What do you think?
Rate this book
The White Suits #1-4
The White Suits: Dressed to Kill
Mysterious killers dressed in white, they savaged the Cold War Russian underworld--then disappeared without a trace. Now they have resurfaced in New York, leaving a trail of dead mobsters in their bloody wake. In this tide of death, an amnesiac and a FBI agent bound by loss and haunted memories seek to answer a single question that may unlock their hidden pasts: Who are the "White Suits"?
In the edgy tradition of "The Usual Suspects" and "Kill Bill," The White Suits is violent noir action wrapped in mystery from writer Frank Barbiere and artist Toby Cypress. Collects The White Suits, Vol 1, issues 1-4.
In the edgy tradition of "The Usual Suspects" and "Kill Bill," The White Suits is violent noir action wrapped in mystery from writer Frank Barbiere and artist Toby Cypress. Collects The White Suits, Vol 1, issues 1-4.
128 pages, Paperback
First published December 2, 2014
28 people want to read
About the author
Frank J. Barbiere
174 books42 followersFrank J. Barbiere is a #1 Amazon.com best-selling writer from New Jersey.
Frank is a former English teacher with degrees from Rutgers University and the Graduate School for Education.
After breaking into the comics industry with the creator-owned hit Five Ghosts (Image Comics), Frank has since worked for every major publisher in the U.S., as well as having a global presence in France (Glenat Comics), Italy (Cosmo Editoriale), and Spain (Norma) with his creator-owned work. He has written notable runs on Avengers World and Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D. at Marvel Comics, as well as the creator-owned series Black Market and Broken World (BOOM! Studios), The Revisionist (Aftershock Comics), Violent Love (Image Comics), and The White Suits (Dark Horse Comics).
In 2017, Frank began working as a writer and narrative designer in the video games industry. He has since contributed to the Destiny franchise and was lead writer on Darksiders Genesis and Ruined King: A League of Legends Story. He currently works as a Lead Writer at Skydance Interactive.
Frank is a former English teacher with degrees from Rutgers University and the Graduate School for Education.
After breaking into the comics industry with the creator-owned hit Five Ghosts (Image Comics), Frank has since worked for every major publisher in the U.S., as well as having a global presence in France (Glenat Comics), Italy (Cosmo Editoriale), and Spain (Norma) with his creator-owned work. He has written notable runs on Avengers World and Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D. at Marvel Comics, as well as the creator-owned series Black Market and Broken World (BOOM! Studios), The Revisionist (Aftershock Comics), Violent Love (Image Comics), and The White Suits (Dark Horse Comics).
In 2017, Frank began working as a writer and narrative designer in the video games industry. He has since contributed to the Destiny franchise and was lead writer on Darksiders Genesis and Ruined King: A League of Legends Story. He currently works as a Lead Writer at Skydance Interactive.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 3, 2014
There is an idea for a story here (a fairly ludicrous one, though), but the execution is terrible. Not because of the artwork, which is unconventional but rather fitting. The story however is oddly paced, and this almost inevitably leads to the huge infodump in the last pages, followed by a "what happened next" segment that does exactly what a visual medium should avoid, i.e. it tells when it should show.
August 12, 2017
The book poses the question, "Who are the white suits?"
By the end the reader realizes that the white suits are just an excuse write an action book with lots of cool artwork.
That being said the artwork isn't as good as it should be. When its good, its really good. But there are a lot of sloppy panels and its very inconsistent. The writing is complete crap when its not just allowing the artist to draw cool things.
By the end the reader realizes that the white suits are just an excuse write an action book with lots of cool artwork.
That being said the artwork isn't as good as it should be. When its good, its really good. But there are a lot of sloppy panels and its very inconsistent. The writing is complete crap when its not just allowing the artist to draw cool things.
February 12, 2026
Guns & swords & blood — Oh my!
This is a bit of a tricky one to rate & review. On the one hand, it's very imaginative, with incredibly stylistic yet "sloppy" art, and a good deal of compelling mystery & storytelling; on the other hand, the illustrations & colour palette (B&W w/reds), in conjunction with the complicated plotlines & character interplay did not make this a straightforward read.
At the heart of the series is Cold War-era espionage & the manipulation of the criminal underground's "gangster" element, initially in Russia just after the fall of the USSR, and later, in present day America. A young, semi-rogue FBI agent, in a search for the truth about her missing father, teams up with a mysterious, dangerous & amnesiac stranger to take on the deadliest group to ever emerge from Russia, and now surge through New York — The White Suits.
This is a bloody good time. If you like over-the-top violence & mayhem, mystery & action, and a very stylistic, non-superhero romp, this might be your thing. The caveat being that Toby Cypress art style is wildly rough & exaggerated, and although I liked the limited colour palette applied, I did find it dense & confusing at times to decipher everything visually. Add to this the purposefully convoluted plot/story by Frank J. Barbiere, and the book/series is a bit of a mindf*ck — and not all intentionally (hence the slightly lower rating). All this being said, it was worth the read, imo.
This is a bit of a tricky one to rate & review. On the one hand, it's very imaginative, with incredibly stylistic yet "sloppy" art, and a good deal of compelling mystery & storytelling; on the other hand, the illustrations & colour palette (B&W w/reds), in conjunction with the complicated plotlines & character interplay did not make this a straightforward read.
At the heart of the series is Cold War-era espionage & the manipulation of the criminal underground's "gangster" element, initially in Russia just after the fall of the USSR, and later, in present day America. A young, semi-rogue FBI agent, in a search for the truth about her missing father, teams up with a mysterious, dangerous & amnesiac stranger to take on the deadliest group to ever emerge from Russia, and now surge through New York — The White Suits.
This is a bloody good time. If you like over-the-top violence & mayhem, mystery & action, and a very stylistic, non-superhero romp, this might be your thing. The caveat being that Toby Cypress art style is wildly rough & exaggerated, and although I liked the limited colour palette applied, I did find it dense & confusing at times to decipher everything visually. Add to this the purposefully convoluted plot/story by Frank J. Barbiere, and the book/series is a bit of a mindf*ck — and not all intentionally (hence the slightly lower rating). All this being said, it was worth the read, imo.
June 11, 2019
La idea que subyace a la historia y que se explica al final no está mal. Pero la ejecución tira tanto de tópicos que se hace cuesta arriba de leer, a pesar del excelente dibujo.
June 12, 2022
Tony Cypress' art is gorgeous
January 18, 2017
An interesting idea, but executed to quickly. It was boring because you didn't have time to care even a little about the characters. A lot of over used action movie tropes and one-liners.
December 22, 2015
An interesting premise that was ruined by incomprehensible art. I could not comprehend what was happening in over half the panels. The art looks like it was drawn by a toddler. This is some of the worst art I've ever seen in a graphic novel.
November 2, 2016
I really liked the energy and ferociousness of the art. Cypress conveys the chaos of violence wonderfully. The story is too slight, not given enough time to breath and just doesn't build up to what I was hoping.
April 6, 2015
Eh. Good concept. Messy art and execution. I was hoping for more.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews