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The
Fanboy Planet Preview Spotlight 05/17/06
brought to you by Brian's Books of Santa
Clara
Each
week we look through the upcoming releases to offer our two
cents as to what's hot and what's not. You can agree with
us or not, but spend your money wisely. Fell
#5
writer: Warren Ellis
artist: Ben Templesmith
When
Fell first appeared, it had a good pedigree. Warren
Ellis always writes something interesting, if not always
knock-down great. On the art side of things, Ben Templesmith
brings a unique look; love him or hate him, at least he
looks like Templesmith and no one else.
Still,
for whatever reason that week, I skipped it. People talked
about it but in a slurry of other books, it sort of kept
falling by the wayside. Figuring that with Templesmith involved,
it would have a supernatural bent and I'd have the strange
feeling I'd seen it all before anyway.
Wrong.
If
you miss shows like Homicide: Life on the Street,
then Fell #5 is absolutely the book for you. Maybe
that's too narrow a description. If you just like graphic
storytelling at its finest, then Fell #5 is for you.
Yes,
it does have the feel of good crime fiction regardless of
medium, with a compelling central character and taut rhythm.
Still Ellis and Templesmith make it somehow uniquely fitted
to comics.
The
book has two things going for it that would make it low
risk, even if it wasn't as good as it is. Each issue, apparently,
is a stand-alone story, though clearly Ellis has worked
in subtle subplots. And Image has gone ahead and let it
be priced at $1.99. Literally, this book is your best buy
on the stands.
But
Templesmith seems far more controlled in this book than
in his other work. The chaos that sometimes takes center
stage lines the edges, reflecting the constant danger that
lurks in the story. However, the characters are all recognizably
human, despite the monstrosity of the crimes of the guy
sweating in the box. That humanity helps bring the story
to an almost touching resolution.
The
character of Fell himself has literary antecedents, but
both Ellis and Templesmith portray him as something just
about life-sized, not exaggerated in either direction. Underplaying
the role, if you will, in the spirit of Bogart with a touch
of Simon Pegg.
Ellis
writes a game of wits that sweats the tension as much as
Templesmith's art. A simple police interrogation turns into
a nice little psychological thriller, and each panel has
to be savored even as you want to rush to the next one.
That's
simply good storytelling, and unexpectedly (for me), Fell
is simply a great book that has me hook, line and sinker.
And
you thought I'd make a falling pun. For shame.
Page
2: 52 #2, Batman Year 100 #4, Fear Agent #4 and more...
Hey, write to us and
let us know what you think, or talk about it on the
forums!
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