Fatale: Vol #2 The Devil’s Business
Writer by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips
Image Comics
The Devil’s Business collects issues #6 - #10 of the regular run of Fatale.
By this time you are either completely hooked by the noir/slight horror storyline, or you have really bad taste in comics.
Josephine, the main character here, has a power over men. She can twist them to do whatever she wishes. Frankly, I don’t understand how she does what she does, that will come later in Ed Brubaker’s story I hope, but I confess the power she has is quite devine. You can nearly feel it come off the page and envelope you as you fall hopelessly in love with the story.
That is not to say this is a happy story. Not at all in fact.
The men ‘Jo’ affects are left broken, empty, lost, doomed to crash and burn.
And ‘Jo’ goes from moments of regret, to moments of the rush of the power she holds.
This is all set against a backdrop of demon worshipping cultists and a history hinted to be ages old.
Add in Sean Phillips spot-on art, he truly does seem to be tied into Brubaker’s style of writing with completely complimentary art, and this is simply an amazing book.
Jump into this series and fall under Jo’s dangerously beguiling spell.
Joe Golem Occult Detective #2
Written by Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, Patric Reynolds & Dave Stewart
Art by Patric Reynolds
Dark Horse Comics
When a comic starts out with only one of the first four pages having words on it, it excites me as a comic book reader.
Comic books are supposed to be highly visual, and in Joe Golem #2 that truth is most evident.
In this case the art pages, at least three of them, have Golem underwater fighting to save a boy from some kind of creature (more of it in a second).
The underwater fight scene is wonderfully rendered by artist Patric Reynolds. They are some of the best panels I have seen in a long while. There is one panel where Golem is preparing to punch the creature where his facial expression alone is worth the cost of the book.
Now, as for the creature, being a bit gray around the edges, I would say the creature reminded me of the famous ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’.
But, this is a book written by Mike Mignola, so a general likeness to Abe Sapien from the Hellboy stories is obvious.
While Reynolds’ art is the highlight here, there is of course a story too.
Mignola and his cast of co-writers are doing a nice job. Golem is a gritty, gumshoe, who of course deals in the world of the occult. How cool is that. Occult/pulp is just win-win.
There is a lot going on here, as a five-issue series.
The creature taking kids, the Golem’s aging boss/partner, and the hero’s vivid dreams which seem more than dreams. The diverse threads are a nice element in an era where too often a mini-series becomes a one thread story, starting and ending with one story devoid of tidbits on the side to savour.
Joe Golem is a definite winner. Mark it must-read.
