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Red Before Black #3 by writer Stephanie Phillips, illustrator Goran Sudžuka, colorist Ive Svorcina and letterer Tom Napolitano. BOOM! Studios
Previously in Red Before Black
Valeria Morel (Val) is an army veteran with a heavy case of PTSD and a convict. Val was released from prison under the special conditions. The Condition was that she helped the FBI take down the drug enterprises of one Miles Allen. Val found Miles in Miami, FL. in a bit a pickle. A former employee of Miles was stealing from him. In addition, she was selling Mile’s stolen merch to his regular customers. Effctively undercutting Miles own business.
Crazy Leo
Miles former employee was Leonore Copeland (Leo). Obviously she was a problem for Miles. So he sent Val to handle it. This way Miles could get rid of Leo and Val could prove she was serious about entering his organization. Two birds with one stone type of deal, what could go wrong?
Friends, sort of…
While Val was searching for Leo, she spotted a lady in distress. Naturally, Val stepped in and helped. In a struck of luck, Leo just so happened to be that lady in distress. To show her appreciation, Leo invited Val the next day for pancakes. At first, Val showed signs of remorse and refused. It would be kind of weird to save someone just to set up a date and kill them later.
VOTE IN THIS YEARS CHEERSIES!
Leo insisted. She really wanted to thank Val. Apparently this pancake place was the best in town. The strangers went their separate ways without confirming their next encounter. However, Leo was very positive she’s see Val again.
“Come for the pancakes, stay for the Gun Fight”
Just as advertise, crime is the main attraction at Jimmy’s. If you’re from Florida, or somewhere in the south of USA, you’ll immediately understand what Jimmy’s restaurant is. Basically, Jimmy’s is BOOM! Studios very own Huddle House or Waffle House. As someone who’s lived in the south over 10 years, this inside joke really got a chuckle out of me. If you don’t know about these chain restaurants, a quick search will show you some of the funniest yet bizarre moments in history have taken place in Huddle/Waffle House.
Pancake Date
Val did meet Leo met at the restaurant. Initially it looked innocent enough. Maybe Val was looking for a reason to like Leo. At least enough to not kill her. But that was not the case. Somehow Val was going to force herself to take Leo out back and get it over with. Leo revealed that she knew why Val was there all along. This was about Leo taking the chance, just so she could get to know Val. Eventually it was time for them to leave, at gun point too. At first, Leo went along. But she fought back as soon as she got the chance. These two ladies are not that different after all.
Val’s Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
One of the reoccurring themes of the series so far, is the fact that Val suffers from PTSD. Violence or pain seems to be the triggers for Val’s PTSD. Hence, when chaos ensued at Jimmy’s restaurant, and Leo slashed Val with a knife, the pain from the wound triggered Val’s PTSD. Val’s PTSD manifests in visions of a jungle and far cries for help by someone that Val can’t find. In issue #1 and #2 we got to see how Val sinks into these visions and it takes a second person to bring her back to reality. In a twist of events, Leo revealed that she could see the visions as well.
*Some Spoilers for Isuue #3*
Good old Boys Club
In the beginning of issue #3, we see in a flashback that 10 years ago, Val tried seeking help for her demons. She attended group therapy for veterans with trauma. The problem was, Val was the only female veteran in the group. As a result, the males withdrew and stopped sharing and participating in the sessions.
For this reason, the group psychologist asked Val to stop attending the sessions. As you can imagine, Val was distraught by the rejection from her fellow veterans. Let alone the dismissive tone from the group psychologist. When he minimized her trauma in comparison to the males trauma Val lost it.
Nowhere to turn
Val left the group session right after punching the therapist square in the face. She punched a wall in frustration and the pain from her fist triggered her visions.
Apparently that was when the vision first started. As of this issue we do not know how Val ended up in prison. However, Val’s untreated PTSD and these nightmare visions did not help. Who do you turn with a problem like that?
Where are we?
Val woke up in the back of Leo’s car. Leo took care of Vale after she passed out from the cut she gave her. Val was quite disoriented, must’ve been the erotica tapes Leo was listening to. Of course Val tries to fight Leo, while she’s driving in the highway. Leo steer them off the road after Val tried to choke her from behind.
Once they both come out the car, something quite interesting happened. Val started to have her visions and for the second time Leo confirmed she could also see them. The only difference seemed to be that Leo could see there was a truck coming. She stopped Val from getting ran over.
Val & Leo
I’m not quite sure what to make of all that yet. It doesn’t seem like they do either. Unfortunately, they have other things to worry. The FBI is now on Val’s tail. After running off with Leo the Bureau lost all faith in Val. They don’t believe she is going to deliver Miles anymore, so they want her locked up again. Also, if that wasn’t enough, one of Miles enforcers caught up with the duo. They handled it themselves, but not before Leo’s past comes back to hunt her.
How about the art?
Goran Sudžuka is a master illustrator. The facial expressions remind me of Keith Giffen’s and Kevin Maguire’s facial expressions. You can see when Sudžuka’s pencils are charged with tension or emotions. Then you can also see how Sudžuka cues in the suspense of disbelief and transitions from reality to fantasy. Quite effortlessly might I add. The colors by Ive Svorcina function as an anchor for the real moments. But also when reality fades and you follow Val into her visions, Svorcina’s colors also take you there.
I give this issue a 9 out of 10.
I appreciate that Stephanie Phillips colored the background of a character, so to speak. She’s giving these characters multiple dimensions. Adding to their make up of who they are and why we should care about them. It’s quite amazing! For example, Leo is not just some crazy rebellious broad turns out. Maybe she is, in some ways.
We can see for sure that Leonore was a victim when she was younger. On the other hand, Val has been suffering from PTSD for at least 10 years. That we know of. There’s a lot going on here, to include the words and stories that are explicitly said. I just need to know more! Highly recommend you check Red Before Black!
