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...