Disclaimer: As this post is categorized as a review, it may contain spoilers.
I’ve been looking forward to Fatale ever since it was announced at NYCC. I love Ed Brubaker. I love a good hardboiled mystery tale. And I love them even more when they include a healthy helping of the supernatural. But Fatale doesn’t appear to be the John Dickson Carr brand of mystery, in which even the most impossible of crimes have a logical explanation to them. The magic in Fatale has only been hinted at, but it seems that it’s very real.
Like many noir tales before it, Fatale begins at a funeral, but it isn’t long before things get a little bit stranger. Nicolas Lash meets a mysterious dame, discovers an unpublished manuscript, and sees his life go completely off the rails in the span of a few pages. The pacing is strong throughout, and the comic feels like it goes by quickly in spite of all the story packed into it. Sometimes, there’s so much going on that you might have to flip back a few pages to check things, but I like that in a comic. Fatale doesn’t end with the kind of cliffhanger we’ve been seeing in a lot of number one issues lately, but it gives readers plenty of action, intrigue, and a few jaw-dropping moments along the way. It’s like a darker take on Alfred Hitchcock‘s North by Northwest.
Trying to land on your head, maybe.
The mystical elements of Fatale are very subtle. We see bits and pieces of pulp fiction’s weirdest standards- mystical nazis, some kind of cult- and it seems the tale’s titular femme has some unusual abilities. However, they’re presented in a way that feels natural, and the comic feels grounded in reality in spite all of this. It’s an interesting essay on H.P. Lovecraft at the end of this comic that makes me really curious to see where Fatale might be going. It discusses the impact Lovecraft had on the cosmic horror genre, and talks about the way he focused on the unseen. There’s no kind of horror that gets under my skin quite like the unavoidable dread in Lovecraft’s stories, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of that influence here.
I suddenly feel as though I should be quoting Sin City.
Sean Phillips‘ art instantly sets the tone for the series, and makes reading Fatale feel a little like watching a classic film. He handles both beautiful women and gruesome scenery with ease, and breathes life into all the comic’s characters with his strong facial expressions and figure work. While most of the pages have a standard feel, there are a few moments where he really cuts loose, and they are a delight to behold. Dave Stewart demonstrates why he continues to be one of the best colorists in the comic industry. He has such a strong understanding of how to use lighting, and adds an additional level of atmosphere to every page.
This is very different from what Brubaker’s done before, and very similar to it at the same time. I recommend setting aside whatever ideas you might have about a Brubaker/Phillips comic and just enjoying this as it unfolds. It’s too early to tell what kind of story Fatale will really be, but it’s a quality comic no matter how you look at it. If you’re a fan of Phillips or pulp comics, this is an absolute must read, and fans of other genres should give this comic a look as well.