Comic Book Review: Fell: Feral City (Image Comics)

by Pat Johnson


After the death and hair dye of John Constantine, the world once again has a blond-haired opposer of hell spawn to cheer for: Detective Fell. When I first started reading this initial collection of stories, I expected what you just read in the previous sentence, but what I got was less supernatural and more bleak human drama. Imagine the grittiness of The Shield shot through the lens of Brian Templesmith's (30's days of night) darkly askew paintings. The world they create with Fell has the haunting imagery of Tim Burton's best depicting harsh realities similar to those seen in movies like Seven and Black Rain. Or at least, that's how it seems. There are still the Ronald Regan nun and the mysterious bridge to contend with. In short, the supernatural is deliberately left in your head, creating a vacuum of explanation. Even though the stories flirt with nightmares, their reality is far more horrifying. Several stories deal with truly evil and bestial situations, often leaving the reader both afraid and sad for the darker characters of our world. However as our protagonist resignly trudges through the shit and grime of his urban prison. his journey never dips below fascinating.

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Contact: pat@king-sheep.com