Nothing could have ruined this series for me, but Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips ended one of my favorite comics beautifully. Any reader knows how special this comic has been and to say good-bye is bittersweet. When first opening this comic, I had no idea where it was taking me but the layout and storytelling was too good to pass up. The dynamics of each character with each new time period all surrounding our femme fatale, Jo. Just like the comic, Jo was addicting through and through. Not only did every man who saw her, touched her, and heard her fell over himself to be closer, the readers couldn’t help but take notice of her presence as well. Jo’s story has to finally come to an end. She has waited long enough and whether she wins or loses, I think Jo wants some sort of long-awaited resolution. Obviously, she is going to do everything in her power to win, and we all know Jo’s power is deeper than ever. But the comic starts with a fairy tale of sorts. The art is incredible and looks to have a stained glass effect. I love it, and even though we have gone through so many with Jo, we finally get to the history of it all. Nicolas is shown as a young child listening to the story that his uncle is telling. It is sad, but we even get the sense that Dominic never thought Jo could win. The story could be interpreted many different ways, but for me it tells of demons that never can disappear.
We then enter present day with Nicolas. He is taken prisoner along with Nelson. I swear we can’t get rid of this crazy dude, but you have to hand it to Nelson for staying alive this long… he just isn’t sane. The Bishop and his team are putting together their plan. It seems they are always one step ahead of Jo, but then again Jo told Nicolas she had a plan. Everyone’s plan seems to fall together and now we are at the climax of the comic. Jo, Nicolas, Bishop, and all are here to watch these events unfold. It really could go either way.
Then Fatale ends just as gracefully as it began. I am not giving too much anyway in knowing that you will purchase this issue, but the ending is up in the air. Not up in the air as to what actually happens with each character but up in the air to what each character is thinking. One way could be selfishness and that the story really was all about Jo. No matter what happens to her, the damage is done and she will move on to freedom. Or you could say that the curse will move on in other ways. No matter what their will always be dragons not being slayed. Even still Nicolas’ last moments are heartbreaking. Maybe he really was the center of the story with every other guy she encountered. Honestly, I don’t know but I like to think that someone survived it all; my only question is the worth of survival.
Brubaker and Phillips took on such a deep story and with new material coming out from them, I think they will have nothing but success after this comic has ended. Fatale has been the most alluring comic in line up, so it will be missed and will never really end in thoughts.
Score: 5/5
Writer: Ed Brubaker Artist: Sean Phillips Publisher: Image Comics Price: $3.50 Release Date: 7/30/14 Format: Print/Digital