Fell #9 – Review

By: Warren Ellis (writer) and Ben Templesmith (art)

After reading the trade, I ran to my local comic book store and  (luckily) found a copy of Fell #9. It’s $1.99. Cheap! I don’t recall a comic being so cheap in the last 5 years or so. What’s nice about buying the issues over the trade is you get Warren Ellis talking about how he got the story in a “behind the scenes” sort of manner, plus you get the letters section, too.

Detective Richard Fell takes a case of hostage negotiation – someone’s taken two old people hostage in their house and they’ve been held there for about three days. It took me a moment to understand the doodles drawn on the hostage’s front door, then I realized it was all of Fell’s mind formulating his adversary; imaginative and clever. It becomes apparent that Steve (the hostage-taker) injured the old couple. But it all turns out it was a major health insurance screw-up, which almost feels like a lost scene from Michael Moore’s Sicko.

Fell helps Steve get some kind of justice at the end. I love how Ellis grounds these stories in reality, whether he’s inspired by stuff he sees on the news or the Internet.

The recurring nun doesn’t show up on this story (but she does as a sketch in the back pages). Previous issues of Fell were published intermittently, but Ellis promises faster turnaround after #10 (which he estimates it’s going to be released by spring). This series has turned out to be a gratifying find. It may come out inconsistently, but it’ll remain on my pull list. (Grade: A)

-Daniel Yanez

A Second Opinion

Okay, the nun’s been missing in action for two issues now! What gives?! Other than that, we get another fun issue of Fell. As Daniel mentioned, the scene where Fell is visualizing his opponent on the other side of the door is pure genius. Ben Templesmith’s art may not be for everyone, but there’s no denying his narrative skills on this book. As for Warren Ellis? Well, this is probably some of the most “normal” work you’ll ever see him do. It still has his quirks, but most of story isn’t far from reality.

Nearly all of Fell’s past stories have been open-ended. This issue continues that tradition. Sure, we wanna see what happens to the hospital director, but Ellis leaves that to our imaginations. There’s no denying that this is a strong issue, but it’s beginning to feel a little too “Law & Order” for me – like it’s just going through the motions. (Grade: B)

– J. Montes

Fell #1-8 (Feral City TPB) – Review

By: Warren Ellis (written) and Ben Templesmith (illustrated)

I read this trade reluctantly because I didn’t like Templesmith’s previous work (Wormwood). But you know what? The right script, some realism, and believable characters makes his art shine. Templesmith has been redeemed (at least for me).

Richard Fell is a detective who’s just been transferred to the worst part of town. Snowtown has plenty of drugs, killers, freaks and feral dogs and it seems like it’s always night. With every issue you get a complete story – If you haven’t read any previous Fell issues, it’s still very accessible. There’s not too many books out there where you can pick up any issue and still “get it”. For the faithful who’ve read every issue there are definitely continuity tidbits scattered about.

There’s quite a lot of things to like about this book. The last issue implemented a great idea of using photographs and post-it notes to tell the story. Abstract but very cool. Another thing that stood out with issue #8 is we finally see the dawn of a new day. It’s the first time we, as readers, ever see daylight, and it feels like a premonition of things to come – a brighter future for a dreary city.

This book looks like it could work perfectly as a TV series (Showtime or FX) with Warren Ellis as the head writer, and Templesmith as perhaps the art director. I’d watch it! You can read the first issue here. (Grade: A)

-Daniel Yanez

 

A Second Opinion

Okay, the nun in this book is crazy. Well, this whole book is crazy, actually – but I love it. It’s demented, yet structured fun by Warren Ellis. I know we’re reviewing the trade here, but if you ever pick up the individual issues, they’re only $1.99 a pop – a steal in this day and age!

Sure, you only get like 16 pages of story, but the fact that you’re getting complete stand alone stories in each issue is just fantastic. Fell plays out like a twisted crime story with some good laughs thrown in here and there. Richard Fell doesn’t necessarily make the book good – it’s the characters he meets that do. (Grade: A-)

– J.Montes