''Fatale'' is a supernatural noir

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

created by

Ed Brubaker Ed Brubaker (; born November 17, 1966) is an American comic book writer, cartoonist and screenwriter who works primarily in the crime fiction genre. He began his career with the semi-autobiographical series '' Lowlife'' and a number of serials i ...

and

Sean Phillips Sean Phillips (born 27 January 1965) is a British comic book artist, best known for his collaborations with Ed Brubaker on comics including '' Sleeper'', ''Incognito'', the '' Criminal'' series of comics, '' Fatale'', '' The Fade Out'', and ' ...

. It was published by

Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...

between January

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and July 2014. The series was initially announced as a 12-issue

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...

, but was later extended to 24 issues.

Publication history

The series was originally announced in the back of the final issue of Brubaker and Phillips' previous collaboration, ''

Criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

: Last of the Innocent''. Further details about the series, including its publisher, were revealed at the

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

New York Comic Con The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006. History The New York Comic Con is a f ...

. Brubaker also released a video teaser for the series. The series began publishing monthly in January 2012. Although initially billed as a twelve-issue series, the length was increased in November. The series concluded after 24 issues. Several issues featured essays written by

Jess Nevins Jess Nevins (born 1966) is an American author. Nevins is the author of the ''Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana'' and other works on Victoriana and pulp fiction. He is employed as a reference librarian at Lone Star College-Tomball. Comic book ...

and others on the crime/noir characters, both fictional and real. These were: * ''H.P. Lovecraft and the Horror of the Unseen'', by Jess Nevins (Issue #1) * ''Edgar Allan Poe: Reality as a Grotesque Deception'', by Jess Nevins (#2) * ''Dan J. Marlowe: Echoes of a Hard-Boiled Past'', by Charles Kelly (#3) * ''The Real Philip Marlowe'', by Stephen Blackmoore (#4) * ''Horror and Mystery Fiction Part 1: Ontranto to de Grandin'', by Jess Nevins (#6) * ''Horror and Mystery Fiction, Part 2: The Weird Menace Pulps'', by Jess Nevins (#7) * ''The Devil Inside Me: Devil Pulp'', by Jess Nevins (#10) * ''The Lonely Doll'', by Megan Abbott (#12) * ''Strange Stories'', by Jack Pendarvis (#13) * ''Aleister Crowley'', by Jess Nevins (#15) * ''Cthulhu Lives! On the Afterlife of H.P. Lovecraft'', by Jess Nevins (#18) * ''Cults in Fiction'', by Jess Nevins (#21) * ''Leaping the Fence: Fallen Heroes and Redeemed Villains'', by Jess Nevins (#24)

Plot

''Fatale'' chronicles the life of Josephine, or "Jo", an archetypal

femme fatale A ''femme fatale'' ( or ; ), sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of ...

who is seemingly immortal, having survived from the 1930s to the modern day unaged, and also has a supernatural ability to hypnotize men into becoming intensely infatuated with her, whether she wants 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 gods reminiscent of Lovecraftian horrors, which are somehow tied to Jo. During her travels, Jo also encounters many men who quickly become entranced by her, often to fanatical degrees. They become entangled in her escapades, possibly as guardians, collaborators, and lovers. A motif of the series is how these men pay dearly for becoming involved with Jo. The narrative jumps back and forth between different time periods and points of view, primarily Jo and the men entranced 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, while the fourth arc is set in the 1990s. A couple of issues featured stand-alone stories focused on "fatales" 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 The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

. Aside from her powers, both women also shared striking physical similarities with Jo and found themselves pursued by the same cult.

Collected editions

Critical reception

The first issue sold well enough to return to press four times. Reviews for the series were mostly positive with comparisons to the creative team's previous work on '' Sleeper'', ''

'', and ''

Incognito Incognito is an English adjective meaning "in disguise", "having taken steps to conceal one's identity". Incognito may also refer to: Film and television * ''Incognito'' (1937 film), a Danish film * ''Incognito'' (1997 film), an American crime ...

''. Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips received multiple

Eisner Awards The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

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). David Stewart received a 2013 Eisner award for " Best Coloring".

References

{{Ed Brubaker Image Comics titles 2012 comics debuts Crime comics Horror comics Comics by Ed Brubaker Neo-noir comics