Brubaker, Phillips turn to supernatural horror in 'Fatale'

I have less free time these days and a dwindling budget to go along with it, so it’s rare for me to pick up any new book or comic book without knowing anything about it.

Any Ed Brubaker/Sean Phillips collaboration gets tucked right away into the ‘buy now’ pile. Their latest, Fatale, hit the shelves last week and it does not disappoint.

Brubaker and Phillips have worked together on several different critically-acclaimed titles; from the crime series ‘Criminal’ to their take on super-powered characters in ‘Sleeper’ and ‘Incognito.’ Their stories are dark and gritty; relentlessly paced.

Fatale is heavy on the noir like those titles are, but adds in a mystical element of Lovecraftian horror. The story is told by Nicolas Lash, the godson of the Dominic Raines, a writer of trashy—but popular—detective novels and revolves around a mysterious woman he meets at Raines’ funeral. From the beginning, he is captivated with Jo, and then he pulls a picture with a woman bearing her likeness from an unpublished manuscript The story then flashes back to that time, when two crooked San Francisco police officers are looking into a bizarre series of murders. Jo’s look-alike, who goes by the name Josephine, is there, too—along with a reporter named Hank Raines, who is trying to prove just how crooked the two cops are. Josephine is the link between them.

Brubaker’s story is impeccably timed, the characters well defined and distinctive. There are a few clichés thrown in, which took me by surprise, but the story itself is intriguing enough to overlook those minor annoyances. Phillips’ distinctive artistic style, which had always seemed perfectly attuned to the back alleys and sleezy bars of the Criminal arcs, is a more than adequate match for the grotesque and creepy places the corrupt cop Booker and his partner are drawn into, as well.

The first issue of Fatale has been out for a couple weeks and might be hard to find. If you can, it’s worth picking up. The second issue drops on Feb. 1.

"I knew his name, and it was good to see him again..."

The latest 'senses-shattering' epic has come to a close in the Marvel Comics Universe. Bruce Banner and The Hulk have been separated in to two distinct beings; the Hulk now apparently lives underground with the Mole Men, while Banner has opened up a lab on some deserted tropical isle and is now in search of his former alter ego. He wants to find him or, barring that, re-create him.

So begins 'The Incredible Hulk #1,' the latest relaunch of the Marvel line. Writer Jason Aaron, elevated now to the title of Marvel Architect, has the scripting and story duties while legendary artist Marc Silverstri handles the artwork.

That team-up is enough to make any fan boy (or fan girl) turn green in anticipation; Silverstri is a true master and Aaron is approaching legendary status, himself. I first became familiar with his work through Scalped, a critically acclaimed crime thriller set on an Indian reservation populated with a legion of hard-bitten crime lords, drug dealers, federal agents and several other vivid anti-heroes. His characterization of Frank Castle in Marvel's Punshier Max series is the best take on the character since Garth Ennis and Andy Dillon's.

I don't think he's a good fit for this title, and I'm sure it's no fault of his own, given all the work that has been piled on him (he now writes a Wolverine title, as well). You simply can't put as much attention on four or five titles as you can on one.

Time will tell, as this series is only two issues long. The second was released last week, and the storyline was a little better. The concept of Banner as a mad scientist type bent on finding the Hulk is a good one. It stands to reason that, after having the Hulk a part of him for so long, he would miss the ability to, well, smash everything in sight if the mood took him. I just think he'd be smarter about it.

Done well, it would be an intriguing storyline. If not, it will probably be erased--as so many other incarnations have been--through yet another relaunch.