Introduction: Detective Richard Fell is a new detective from ‘across the bridge’, he has been transfered to the collapsing and crime ridden city of ‘Snowtown‘. With three and a half detectives (Yes, One has no legs) running all of Snowtown, he is there to help the Moon St. Precinct with there overwhelming crime workload. Fell is the new detective comic by Image that looks to bring the insane and disturbing to a comic shop near you.
Good: The art in this book is unbelievable. Ben Templesmith is by far my favourite comic book artist, and the style is so uniquely his own. Elements of drafts, very intelligent lighting, and background colour to set each mood and setting… It has it all. I have to admit, for my first detective comic, I was very impressed with Warren Ellis‘s take on it. The story line isn’t twisty like I would have thought it would be, it’s more of a disturbing narrative. Very fun, sickening, and enjoyable.
Bad: As I’ve stated before; This is my very first detective comic, in fact, it is my very first detective story ever. The detective genre has never been one to catch my attention. A big part of this is the amount of talking and investigating that must be done before the plot of the narrative can continue. I find that this trend does continue. It is a personal opinion, as I enjoy a more action driven story. Fell has a very unique way of taking you along for a ride but unfortunately it is not the most gripping story I’ve ever read.
Conclusion: Fell is a very well drawn and told story. With lots of creepy and disturbing twists and turns it always catches you in a way that makes you feel like you could be that great detective. Nothing really pushes this comic out above the others for me to fully recommend the purchase of the trade paper back, but I can recommend picking up the first floppy and see how you like it from there and make the decision yourself.
Fell gets 2.5 toxic barrel induced hallucinations out of 5.
-Nich Longe
February 9th, 2010
Nich Longe 