Fatale #14

Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips

Fatale is a supernatural comics story set in various historical periods, so it was only a matter of time that the story would encompass the Second World War.

Josephine, the closest thing this series has to a 'hero', has made her way to occupied Paris, where she met an older woman who teaches her about herself, and all manner of occult things.  She makes her way to Romania, trying to figure out what the creatures we've seen all through this series are up to, and she is captured.

This issue shows us the first meeting of Josephine and Walter Booker, a character of some prominence from the first story arc.  He's always had some abilities of his own where the occult is concerned, and this knowledge leads him to the same place where Josephine has been held.  The rest is history.

I like the way that Brubaker has snaked back to the beginning of his series, and this issue can be seen as a prequel to the very first one.  Fatale is continuously becoming more complex and textured as it continues, and I love watching this story unfold.  Very good stuff.

Fatale #13

Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips

In this latest one-off story, Brubaker and Phillips introduce us to 'Black' Bonnie Smith, an outlaw in 1880s Colorado, who, like regular series main character Jo, is immortal and has the ability to control the actions of men.

Bonnie has fallen into the outlaw lifestyle, after living many previous lifetimes in a variety of other ways.  When we meet her, she and her gang are under attack.  She is shot and taken prisoner by a Native American who she cannot influence.  We learn that the man, named Milkfed, is working for a mysterious professor who knows a great deal about who and what Bonnie is.  They are attacked by some of the creatures we've become used to seeing in this book, and the professor uses one of their eyes to locate their base, where he hopes to steal one of their books (a recurring theme in this series).

As with every issue of this series (or, really, any issue that features a collaboration between Brubaker and Phillips), this is an almost perfectly-created comic.  Bonnie reminds me a lot of Jo, an interesting mixture of self-confidence and vulnerability.  We are not learning a whole lot more about this series through these tangential one-offs beside the fact that there is a richer tapestry to this story than originally expected, but I really like seeing the different ways in which stories like Jo's have played out over the years.

Fatale #12

Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips

Since its inception, Fatale has been following Josephine, a mysterious woman who doesn't age, and who has some control over the actions of men.  The first story was set in the 30s, while the second took place in the 70s.  Last issue, which was a done-in-one story, saw Josephine investigating her own strange situation, and talking to an author who has some insight into condition, based on his own experiences in the 1890s.

This issue is quite different from anything that has gone before, as Brubaker takes us to the Languedoc region of France in the late thirteenth century.  Here, we meet Mathilda, a woman who can not be injured, and who never ages.  She doesn't understand any more about herself than Jo does, and after fleeing a religious group that tried to burn her at the stake, she ends up living in a small cabin in the woods with an older man.

This story doesn't give us a whole lot of insight into Josephine, or the cult that is pursuing her, but it does establish that these 'femmes fatale' have been around for a long time, and that the larger story of Fatale has some very deep roots.

A comic by Brubaker and Phillips is always enjoyable, and I was very pleased to see that Bettie Breitweiser, my current favourite colourist, has joined the team.  She did incredible work on Brubaker's Marvel books (Captain America and Winter Soldier), and I like looking at her work with Sean Phillips. This is a terrific series that just keeps getting better and better.

Fatale #11

Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips

I love the fact that Ed Brubaker has decided to make Fatale an on-going series instead of limiting it to the sixteen or so issues he'd originally intended, mostly because it gives him the space to tell stories like the one in this issue.

This is kind of a 'Times Past' one-off, checking in with Josephine back in 1936, at a time when she still hadn't figured out everything about herself and her abilities.  When the book opens, she's convinced a police officer in Texas to take her across the state, ruining his own life in the process.

Jo goes to visit Alfred Ravenscroft, a writer of mystical pulp stories, who Jo thinks may know something about her and her situation.  Ravenscroft's story is a strange one, encompassing his own brush with the otherworldly as a boy in Mexico in the 1890s, which has had a lasting effect on him and his mother.

This is a strange issue, and while it doesn't reveal a whole lot more about Jo, it does suggest that there is a lot more to Fatale than its central character.  We start to get a sense of the larger forces at work in this series, and this story provides Brubaker the chance to include the pulps that this series is a love letter to.

Fatale #10

Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips

The second arc of Fatale, set in the 70s, ends with this issue as many a 70s scene did - with a bunch of dead cultists and third-rate actresses.

Miles raids the Method Church's compound to steal a book for Josephine, and finds the place deserted.  The reason?  The church has figured out where Josephine is, and they've gone after her in force.

This is a bloody, violent issue, and it's great.  Brubaker announced this week that the series is now an indefinite on-going, and I am very happy about that (even if part of me worries that, as the story jumps forward through time, it will start to lose some of its strength, like what's happened with American Vampire).

Anyway, there's not a whole lot to say about this issue, except to make a comment about Brubaker's writing style.  He's always been very open about the fact that he starts arcs without knowing how they will finish, but he's such a good writer that no one would believe that.  Jo's gardener, first seen in the second issue of this arc, who appeared to be a complete throw-away character, gets a scene that feels like it had been predestined.  It is these little touches that make this book so great.

Fatale #9

Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips

Fatale is one of the best series on the stands right now, period.  Each issue is packed with excellent pacing, dialogue, and character work, and each issue is absolutely gorgeous.  Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips do some amazing things each and every issue.

In this issue, we learn the fate of Suzy Storm, a messed up young 70s actress wannabe who has fallen afoul of the Method Church, a cult centred on the evil Hansel (who has been in this series since it was set in the 30s).  Miles, Suzy's only friend, searches for her, but isn't sure if he is worried about her because she is her friend, or because her disappearance hurts Jo's chances of recovering the book she wants from the Method Church's library.

Jo, you see, is the femme fatale who gives this series its name.  She's immortal, and has some strange effect on men.  Miles is beginning to recognize that effect, as he learns a little more about his new woman.

I've been enjoying this 70s arc even more than I had the prior one, as the occult weirdness of the story translates nicely into that time period.  Brubaker's writing and characters are very sharp, and I found this to be a story that is very easy to get lost in.

The best thing about this issue is the announcement in the back that Brubaker and Phillips are expecting the story to last past issue twenty.  It's great to see an independent book by a couple of highly acclaimed creators reach such success since leaving the confines of Marvel's boutique line Icon (Criminal and Incognito, their previous series were published under that imprimatur).  This really is the decade of the independent comic...

Fatale #8

Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips

Fatale is such a great series.  This second arc has jumped in time into the seventies, although the series central figure, in flashbacks at least, Jo, has not aged or changed.  This issue ties the first and second arcs together in a number of ways.

The book opens with another present day 'interlude', featuring Nick, who is still trying to figure out the mystery surrounding his godfather, Dominick Raines, Jo, and the creepy men who are following him around.  Nick has gone into hiding while trying to figure out his next move, although he can't stay away from misfortune.  He suddenly remembers that he met Jo in his past, in an interesting scene which is later shown from a different perspective in the flashback.

Back in the 70s, Jo is rather freaking out, knowing that the cult she has been hiding from has discovered that she is alive and in LA.  She is wracked with uncertainty, and is more than happy to find comfort in the arms of the failed actor who has been our POV character in this arc.

We also learn a lot more about Hansel, the leader of the Method Church, and what his goals really are.

This is an incredibly well-scripted and drawn comic.

Fatale #8

Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips

Fatale has already been a spectacular success for Brubaker and Phillips, and I do believe that the book is only getting better with each new issue.  When the series started, I sometimes found it difficult to figure out just how the different characters related to each other, but since this second story arc began, set in the 70s, and introducing a whack of new characters, I find that the book is more compelling than ever before.

Our new hapless male protagonist is Miles, a C-list actor who has found himself on the run from the Method Church, an orgy and black magic cult, after rescuing a friend.  Last issue, they ended up in the home of Josephine, the immortal femme fatale for whom the series is named.  Having seen the video reel that Miles stole from the Method people (presumably some sort of extreme snuff film), Josephine wants a book that they possess, and uses her unnatural wiles to convince Miles to help her get it.

This leads to a great scene in a cemetery at night, and the appearance of more of those guys that have been showing up in every time period shown in this series so far.  Brubaker balances the tension in the comic perfectly once again, and Phillips's art is, as always, fantastic.  Just look at that cover - easily one of the best images Phillips has ever produced.

Fatale #6

Written by Ed Brubaker 
Art by Sean Phillips

The second story arc of Fatale starts with this issue, and it is an amazing start, perhaps even better than the first volume's.  Like with that story, this issue is split almost evenly between a prologue set in the present day, and the first chapter of the arc, set in the 1970s.

We begin by looking in on Nicolas Lash, the godson of Hank Raines.  Since we last saw him, Nicolas has become ever more obsessed with discovering the secrets of Josephine, the woman who was both his godfather's lover, and his companion when he lost his leg.  His obsession has led him to a level of paranoia which is confirmed as accurate when some people come after him, looking for some sort of object they figure he got from his godfather's house or safe deposit box.  Brubaker is piling on the mysteries in this section of the story.

The rest of the comic follows a B-movie actor named Miles, who seems to be involved in the seamier side of Los Angeles's drug fuelled star-wannabe scene.  Miles is looking to score some cocaine, and tracks a girl he knows named Suzy to a rather strange party.  He finds her in the basement with a stab wound, next to a guy whose head has been blown off.  It seems that Suzy is part of something called the Method Church, which I presume has some kind of link to the cult we've seen in previous issues of Fatale.  Anyway, it's not long before Miles is trying to help Suzy escape, and they end up in Josephine's backyard.

Most of this issue read not that differently from an issue of Criminal, which is of course, high praise.  There was more of a crime comic element to it than before, although I imagine that the horror aspect is going to be taking over as the story progresses.  Brubaker portrays Josephine as more of a victim of her circumstances, or 'curse' in this issue, which contrasts with how she was shown in the first arc, and in the prologue to this issue.

Fatale's first trade was published this week, so now is the perfect time for curious new readers to get on one of the best and most successful new series of 2012.  You won't be sorry.

Fatale #5

Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips

The first 'book' of Brubaker and Phillips's Fatale ends with this issue, as the reader really starts to see things come together.  Main character (of the flashback sequences, at least) Hank Raines has been abducted by the cultists, while Walt Booker, having performed some blood magic on himself, goes to meet with Josephine for what is probably the last time.

Since this book began, it's been a bit of a guessing game to try to figure out where each character's loyalties lie.  It's been clear that Hank is under Jo's spell, as Booker used to be, but the extent to which Booker has escaped her influence has never been too clear.

Those questions get cleared up here, and not necessarily in the way I expected.  We also get a good sense of the threat posed by Bishop and his people, and everyone ends up in a big fight scene in some creepy tunnels under San Francisco.

The issue then moves to an epilogue set in our time, where Nick is still trying to piece together what happened to his godfather, and what has happened to him.  I'm not sure if the next arc is going to remain in the current day, or if we will also see more flashbacks to Hank Raines's day.

Fatale has been a huge success for Brubaker and Phillips, and it is completely deserving of that, although I'm a little surprised that Criminal, their noir crime series, hasn't been more popular, as it was a much more accessible piece of work.  Who knows - maybe there is a renaissance of more sophisticated comics readers underway?  Or maybe it's just because Image better knows how to market a book like this than Marvel can.

Fatale #4

Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips

Things in this series are really starting to heat up, as many of the different threads of Brubaker's story begin to tangle up in this issue.  Hank has been accused of viciously murdering his wife and his unborn son, but the reader knows he's innocent, because he was with the mysterious, ageless Jo, murdering a cultist at the time.  Also under suspicion are the two cops whose mob connections Hank revealed in his newspaper.

Brubaker has been rather slow in setting up the more supernatural aspects of this story, aside from the fact that Jo doesn't age (we've seen her in a parallel plot, set in modern days).  This issue, though, we learn that Jo's previous companion and police detective Booker has always been able to see the supernatural world out of the corner of his eyes, including the squid-like creature that graced the variant cover of the first issue of this series.

Fatale has been an interesting read from the beginning, but I really feel that it's found its stride over the last two issues.  I'm always going to be happy buying a comic with Sean Phillips's art in it, but with each new issue, this series is becoming a more essential read.

Fatale #3

Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips

There are a couple of things about this comic that made me happy.  To begin at the end, in the text piece at the back of the book, Ed Brubaker discusses the planned length of the series.  Previously, I'd expected this to be a five or six-issue limited series, like Brubaker and Phillip's recent work with Criminal or Incognito.  Instead, the current plan is to have this comic run for at least fifteen issues, making it the longest thing they've done together since Sleeper.  I see this as very good news, as I was having a bit of a hard time grasping the scope of this comic, as I felt things were perhaps moving a little slow for a six-issue story.  Now, I recognize that they are only just getting started.

The other thing that I liked about this comic is that about half of it continued the modern-day part of the story that the series began with.  Nicolas Lash, more or less recovered from his injuries, returns to the house his godfather left him, but doesn't find any more clues as to Jo's identity or intent.  He also rebuffs an offer to have his godfather's lost novel published, and instead begins to research some of the events that happened to him before he started writing. 

This returns us to the past, as Hank and Jo go on a little trip, conveniently happening at the same time that Hank's wife is murdered (off panel).  Hank starts to learn a little more about Jo, as she takes him to the house where she 'died the first time', and they meet someone who was present at that event.  Brubaker is really stepping up the mystery in this series, and I'm starting to get a better understanding of where this is all going.

In the text piece he also discusses the success of this series, as both issues prior to this one have sold out at Diamond, and are selling better than anything the creators have ever done together before this.  It really is an exciting time for independent comics I feel, and I am pleased to see that creators I respect and admire a great deal are receiving greater success.

Fatale #2

Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips

I'd found the first issue of Fatale to be a little confusing (although still very good).  This second issue helps make things a lot clearer, as the whole issue remains in the 1950s, and makes much clearer the relationships between the principal characters.

It seems that Josephine, the femme 'fatale' of the title, has been using men to prolong her longevity for some time.  Her current 'protector', police detective Walt Booker is on the way out with her, and she's begun to manipulate Hank Raines, a reporter, into helping her dispose of Booker, and to take his place.

As is to be expected with a Brubaker/Phillips production, this is a very capable comic.  Brubaker is taking his time laying out all the groundwork for the story, introducing us to the Bishop responsible for the cult suicides we saw last issue, and giving us a few hints as to Josephine's secrets, without giving anything much away.

This is a very cool comic, although I can't help but wonder if it won't read much clearer in trade.

Fatale #1

Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips

Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, especially when working together, are two of the most lauded and respected creators making comics these days.  Their work on Sleeper, Incognito, and the sublime Criminal has received tons of praise over the last ten years or so, and deservedly so.

I'm not sure what caused them to publish Fatale through Image Comics instead of Marvel's Icon imprint, which is where their last two collaborations were released.  It doesn't matter though, as aside from the logo on the cover, the design and feel of this book is no different from Criminal or Incognito, down to the essay by Jess Nevins at the back of the issue.

Where Criminal was begun as an homage to the crime pulps that preceded comics, and Incognito was the same for adventure pulps, Fatale is their horror book (although it reads like a crime series).  This first issue begins at a funeral for a mystery writer.  His godson and executor meets a beautiful young woman whose grandmother knew the writer.  Later, the godson is at the old man's secluded house when some thugs with guns show up.  The girl is there too, and she helps him escape, although as they flee, they get in a car accident. 

At that point, I started to get a sense of what I expected the series to be - a mystery surrounding the old writer's unpublished first novel.  That's not going to be the case though, as the rest of the book is set back in the 1950s.  There is a reporter (with the same last name as the writer in the introduction) who is interested in a woman who has the same name as the girl at the funeral (or is she the same girl - there is a suggestion that Josephine doesn't age).  There is also a corrupt cop who keeps her as a mistress, and some business involving a cult that was slaughtered in their home.

There's not much to go on with this first issue.  Brubaker is taking his time setting up the story and characters, preferring in this case to dump us into the deep end and let us make our own connections as the story goes.  There is definitely enough to grab the reader's interest, and Phillips's art is lovely - moody and evocative of the atmosphere and time period.  It's good stuff.