Fatale (Image Comics)

Publication history

The series was originally announced in the final issue of Brubaker and Phillips’ previous collaboration,  Criminal : Last of the Innocent  .  ^[1]  Further details about the series, including its publisher, were revealed at the 2011 New York Comic Con .  ^[2]  Brubaker also released a video teaser for the series.  ^[3]

The series began publishing in January 2012. Although initially billed as a twelve-issue series, the length was increased in November 2012.  ^[4]  The series concluded after 24 issues.  ^[5]

Several issues featured article by Jess Nevins and others on the crime / black characters, both fictional and real.

Plot

Fatale  chronicles the life of Josephine, or “Jo”, an archetypal femme fatale who is seemingly immortal, having survived from the 1930s to the modern day, and has a supernatural ability to hypnotize men into becoming intensely infatuated with her. want them to be or not.

Through the decades, Jo struggles to understand and control her powers while being pursued by a violent cult. The cult worships cosmic reminiscent gods of Lovecraftian horrors , which are somehow tied to Jo.

During her travels, you can also get to know many people quickly, often to fanatical degrees. They become entangled in her escapades, possibly as guardians, collaborators, and lovers. A motive of the series is how these men pay dearly for becoming involved with Jo.

The narrative jumps back and forth between different periods and points of view, mainly Jo and the men led by her. The majority of the action in the first story arc takes place in the 1950s, the second in the 1970s, the third during the 1930s and World War II , while the fourth arc is set in the 1990s.

A couple of issues featured stand-alone stories focused on “fatal” before Jo. Issue # 12 tells the story of Mathilda in 13th century France, while Issue # 13 tells the story of “Black” Bonnie in the Wild West . Aside from her powers, both women and friends of the same religion.

Collected editions

#	title	Publisher	year	ISBN	Reprints
1	Death Chases me	Image Comics	2012	Fatal  # 1-5
2	The Devil’s Business	Image Comics	2013	Fatal  # 6-10
3	West of Hell	Image Comics	2013	Fatal  # 11-14
4	Pray For Rain	Image Comics	2014	Fatal  # 15-19
5	Curse the Demon	Image Comics	2014	Fatal  # 20-24

The first ten issues were also collected into a hardcover edition, including behind-the-scenes art and stories, sketches and layouts, back page illustrations, and several of Jess Nevins’ historical essays. A second hardcover collected issues 11-24.

Critical reception

The first issue to be successful.  ^[6]  Reviews for the series were mostly positive with comparisons to the creative team’s previous work on  Sleeper  ,  Criminal  , and  Incognito  .  ^{[7]  [8]  [9]}

Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips received multiple Eisner Awards nominations for  Fatale  in 2013: “Best Continuing Series” (Brubaker and Phillips), “Best New Series” (Brubaker and Phillips), “Best Writer” (Brubaker), “Best Penciller / Inker “(Phillips), and” Best Cover Artist “(Phillips).  ^[10]

David Stewart received a 2013 Eisner award for “Best Coloring”.  ^[11]

References