Newburn #13: Setting the Board

Crime fiction in the longer form mediums, like comics, TV, and podcasts are at an interesting intersection. One path is the episodic format, which speaks to the pulp and linear TV side of the genre, delivering on the case-of-the-week structure. On the other side of the crossroads is the serialized format, which is where many of these projects have pivoted to. Longer mysteries and plotlines expand into multiple installments, serving as the core tension of the final product. As it heads into its final set of issues, the crime comic Newburn makes the pivot from the former to the latter. 

Newburn #13 – written by Chip Zdarsky with art, colors, and letters from Jacob Phillips, and color assists by Pip Martin – circles the endgame for the mystery series, moving all of the pieces into their final playthrough. Newburn and Emily have targets on their back as the Black Castle has learned the secrets being kept, including Emily’s accidental killing of the Albano cousin. A member of the Yakuza was framed for the murder by Newburn to protect Emily, and now that information has been revealed to the crime families. 

Meanwhile, the reporter Natalie, who was last seen digging into Newburn’s history, has found her angle and is working to her own conclusion to the story. There’s also the question of Newburn’s mother and her role in this giant web of deceit and mystery, all resonating around one another. A tense gunfight, secrets being revealed between Emily and Newburn, and an ultimatum issued by the Black Castle set into motion the final three issues of the series. 

There is an air of finality that has crept into the book, thanks to Zdarsky’s introduction of sharks circling Newburn. If the first half of the series was all about introducing and reinforcing the dark detective’s skills, then this half is built around tearing him down. Natalie’s story is an excellent cold open and hints of foreshadowing for the issue (and by extension the next three) as an ending is still being searched for. The roads Zdarsky presents are all credible, whether it be the future Newburn envisions, of defeating the Black Castle, protecting his mother, and living to see another day. In the same breath, it’s just as easy to see an end filled with the death of Newburn, Emily, and anyone else in their orbit. 

The scripting does an excellent job of entertaining both options, as Zdarsky takes the lessons of developing compelling mysteries and spins them into a more serialized storyline. Gone is the case of the month format, as the fallout of the various jobs all compound into the story of revenge from those wronged by Newburn and Emily. The opening issues of Newburn were so compelling because they found the right balance of episodic and serialized. Now, 15 issues in, the episodic has faded away but the control of pacing and establishment of a specific atmosphere remain. It’s a fascinating bit of writing work that Zdarsky can retain that feeling of the story, and its shape, even as it shifts modes to deliver the final story. 

Much of that consistency comes from Phillips’s artwork, which retains its grounded approach to storytelling. The issue lacks flashy splash pages in favor of tight, controlled panels for every page. For the most part, Phillips divides the pages into either five or six panels, utilizing medium and close-up shots to deliver the character driven beats for the majority of the issue. Whether it be Emily confronting Newburn in a torn up apartment, or Natalie debating a lede with her editor, the repetitive layouts create a steady rhythm that delivers the change in style. These pages evoke the feeling of watching a network procedural, living in a uniform style that emphasizes the story and characters. 

That is to say, Phillips doesn’t skimp on the action beats when needed. In the middle of this investigation and dialogue-heavy issue is a quick pop of action, with Henry finding himself in an ambush sprung by the Albanos. It’s four solid pages of action, sticking with the five or six panel pages that give a unified, concise delivery of violence that is easy to follow but feels like a real depiction of a gun fight. There’s no doves flying or romanticized moments of twin guns firing. The scene plays quick and dirty, as Phillips illustrates Henry pinned by and hurt, with bullets whizzing before they impact. Each shot is given a heft thanks to the lettering for the SFX and coloring on the page. 

Phillips utilizes contrasting SFX and background colors in the action sequence to create a flow between the action filled panels while maintaining the arresting hues. Golden yellow and a bright red alternate for the SFX and backgrounds of the scene, immediately invoking the sense of sporadic gunfighting. These colors pop on the page, clashing with the cool blues and tans in the rest of the scene, drawing the eye on each page. Later in the scene, the SFX in these two colors evoke other images in the scene, like the flash of the guns or the spilling of blood. These echoes of color create a pulsing pattern that feeds the frantic nature of the scene. 

In opposition to those bright flashes are the cooler tones the rest of the book trades in. The standout use of the restrained palette is the scene where Emily and Newburn finally air out their respective issues. Pink, violet, and blue cast their light over the scene, giving a twilight feeling to the relationship between detective and protege. Newburn knows his time is up in this scene, and the coloring reflects that eve of doom and destruction. The moody, noir lighting is a Phillips specialty, and speaks the the artist/colorist’s ability to tap directly into the raw emotion of a scene and paint it into the scenery. 

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Part of the thrill of a new Newburn issue is the backup stories that give new and unique voices an entry into the crime genre. This month is no exception as a new story starts in Loaded Dice by writer Amy Chase, artist Fabian Lelay, colourist Desolina Fletcher, and letterer Toben Racicot. The backup sees a tabletop gaming group planning a heist, using the roleplaying framework as code for the crime. 

Chase develops a simple script that utilizes dialogue and narration from the table talk of the group that is juxtaposed by scenes of the target, a police station, and the associated threats and challenges. The writing is smooth and flowing, feeling like a natural progression of conversation that feels double in every word balloon. If Chase revealed they pulled the entirety of the dialogue from overhearing D&D groups, it would be believable because of that level of comfort with the jargon and pacing. 

That organic dialogue gives way to allow the art and coloring to do a lot of the heavy lifting in the storytelling. Lelay’s layouts are concise and cinematic, moving in and out of the heist and the planning. Mini-panels set against a black background is a page layout that really evokes that heist aesthetic that implies the quick cuts between the respective roles of the crew. Fletcher’s coloring creates two separate textures to the scenes, with moodier blue-greens shading the heist while the group sitting around the table is bathed in waning golden lights. Those separate tones establish the two worlds and allow for a delineation that trusts the audience to figure out what is going on at the moment.