Comic Book Day: Image’s Fatale Continues Its Killing Spree

Brubaker and Phillips’ mystery series is unquestionably good.

Since 1999’s Scene of the Crime, a four-issue Vertigo mini-series, writer Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips have produced over 1,500 pages of work together, much of it gritty crime fiction. Their latest joint endeavor, Fatale, is one of the jewels of Image Comics’ current lineup, which is saying something when you consider heavy hitters like Thief of Thieves, The Walking Dead and Saga. Equal parts noir, hardboiled crime fiction and Lovecraftian horror, Fatale began its life as a twelve issue series, but the release of today’s issue #14 is proof in the pudding that this train ain’t slowing down anytime soon, especially when Brubaker and Phillips are the conductors. Case in point: we caught up with the Criminal masterminds over at Nerdist.com.

A spiraling, labyrinthine tale of love, lust, betrayal, murder and otherworldly intrigue, Fatale begins in 2012 when a reporter stumbles upon a secret that leads him to a mysterious woman, the titular femme fatale. What makes her so mysterious? Well, how about the fact that she’s been on the run from a mobster who may or may not be an immortal demon since 1935? And the fact that she doesn’t seem to age? And many doomed men have found themselves entangled in her years-long struggle? We’ll give you a second to pick your jaw up from the floor.

Seamlessly blending elements of classical mystery, horror and noir, Fatale is an immersive, compelling page-turner of a comic, navigating different eras with ease and carefully constructing the ever-thickening plot at which Josephine, the aforementioned mystery woman, sits front and center. Looking for a good jumping-on point? Pick up the recently released first trade paperback or snag today’s issue #14, which sheds some light on Josephine’s back story, following her foray into World War II-era Romania where she encounters mysterious old crones, demonic Nazis and, of course, a handsome, but ultimately doomed soldier. Then be sure to read our interview with series creators Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips because every good mystery needs even better answers.

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