noir Is the New Black alums will actually participate. 
You can pre-register for updates here. 

Also, if you want to know more about us, the Popverse news website just did a feature on our company. You can read it here: https://www.thepopverse.com/comics-fairsquare-graphics-profile-2026

Next update, probably at the end of the month with more exciting stuff! 
Thanks again for your continuius support. 

Bye for now. 

Fabrice

Pitch Noir!
about 2 months ago – Wed, Jul 01, 2026 at 07:38:54 AM

Hi everyone. 

Curtain's just closed on our final Noir Is the New Black campaign. And we added 16 beautiful backers in the last 12 hours bringing us to $13,565. That's280 real people who believed in our project. Humbling. This is our most successful Noir is the New Black campaign since 2020 and our fourth highest of all time. 

Thank you all for your support, on behalf of the entire crew and our fantastic creators Joe, Cross, Greg, Quinn, Morby, DC A., DC H., Uko, Eder and Brittney.

Now what's next? 
Well, for starters, production! 
ChrisCross is 2/3 done with his pages of the Winterfields and Quinn is also working on his pages of Little Rock Files. Then it'll be coloring, lettering and designing.
We hope to be able to finish this Mid-Summer and send to print for the books to be ready in time for  October where we'll start fulfilling. 

AND… We potentially have a date with History on July 24, when the Eisner Awards ceremony takes place. TC, myself and some of the creators will be in the room and we really hope to walk out with a statue in hand. 

The real work begins now! 
Thanks again and we'll be in touch. 🤎💜

Fabrice & Kristal.
 

Final Lap!
about 2 months ago – Tue, Jun 30, 2026 at 06:20:18 AM

Hi everyone! 
This is our last update for the Noir Is the New Black campaign. Final. Ultimate. 
Yes, it's dramatic. But isn't what our anthology series is about? 

Well, there's more to us, for sure. But we're less than 24hrs until the end of the campaign and here's one last chance to up your pledge or, if you see this update and haven't pledged yet, to join our little group. 

One more goodie before we go. Quinn McGowan just dropped the GORGEOUS final cover for the LITTLE ROCK FILES collected edition. 

If that doesn't make you want to order the book… ;)
Morby will add his colors to it, but this powerful composition already gives you the scope of Quinn's talent. He's really at his best on this book. 

I'd recommend you order either the Winterfields+Little Rock Files reward ($55) or the full roaster with all our Noir Is the New Black Issues with the Winterfields and Little Rock Files for $110. But eah one of our books can be added as an add-on after you pick the reward of your choice. 

As I'm writing these lines, we're about $1500 away from our $15K stretch goal. 
With this one, every backer will receive an additional Digital graphic Novel and we'll throw a new 3x3" original holofoil sticker to every print reward. 

There might be an additional surprise, but I don't want to say to much… We need to reach that goal first! 

Talk to you all after the end of our campaign! 

Cheers, 

Fabrice

 

AND DON'T FORGET OUR FRIENDS…

Their campaigns are still going on: 

• VOODOO NATION: Coming from Orange Cone Productions and the prolific mind of Travis Gibb, this collected edition is a globe-trotting supernatural horror comic series. Travis has been a big big supporter of indie creators. The least we can do is return the favor! 

• GHOSTBRAWLER #1:They're super heavily funded, but we still want to give a shoutout to the latest collab between Rob Guillory and John Layman (Chew). A ghost boxer… What a brilliant idea!

NOR HELL A FURY #1: Here's another hit from friend of FairSquare Graphics Eric Palicki, who pens this supernatural thriller story with his sister, actress Adrienne Palicki. It's coming from Space Between Entertainment, one of the big Kickstarter hit makers. They're mega funded but it's a great project and they're three days away from the end. So don't miss it!  

Another update? YES, because it's PRIDE MONTH!!!
about 2 months ago – Mon, Jun 22, 2026 at 04:58:58 AM

Hi all! 

Yes, it's Black Culture Month, but it's also PRIDE month. 
From its inception, NOIR IS THE NEW BLACK has shown love to the LGBTQ+ communities. In the original anthology, we had multiple stories starring queer characters like "Unfinished Business" by Greg Anderson Elysée, Eric Van Elslande and Guile, "Entanglement" by Erika Hardison and Karen S. Darboe or "Chasing the Night" by Hannibal Tabu and Quinn McGowan. 

So, for this last issue of the second series, we thought we couldn't pass up honoring PRIDE month after Black Culture Month and Juneteenth. Starting today, we're offering a new edition of NOIR IS THE NEW BLACK S02E03, the NOIR PRIDE Edition with a new queer exclusive cover by Eder Messias. 
Eder has also been in the FairSquare Graphics family from the starts. He illustrated "Igbo Landing" in the original NITNB and is currently drawing the NO FUTURE series (that features an important trans character as well). 

This concept is inspired by 1940s Noir movie posters. If we have demand, we might tell the story in full but right now, it's just a great piece of art and cover. 

You can add it to your cart in the add-on section with any reward. 
HAPPY PRIDE! 
 

MEANWHILE…

Here are a few campaigns we'd love you to take a closer look at: 

• HEROES of HOMEROOM C VOL 1&2
HEROES OF HOMEROOM Cis an original graphic novel series created by Canadian creator Anthony Ruttgaizer. It stars Nicola and Albert Hathaway, twin 12-year-old, African-American superheroes, who lose their powers and get sent back to public school to try and have a "normal life." But even in the small town paradise of Tranquil, Massachusetts, the kids find themselves caught up in danger and excitement.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/anthonyruttgaizer/heroes-of-homeroom-c-volume-2

• OMNI MUST BE DESTROYED
Friend of FairSquare Graphics Niall O'Rourke has the ultimate weapon comic book: giant robots, intrigue, explosive sci-fi action and dark cosmic horror that delivers a brutal clash between machine and madness. What's not to like? Give it a shot! 
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/298662328/omni-must-be-destroyed

• RETURN TO MISFIT ISLAND
There is an unknown island called Dissidentia. It is peacefully inhabited by Cryptids, monsters and creatures of Myth that have remained hidden for years. But what mysteries will Brody, the jackalope and his friends learn about the island’s history? What will happen when Isla, the Harpy, flies to the mainland?
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nicholasdoan/return-to-misfit-island-an-all-ages-graphic-novel-adventure

• SUPERACTION MAN: LET'S ROLL
Super Action Man: Let's Roll is a 32-Page Super Action One-Shot, packed to the patriotic gills with all of the 80s action inspired Super Team excitement you'd ever want in one place!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/geekscapeforever/super-action-man-1-lets-roll

Juneteenth: Happy Freedom Day!
about 2 months ago – Fri, Jun 19, 2026 at 08:05:14 AM

Today is Juneteenth and while promoting Noir Is the New Black, it's an occasion to look at the past while celebrating the future of comics by Black creators.

Though the Emancipation Proclamation was issued on January 1, 1863, it wasn’t until June 19, 1865, that Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Texas to read “General Order No. 3,” finally enforcing the freedom of 250,000 enslaved Black Texans and marking the formal end of slavery in the country we call the United States.

We know it was not the end of the troubles or the discrimination. But it was the start of something incredibly important.

Though Juneteenth’s importance has grown tremendously over the 20th and 21st centuries, it was only in 2021 that it was established as a federal holiday.

We remember the pain. We celebrate the resilience. And we look to the future.

I remember when co-editor TC Harris and I started working on Noir Is the New Black. Some creators said to us: “We don’t want to write stories set in the past, because all we see is pain and slavery.” You have to not just respect that, but also let creators create without interference or condescension. FairSquare Graphics has been built on representation and on letting creators tell stories unfiltered.

We then stretched the boundaries of the Noir genre to include present- and future-set stories. And even though “Classic Noir,” aka the 1930s and ‘40s, still dominates the series’ imagery, many of the stories take place whenever our creators wanted them to, bringing the Black Noir flavor to any era.

More than ever, it’s important to keep in mind that even though the Black community in the US is in a much better position than it was 160 years ago (thankfully), there’s still a lot of work to do to fight bias, racism, and discrimination. Yet I feel that, contrary to common belief, the comic book world is doing its part, especially on the independent scene.

There are probably more Black-owned comic book businesses now than at any other point in the history of the medium. I can think of at least 40 different labels, but there could be even more. New projects are announced every week through crowdfunding and at conventions. The creativity and versatility of Black creators is fantastic. Everyone’s creating at their own pace. Building their own empire. It’s cool when Scholastic or HarperCollins publish books by Black creators, but that alone is not enough to showcase and acknowledge the diversity of experiences and voices among 50 million Black Americans.

When we started the company seven years ago tomorrow (yes, FairSquare Graphics was founded one day after Juneteenth in 2019. It is not a coincidence!), there were still people stopping by the booth and saying: “I wish there were more comics with people who look like me.” Well, today, there are dozens in print, if not hundreds. And that’s a good thing. More, please.

And even if FairSquare Graphics isn’t considered a fully Black-owned company (because I co-own it with my life and business partner, Kristal), it remains a place committed to Black creators, where storytellers retain their creative rights and tell their stories with all the freedom they deserve.

When I was a kid, as a minority myself, I looked at African American creativity in music, film, and literature as a huge inspiration. When I moved to the US in 2015, the Black comic book community welcomed me with open arms. I’ll never forget that. And I can only be happy to give that love back through books like Mutiny: Black Girl Magik, No Future, The Torchbearer, and, of course, Noir Is the New Black.

My friend and master Noir artist Shawn Martinbrough said to me once: “Fabrice, you’re ethnic enough for us.” It went straight to my heart.

So today, on Juneteenth, just like every day, I’m grateful that I can play a tiny part in helping Black creators tell their stories in their own words. Let’s celebrate Black creators by supporting their projects. That means buying Black comics and graphic novels, pledging to Kickstarters, and, more generally, supporting whatever you can afford. And if you can do it the other 364 days of the year, that’s great ^^.

Forever an ally.

Fabrice