31 Days Of Halloween Comics: Fatale

Fatale crop

It seems enormously silly to call anything by the lauded, award-winning duo of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips underrated. It is all appropriately rated. However, perhaps under-discussed at least compared to their masterwork, Criminal, is the excellent Lovecraftian noir Fatale.

Originally planned for 12 issues through Image Comics, but expanded to 24, the plot follows Jo, a seemingly immortal woman with the power to hypnotize men. As the book jumps through various time periods, we also see a cult that has been tracking Jo down over the decades, always closing in.

The neat conceit here, beyond the intriguing mythology, is that it flips the perspective of a noir from the conflicted detective to the Femme Fatale of the title. Jo comes into situations and seemingly ruins men’s lives, just as a mysterious dame might in a detective novel. But we’re riding with her the whole time.

It’s also if you couldn’t tell from the subject matter and frequently sexy covers, very much for adults. This is bloody and violent, sensual, and infused with the tone of pulp novels of yesteryear, all under the confident pencils of Phillips.

The book received multiple Eisner nominations, and colorist Dave Stewart won in 2013. So yeah, not exactly an under-the-radar book or anything. But with the prolific duo of Brubaker and Phillips, it’s easy to jump on to the next thing and forget the stellar ongoing work they did on a series like this one.

If you’re curious to check Fatale out — or revisit it — Image has collected the book in five volumes, two Deluxe Editions, and one Compendium. Or if you want to try before you buy, check out the first issue, free.

Fatale compendium

It’s spooky season, and you know what that means: time to curl up with a comic book or graphic novel that will scare your socks off. With that in mind, we’re posting a new horror book to check out every day of October, for our 31 Days Of Halloween Comics. Awoooo! Looking for the rest of our picks? Check them out on the Halloween tag.

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