Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Fatale #13Fatale #13
Image Comics
Brubaker & Phillips

If you've been following comics at any point during the past ten years you've probably come across positive praise for some of the works of Brubaker and Phillips. Fatale is their latest comic series that are stories told about hardened characters doing not-so-heroic things but with a sense of purpose and perhaps honor along the way. Brubaker labels them noir but whether you understand what Brubaker means by this, these books and this book in particular are very entertaining and build drama to the point of becoming thrilling. This issue is a standalone comic and is a perfect issue to dive in the water and give the Brubaker and Phillips comics chain a try.

This series is generally about women (or one woman depending on how you look at it) that have unnatural control over men. This particular one-shot is about a woman named Bonnie that is captured by a pseudo-bounty hunter Indian who is working for a mysterious professor. The setting is some time during the 1800s presumably in the old west. The story is written and illustrated eloquently as the story builds up over the twenty plus pages to a dramatic conclusion.

Brubaker tells much of the story through a third party narrator which generally isn't the most ideal way to tell a story but it works well here when the characters pick those threads up in their dialogue. The trio of characters all work well as they get introduced, established and are given unique personalities. Both Bonnie and the professor are even given some backstory to help build them up a little more. When you analyze the book it definitely delivers a tight story with a well constructed cast and plot.

Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle ReviewsPhillips brings a bit of a brighter look to the artwork this time around. The story is still presented in a dark manner but there isn't nearly as much lurking in the shadows as in previous issues. Phillips draws a nice western setting and displays the right tone for this issue.

Fatale is a great book. This particular issue is a perfect example of what this series is about. This issue has a stranger essay in the back than normal, but it still rounds out a great magazine-like package. If you like horror stories, western and femme fatales then you should give this book a try. At the very least you get an intelligently written and beautifully drawn book. Give it a shot.

4 out of 5 Geek Goggles