Comic Review: Fatale #13
Posted By Dave Howlett on March 28, 2013
Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ Fatale (from Image Comics), now in its second year of publication, has become possibly the biggest sales success yet for the fan-favourite duo (as acclaimed as previous collaborations like Sleeper, Incognito, and Criminal were, they never quite caught on in the sales department). Much of this has to do with the unquestionable passion of the creators, whose devoted fanbase is now able to devour their back catalogue thanks to a steadily-replenished trade paperback and hardcover library. The two share the kind of synergistic creative energy that always feels more like the work of a single writer/artist (not dissimilar to Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso on books like 100 Bullets and Spaceman). But another indisputable factor in Fatale‘s success is its expert fusion of two popular, familiar genres–film noir intrigue and Lovecraftian horror–into something that feels excitingly new all the same. The latest issue, third in a four-part series of standalone, mythology-building entries, allows the creators to play in the sandbox of yet another genre–the Weird Western Tale.
Set in Colorado in 1883, Fatale #13 follows “Black” Bonnie Smith, a woman with a strange past and mysterious powers of persuasion who makes her living as a fearsome, poncho-clad bandit. Apprehended by a hulking, Native American bounty hunter named Milkfed, Bonnie is brought before a travelling “Magic Elixir” salesman named Professor Waldo Smythe, who hopes that Bonnie can lead him to the otherworldly, bald-headed villains seeking to claim her abilities for their own uses. These demonic pursuers, dwelling in a lighthouse fortress in the middle of the desert, possess a sinister bible of sorts that the wizened old shyster Smythe wants for himself. But, like Bonnie, Waldo is also not all that he seems to be.
These one-shot stories are a neat way for Brubaker and Phillips to open up Fatale‘s concept to a wide array of styles and genres, but they can be a bit frustrating as well. One issue is not really enough space to answer all of the questions the two raise, and it seems unlikely that the story will ever circle back to them again (even moreso than the previous two issues, Bonnie’s origin is quite vague–there are certain constants for all the ill-fated, yet seemingly immortal women in this series, but each one-shot has left behind lingering mysteries that are unique to their own individual stories). While Phillips’ art is as gloriously dark and craggy as ever, it fails to properly convey the book’s third-act twist about Waldo Smythe. On the other hand, new series colourist Elizabeth Breitweiser‘s work has never looked better than it does here, lending a beautifully naturalistic palette to the issue’s supernatural grit (Breitweiser replaced longtime Brubaker/Phillips mainstay Val Staples a few issues back). The individual, done-in-one adventures are a nice change of pace, but with an early tale of series protagonist Jo slated for next issue, Fatale will hopefully get around to solving at least a few of its mysteries.
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