We've written many times about the uncommonly beautiful artwork of Francesco Francavilla -- whose stuff you've seen in Batman: The Black Mirror, Captain America and Black Widow and more than 70 cover illustrations in 2012 alone -- and as long as he keeps putting gorgeous new stuff out, we're never going to stop. Last month we told you about The Black Beetle: Night Shift #0, a special comic that compiled the Dark Horse Presents anthology material that introduced the cartoonist's pulp mystery hero and his stylish, crime-infested world of Colt City. A virtually intravenous injection of the Eisner-winning Francavilla's skill with noir and superhero art, that #0 issue has now sold out in print. For this news we are accepting all the credit that's coming to us.

But while we're holding our breath we thought you would enjoy ten pages from Francavilla's followup, The Black Beetle: No Way Out #1, the first of a four-part Dark Horse miniseries that finds the masked detective running up against a foe who single-handedly takes out Colt City's crime infrastructure in a single, murderous stroke. Written, drawn and colored by Francavilla himself, these ten pages are a master class in both style and graphic storytelling.





(click to enlarge)






(click to enlarge)


The Black Beetle: No Way Out #1 goes on sale next Wednesday from the Dark Horse/TFAW store, your local comics shop and digitally from Dark Horse Digital. The sold-out Black Beetle: Night Shift #0 is still available digitally.

Here's some more Black Beetle art, advertisements designed to look like old cinema lobby cards. Seriously, if you're into this aesthetic, the fun never stops with Francavilla.