Noir Is The New Black - The Noir Anthology Finale!
Created by FAIRSQUARE GRAPHICS LLC
Noir stories. Black creators. One last time…
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Juneteenth: Happy Freedom Day!
3 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
Kristal and I represent FairSquare Graphics' committment to diverse and especially Black voices everywhere we can, like at SCAD - Atlanta in May 2026.
Black Noir is a Force!
4 months ago
– Tue, Jun 16, 2026 at 06:49:35 AM
Hi everyone!
In the 1991 classic movie New Jack City, gangster Nino Brown delivers the now classic line: "Black is a Force" (which inspired the song of the same name from FS Effect for the soundtrack). I'd add "Black Noir is a Force" too considering how our Noir Is the New Black campaign is heading.
Yesterday, we passed the 10K mark (almost $10300 at press time) and counting! With 15 days left, we're getting to our next stretch goal in which we'll send a new 3x3" sticker for every backer of a print edition. We'll also send a Free digital title from the FairSquare Graphics library to everybody.
And thanks to great new suppliers, we are now able to guarantee that if we reach $30K instead of 50K, we'll have a chance to bring back the original anthology to print in an enhanced 188 page edition!
The future is bright for Noir Is the New Black Season 2. So let's keep pushing for our campaign.
MY PARTNER IN NOIR
Today, I want to pay homage to my co-editor Trowa Christopher Harris.
TC Harris and myself in 2024
TC and I met in 2017 at Baltimore Comic Con. He approached me because of Spider-Man Noir. He left with a copy of my Intertwined creator owned book. We never stopped corresponding and developed an amazing friendship. In 2020, while I was ranting about the murder of George Floyd and appalled by tanks outside my window in Los Angeles, he encouraged me to turn that anger into creativity. In creating something that would showcase the African American community's fantastic talents in comics. As a forever ally, I came back to him the next day with the Noir Is the New Black project and told him I would not do it without him. I'm glad he said yes. Because we've been carrying this project together for now six years, and I couldn't have done it without TC. We brought established and new talents. We created this impossible project in mere months, where everyone gets the same deal, where everyone keeps their rights, where nothing gets watered down or filtered. We shared and are still sharing the same vision. This man is my brother from another mother. His contribution to Noir Is the New Black cannot be put into words. And today (and every day), he deserves his flowers. He has a lot of projects, and I hope the world gets to read them. Please take a minute and, just like myself, be grateful for this tall and opinionated dude that changed my life.
OVER ON THE INTERNETS…
This week, I was contacted by the team behind a very cool project: NOIR 1933. It's both a pulp RPG and an upcoming comic book featuring heroes of color and set during the great depression. It's been created in Canada with talents from everywhere, including, of course, the US of A. Check it out!
Friend of FairSquare Graphics and Noir Is the New Black artist Julian Shaw, is also part of a new project called The Astounding All-Star. It's a superhero book turning the genre on its head.
That is all for today. But we'll come back soon for more! Help us getting to our stretch goal folks. You won't be disappointed. :)
Cheers,
Fabrice
Noir is definitely NOT dead!
4 months ago
– Thu, Jun 11, 2026 at 03:40:57 AM
Hi all,
I think the first day of our current campaign will be remembered as one of the best launch days of all the 20+ Kickstarter and Backer Kit campaigns since FairSquare Graphics was founded in 2019! You guys really showed up for Noir Is the New Black and we are extremely grateful. Thank you. As I'm writing these lines, 142 of you have pledged for a total of almost $7800. We reached our initial goal in less than 10hrs, another first. It's a fantastic debut. I also want to thank my co-editor TC Harris and the creators (Joe, Chris, Quinn, Greg, Uko,…) who spread the word and the love for a project that is bigger than all of us.
It is Black Culture Month. It is the 100th anniversary of Harlem Renaissance. Noir Is the New Black is not just a good anthology series (that happens to be nominated for the highest distinction in comics -- the Eisner Awards). It's a series we created for the culture. It's a testimony to the incredible creativity, versatility and freedom of black writers and artists.
It's a series that will outlive us. A project of unity. Rising above egos on a scale that has rarely been seen before. Since we started the series, in 2020, over 60 black creators from all over the planet left their mark on this project. The original graphic novel and Season Two already sold over 10,000 copies combined. I've seen Noir Is the New Black in bookstores, libraries, art schools. It's just fantastic that we can keep going and offer more stories to the world.
Noir is the New Black isn't like any other anthology, that's for sure. You proved it, by standing by our side once again. Thank you.
Now what? Well, we have a lot of stretch goals that were already announced:
If we get to $15,000 every backer of a print edition will get a Noir Is the New Black 3x3" sticker or magnet. If we reach $20K every backer of a print edition receives the Noir is the New Black foldable 18x24 poster (those who ordered it as an add-on will receive an extra item of the same value).
At $30K, The Winterfields Hardcover receives a holofoil dust jacket, Little Rock Files Softcover receives foil logo for backers of a print edition.
At $50K, finally, the original out-of-print Noir Is the New Black anthology is reprinted and receives the omnibus treatment: 184+pages, premium printing.
We have more to unveil, but for now, let's keep pushing!
To be continued!
Fabrice Sapolsky A Happy Editor and Publisher.
ONE MORE THING… Please support our friends on Kickstarter as they're on their quest to funding their awesome titles:
• THE O.Z: Superstar writer David Pepose is setting Kickstarter on fire with his latest creator owned series. If you liked him on Savage Avengers or Space Ghost, you'll love that tale set in a war-torn Oz! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theozcomic/the-oz-3
