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Review: Fell Vol. 1 HC
Fell Vol. 1 HC
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Ben Templesmith
Published by Image Comics. $24.99 USD
This collects the first eight issues of Ellis' compressed crime series (16 page issues rather than the standard 22), and before I get into the praise I can't help mentioning that I once asked Ellis if compressed comics were going to be the next thing, to compete with the length and expense of manga, and he said that it wouldn't work. Well, I guess he proves himself wrong here with one of his best characters, Det. Richard Fell, who for as-yet-unexplained reasons has left the big city (think something like NYC) to cross the bridge into Snowtown (sort of a town in New Jersey but more like Hell, if that's not redundant). Aside from Fell's backstory and the stories behind the creepy symbols spraypainted on buildings and the squat, violent transvestite glimpsed every issue or so, this series is pretty much police procedural stuff, but with Ellis' fecund imagination for grotesquerie, kinks and cruelty. Whereas in past works Ellis might have been satisfied with throwing a badass woman in the middle of it and calling it done, here he softens up a bit and comes up aces with the sympathetic, thoughtful, utterly competent but occasionally fallible Fell. Ellis even gives Fell a love interest, and it's amazing what these warm, conventional elements give to his work.
Templesmith is a good if limited choice. He's perfect for the horrific look of Snowtown and its denizens, but sweetness and facial range are not his forte. Still, he hasn't blown any opportunities, just maybe hasn't taken them to the next level. Good team, though, and good series.
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Ben Templesmith
Published by Image Comics. $24.99 USD
This collects the first eight issues of Ellis' compressed crime series (16 page issues rather than the standard 22), and before I get into the praise I can't help mentioning that I once asked Ellis if compressed comics were going to be the next thing, to compete with the length and expense of manga, and he said that it wouldn't work. Well, I guess he proves himself wrong here with one of his best characters, Det. Richard Fell, who for as-yet-unexplained reasons has left the big city (think something like NYC) to cross the bridge into Snowtown (sort of a town in New Jersey but more like Hell, if that's not redundant). Aside from Fell's backstory and the stories behind the creepy symbols spraypainted on buildings and the squat, violent transvestite glimpsed every issue or so, this series is pretty much police procedural stuff, but with Ellis' fecund imagination for grotesquerie, kinks and cruelty. Whereas in past works Ellis might have been satisfied with throwing a badass woman in the middle of it and calling it done, here he softens up a bit and comes up aces with the sympathetic, thoughtful, utterly competent but occasionally fallible Fell. Ellis even gives Fell a love interest, and it's amazing what these warm, conventional elements give to his work.
Templesmith is a good if limited choice. He's perfect for the horrific look of Snowtown and its denizens, but sweetness and facial range are not his forte. Still, he hasn't blown any opportunities, just maybe hasn't taken them to the next level. Good team, though, and good series.
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