Fatale #1
Reviewed by David O' Leary
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Story by: Ed Brubaker
Art by: Sean Phillips
Colours by: Dave Stewart
Cover by: Sean Phillips
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.50
Release Date: January 4, 2012
Book Summary:
GUNS! SEX! SECRET CULTS! AND MONSTERS!
Nothing the BEST-SELLING and AWARD-WINNING creators of SLEEPER, CRIMINAL and INCOGNITO have done so far will prepare you for the explosive debut of FATALE!
A reporter in 2012 stumbles on a secret that leads him down the darkest path imaginable... to a seductive woman who's been on the run since 1935, a mobster who may be an immortal demon monster, and the stories of all the doomed men who've been caught in their decades-long struggle.
FATALE blends noir and horror to tell a riveting epic unlike anything you've seen before.
Reviewer's Comments:
Those in the know have been quietly talking this book up something wicked these past few weeks and the building excitement as the release date neared pulled me in. And why wouldn't it? It combines probably the premiere duo in comics today in the infallible team of Brubaker and Phillips and the hope foe me was, that they could continue the excellent run of storytelling that began with Sleeper and continued right through Criminal and Incognito. Throw in the expert colouring of Dave Stewart and you have the ingredients for something special.
Brubaker is a known fan of the crime noir genre which when he weaves that thread into his stories really make the books better than most as he is practiced enough to pull it off doing the specialist genre justice. Brubaker brings something new to this book as he explained in a narrative at the end of the book. He has been sitting on this idea for years and the book today is actually something very different than what he originally envisioned, mainly through the ideas evolution through time. While the books main genre is crime noir, there are also some other elements as Brubaker wanted to infuse the book with some magic, mythology and history.
I don't want to be giving away any plot points for Brubaker's story but if you do pick it up I would recommend multiple readings of the issue simply because first time around you will miss possible hints and clues to threads that have been placed here. It's then obvious how much effort and time he put into the script as it is as layered a book as you are likely to read this year. Trying to find possible clues to threads makes this book even more fun.
The story is one that jumps from a time period in San Francisco of the fifties and the present with events in the past directly affecting the outcome of events in the present. It is chock full of death, intrigue and mystery and I would read this type of book all day long.
Phillips is an expert at the gritty storytelling that Brubaker tells in these kinds of stories. The detail he is able to show coupled with the awesome colouring job of Dave Stewart mark this book as one of the best looking on the stands hands down. Phillips other collaborations with Brubaker looked great as well even when Val Staples was on colours but Stewart brings a whole extra dimension to Phillips pencils.
The usual extras that you come to expect from Brubaker and Phillips other works are present here and are only going to see print in the single issues as an incentive to those who don't want to wait for the trade. They include a cool painted piece from Phillips and a text piece on H.P. Lovecraft written by Jess Nevins. And also Brubaker breaks news in this issue that the first Criminal arc Coward is top adapted to film with David Slade with a script written by Brubaker. This comic is just about the perfect package. At a price cheaper than most Marvel and DC books with all those extras and an extended story there is honestly not a single argument against picking this book up. The bigger pity is to see Brubaker on Twitter bemoaning the fact that some comic shops have completely overlooked the book in pre-orders and never got it in! What were they thinking? Top stuff.
Story: 5/5
Art: 5/5
Overall: 10/10
Related Story: Fatale Already a Hit
Reviewer Bio
Name: David O' Leary
Email: idwfan@yahoo.co.uk
Bio: David has been with CR since June 2008 and started out as a reviewer and has expanded to do a couple of columns for the site also; starting with 28 Words Later with artist Declan Shalvey and later 5 Minutes With... where he talks with the industries best and brightest from Kubert to Moore.
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