Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Fatale #1
Image Comics
Brubaker & Phillips
Fans of Brubaker and Phillips know their kind of story and the style very well. On the off chance that someone hasn't read Criminal, Incognito or Sleeper I will try to explain how this all works and the nuisances for this particular issue. The bottom line is that Brubaker and Phillips tell dark stories that are about shady characters where the story takes their lives from one twist to the next and the true "plot" doesn't really become clear until the very end. The comics are done very well and each series has it's own twist on it and this one creeps into the horror genre that has ties to HP Lovecraft. This is an excellent first issue.
If you have read Criminal then you know that the previous arc, Last of Innocent, was probably the best one the pair has done. So this series, even with a different genre and a different publisher, is going to have its work cut out for it.
The prologue of the book is set in the present time. A man attends a funeral of a family friend. He meets a woman there that has ties to the deceased. They meet up at the deceased's house under very different circumstances and this launches into a chase, a mystery and then a flashback to some fifty years earlier.
The bulk of the issue is set during the 1950s were we are introduced to a group of shady characters. The ties to the prologue are obvious in some cases and still a mystery in others. The book is a lot like Criminal except this book has horrific and bloody scenes that are tied to the occult and the book seems to contain characters of the supernatural realm. All of this makes for a very un-Criminal like story.
The book includes a back up of Brubaker's thoughts and an essay about HP Lovercraft with an accompanying illustration. These nuggets are only provided in the physical comic book and are not in the digital version or the trade. They truly round out the book and provide a full and lengthy read.
Phillips provides the same work as he has done in Criminal and Incognito. Even the protagonist and the femme fatale have very familiar faces even if they are completely different characters. Phillips makes sure the book looks dirty and seedy. He wants you to know that there are no heroes in this book and he does so beautifully.
Fatale has the makings a truly great horror comic book. Fans of Criminal may be a little hesitant that the noir style isn't conducive to horror but up to this point he noir elements are driving the story and the horror aspect is sitting in the background. I am excited to see where this is all going.
4 out of 5 Geek Goggles
