Clue in to Ellis's new detective comic
REGINA, Sask. (CUP) — If there's one thing that makes being a comic book junkie (sigh, okay…nerd) worthwhile, it's sifting through all the mediocre offerings to find something truly worthwhile. The cherry on top? When an amazing team of writers and artists comes together to create an intriguing piece of art that should be seen as an example to all that surrounds it. Fell is that piece of intriguing art produced under the collaboration between writer Warren Ellis and artist Ben Templesmith.
Ellis, perhaps best known for his long running series, Transmetropolitan, brings back his smart, sarcastic, and often all too realistic writing style that brought his most famous character, Spider Jerusalem, to life. Old Ellis fans will become comfortable with the comic immediately, but may notice a sense of a more grown up, sophisticated style that leaves a little more to the imagination. The rest is filled in by the art.
Templesmith's rightful claim to fame would be the illustrations he did for the highly successful 30 Days of Night series, full of beautiful prints and vampires. While he does stick to the same sense of style, he takes more time to define the faces of each and every interesting character; suitably complementing Ellis' thoughtful writing.
Fellis the story of a good detective transferred to the wrong side of the tracks, or rather, bridge: a small, dirty, middle-of-nowhere place called Snowtown. All within the first hour on the first night in his new apartment building, Detective Richard Fell finds himself welcomed by a dead body and a religious, unapologetic widow.
The supporting characters he encounters along the way as he settles into town help to give a more vivid comprehension of what kind of a place Fell finds himself. His new boss is oblivious to his surrounding unless he on pills. A sweet but bitter waitress named Mayko tries to keep Fell from harm's way as best she can. A young girl in an alley helps Rich solve the murder in his building that significantly sobers up the detective to the grim reality of his new surroundings.
All this and Fell is still back where he started: his new apartment. However, as he delves deeper into Snowtown business, he realizes how disturbing the town itself is —this immediately heightens the intrigue during the read. The reader is left craving for more, thinking what could possibly be stranger about it.
While Fell thrives on solid storytelling to maintain old fans and reel in new one, the integrity behind the production of the comic book itself is also cause for support.
At the end of the first issue, Ellis writes a post-script explaining why he chose to make his comic a 16-page, ad-free comic. Aware that his main demographic are those who have to watch every dollar, he decided to make each issue its own full story, so fans don't need to buy the next issue to find out how the story ends.
With the price set at $2.40 CDN ($1.99 US), buying every issue is a lot easier than most of the comics currently on the market.
The fact that Ellis and Templesmith are doing as much as they can for the reader, along with putting out an amazing new piece of literature, makes the experience of reading it that much sweeter.
Fell is open to anyone, old or new readers, and is immediately compelling and addictive. It's more than a worthwhile read, it is currently, and will continue to be, a necessary one.
Ellis, perhaps best known for his long running series, Transmetropolitan, brings back his smart, sarcastic, and often all too realistic writing style that brought his most famous character, Spider Jerusalem, to life. Old Ellis fans will become comfortable with the comic immediately, but may notice a sense of a more grown up, sophisticated style that leaves a little more to the imagination. The rest is filled in by the art.
Templesmith's rightful claim to fame would be the illustrations he did for the highly successful 30 Days of Night series, full of beautiful prints and vampires. While he does stick to the same sense of style, he takes more time to define the faces of each and every interesting character; suitably complementing Ellis' thoughtful writing.
Fellis the story of a good detective transferred to the wrong side of the tracks, or rather, bridge: a small, dirty, middle-of-nowhere place called Snowtown. All within the first hour on the first night in his new apartment building, Detective Richard Fell finds himself welcomed by a dead body and a religious, unapologetic widow.
The supporting characters he encounters along the way as he settles into town help to give a more vivid comprehension of what kind of a place Fell finds himself. His new boss is oblivious to his surrounding unless he on pills. A sweet but bitter waitress named Mayko tries to keep Fell from harm's way as best she can. A young girl in an alley helps Rich solve the murder in his building that significantly sobers up the detective to the grim reality of his new surroundings.
All this and Fell is still back where he started: his new apartment. However, as he delves deeper into Snowtown business, he realizes how disturbing the town itself is —this immediately heightens the intrigue during the read. The reader is left craving for more, thinking what could possibly be stranger about it.
While Fell thrives on solid storytelling to maintain old fans and reel in new one, the integrity behind the production of the comic book itself is also cause for support.
At the end of the first issue, Ellis writes a post-script explaining why he chose to make his comic a 16-page, ad-free comic. Aware that his main demographic are those who have to watch every dollar, he decided to make each issue its own full story, so fans don't need to buy the next issue to find out how the story ends.
With the price set at $2.40 CDN ($1.99 US), buying every issue is a lot easier than most of the comics currently on the market.
The fact that Ellis and Templesmith are doing as much as they can for the reader, along with putting out an amazing new piece of literature, makes the experience of reading it that much sweeter.
Fell is open to anyone, old or new readers, and is immediately compelling and addictive. It's more than a worthwhile read, it is currently, and will continue to be, a necessary one.
