FELL Vol. 1
:// INTRO
I remember watching Film Noir in college. The style of those films have always appealed to me, the hard shadows, the fantastic use of light and smoke, a lot of smoking.
Since the release of Seven, I would refer to “modern noir” as “Fincher Noir”. Close focus, hard cuts, industrial soundtrack a la Nine Inch Nails.
FELL falls into that category perfectly. Written by Warren Ellis and Illustrated by Ben Templesmith, the writing, and the art fits into this style of story telling harmoniously. Just like peanut butter and jelly. Having recently started purchasing comics again, I ran a quick search on google for top 10 graphic novels which do not pertain to super heroes, Fell stood out from the crowd.
:// PRODUCTION QUALITY
Templesmith’s artwork is very loose, and I don’t say this as an offense. I say it as a compliment, his illustrations feel very organic. The juxtaposition of Ben’s artwork and the backgrounds which on many occasions seem as photographs with the posterize filter in Photoshop cranked all the way up.
It also appears as if each issue has a specific hue which pertains to each character and overall story. Each issue is referred to as a “chapter”. Chapter 1 starts off with a timid color palette, the colors get much more vivid as situations and characters start to get more intense.
:// STORY
The series focuses on Richard Fell, a detective which has been sent “across the bridge” from the “big city” to Snowtown. A crime-ridden city, in the vein of Gotham City minus the super villains.
The denizens of Snowtown hate themselves and their lives, Fell finds himself dealing with the shortcomings of the Snowtown PD and the strange and frequent crimes committed throughout the city. There are three different mysteries throughout the series, the first is the strange Snowtown tag which can be seen prominently throughout the city. The second is a strange character dressed like a Nun wearing a Richard Nixon mask, whom always appears to be following Fell. The third and final mystery is the reason why Richard Fell was transferred to Snowtown since it appears it was done as a punishment. Plus, Fell is hesitant to “cross the bridge” back to the big city.
:// CHARACTERS
The series constantly introduces new characters, many are recurring characters which interact with Fell throughout his work and personal lives. There is also the “victim of the week” in each issue.
The two standout characters besides Fell and his love interest Mayko are the Snowtown PD’s secretary and the mortician. Trust me, once you read it, you’ll get it.
“I love Jesus.” – Read Vol. 1, you’ll get it.
:// FELL VOL. 2?
Unfortunately, Fell only ran for nine issues, Vol. 1 collects issues one through eight. Which means I need to get one final issue to be able to read the series original run. It’s also disappointing that there is currently no conclusion in sight for the series, especially heartbreaking if you have read Warren’s work on Transmetropolitan.