You know I love this series; I feel like I have never even mentioned how much Sean Phillips’ art captures this series. Maybe I have, but oh well. The beginning two pages just shows the range of this man. It is amazing how he gets every shadow, curve, and gore to capture the story line. I cannot get enough of his range. The colors are just perfect bringing in all those dark hints with subtle but vibrant tones. Fatale has it all. Last issue brought the past and present together with Nelson and Nicolas. Nelson fell hard for Jo and searched until his time was over for her everlasting affection. Nicolas, quite frankly, got the crap beat out of him. Nicolas felt it physically and mentally and now wakes up to a new place. We don’t exactly know where on a map Jo and Nicolas are. Like last issue we get a connection from the past to the present. But unlike last issue, it is a present connection with the past. I found this to be very interesting way of setting up the plot. I love the time flips. It leads to an understanding of lots of different characters, but no doubt give the book appeal.
This last push by Phillips and Brubaker is proving to be worth the work. I am blown away with how amazing everything is turning out. This issue gives us some real insight on the questions that hang over everyone’s head...but then at the same time there is still so much to answer!
What surprised me most about this issue was the drawn that Jo has over Nicolas. I don’t know why but I thought he would be immune to her powers. Silly me. When they first meet, Nicolas seems to be truly curious about his uncle and not so much Jo, only the role that she played in his life. But this issues proves me wrong and in fact shows Jo controlling Nicolas’ mind. It seems like a gift to be able to have this awesome power, but we know that she can’t turn it off. Jo truly embodies a curse that will reveal an underlying gang of men searching for the ultimate sacrifice.
We get introduced to a new character named Otto whose house Nicolas is at. Otto is a new man to us, but is a friend of Jo’s. Honestly he is probably her only true friend and this will make sense once you pick up the comic. What is crazy about Fatale is that every time we get introduced to a new character that will last some time, it is always a man. We meet very few women. I am wondering why Jo hasn’t found comfort in women. This could be her safe haven. Or the women could fall for her too. The curse clearly singles out men, but at the same time it would be interesting if women were involved. We had one woman in our 90s era story and I liked seeing the dynamic between the two.
Fatale is such a good comic. I would hate for anyone to miss out on any issue, but this one really is good about answering some of our questions. It is leading up to something epic.
Score: 5/5
Writer: Ed Brubaker Artist: Sean Phillips Publisher: Image Comics Price: $3.50 Release Date: 3/26/14