Broken Frontier

I fell in love.

No, there’s no lame pun in that sentence, since what I’m saying is hardly a joke. And that’s because Fell, Warren Ellis’ latest offspring, has all the elements of a great comic in its toolbox, both creatively and economically: extremely solid storytelling and artwork, no advertisements to break up the flow of the book, a very interesting price tag and a self-contained episode each month. To top it all off, there’s no spandex to be found anywhere. (Dear superhero fans, don’t quit reading now, there’s no shame in reading a book in which superpowers are nothing more than an invective!)

The kind of Ellis we get in this new Image ongoing series is, apparently, a rejuvenated one. It’s not like he lost a step before, but when reading Fell, you can’t really shake the feeling that Ellis seems to be invigorated by the sheer joy he experiences from writing a book that is accessible to everyone at all times. Mind you, accessible doesn’t necessarily refer to the easy-to-get premise of the book—good cop in a bad town—as much as it does to its ‘easy-on-the-pocket-ness.’
One of Ellis’ primary motives for producing Fell in its current format of 16 pages was to make a book that would be affordable to everyone who’s ever heard the word ‘comic’ before:

“Whenever I do a signing, there are without exception a handful of people who turn up with a t-shirt or a scrap of paper,” the writer explained in ‘Backmatter’, a five-page extra following each story, of the first issue. “And they explain, usually with some embarrassment, that they’ve read everything I’ve done, but that they’ve borrowed it all from libraries or friends, because they have to count every dollar.”

“So I sat there and thought, how can I do a piece of contemporary fiction for something closer to pocket change? And I came up with this.”

In a world where most comics cost three dollars, Fell’s cover price of $1.99 should indeed make it relatively easy for anyone to afford. By the way, if you’re turned off by the thought of giving up six pages worth of story, don’t be. Not only does Ellis offer insight into where he got his ideas from and how he executed them in the five-page Backmatters, his extremely dense storytelling more than makes up for the loss of six bloody pages. Heck, this book takes more time to read than some comics boasting 32 pages of ‘action.’ (Come to think of it, as the so-called coiner of the term ‘decompressed storytelling’, Fell may also be Ellis’ knock-out answer to the widespread writing style of today.)

To evoke that density, Ellis composes each page as a nine-page panel grid, using clever techniques such as Post-Its and city maps to move the story along. This procedure further strengthens the story in the sense that the few times that Ellis breaks away from his strict composition are used to grab the reader by the balls or cause him to think about what’s going on in the story even more.

Fell evolves around homicide detective Richard Fell, who lands in a dark and shady place called Snowtown, split off from the normal world by a bridge, as he looks to assist the local, woefully undermanned police precinct, one that teeters on the brink of insanity. The only voice of reason Fell encounters is Mayko, the female bartender of ‘Idiot’s Bar,’ where Rich hangs out before, after and in-between murder cases.

What is interesting about the two cases Fell has solved since coming to Snowtown, is that they’re based on true facts. In that sense, the book’s setting feels like it’s the scrapheap of the worst civilisation has to offer—there’s hardly anything sapien to be found in the people walking the streets of Snowtown. As such, it will be interesting to see how the caption of the book, ‘Everybody’s Hiding Something,’ will play out in future instalments. Obviously, the two murderers didn’t want their secrets to be uncovered, but it’s a good bet to say that there’s something fishy about the two main characters, Rich and Mayko, as well.

Fell, for one, says the reason he’s come over the bridge is to get a better shot at a promotion (“If you’re after a promotion, this is a great posting. A town with this few detectives, a good one stands out a mile.” – Fell #1, page 5), however, one must really be out of his mind to descend the ladder to hell voluntarily. Mayko may very well have something up her sleeve as well (check Fell #1, page 7), and turn out to be more than an awkward love interest.

Next to the sinister setting, another factor that makes fallen readers stick around for more is the dark humor Ellis employs to add more depth to his story. From the precinct’s clerk whose throat is sore from barking like a dog trying to fulfil her husband’s sexual fantasies to the coroner eating a piece of tomato after retrieving it from the belly of a cut-open corpse, this book fulfils you with cynical pleasure.

Let’s not overlook the terrific job Ben Templesmith does on art, either. The Australian artist who rose to indie stardom on the Steve Niles-penned 30 Days of Night series for IDW more than proves he can shine on a book that doesn’t feature horror, vampires and other bloodsucking monstrosities on every other page. On Fell , Templesmith’s art retains its trademark characteristic, which I’d like to call ‘chaotic simplicity’: his simple and often sketchy lines simultaneously evoke a down-to-earth feel and a twisted mood that perfectly underscore the disturbing atmosphere of the book.

Templesmith’s biggest accomplishment, however, is his serviceability. Although he perfectly succeeds in visualising Ellis’ ideas, Templesmith doesn’t seek to outshine Ellis, realising that the true strength of Fell lies in its script. Still, let’s not kid ourselves here, it’s hard to come up with a former or current artistic companion of Warren Ellis who would have done an equally good job on this title. Sure, John Cassaday or Brian Hitch on art may have afforded Ellis a few extra drinks at the pub, but they definitely wouldn’t have been as good a fit as Ben Templesmith.

Fell presents a knock-out combo of killer storytelling and extremely solid artwork that will make you forget all about decompressed storytelling and expensive comics. It’s been ages since comic fans were able to buy a dose of their favorite drug for only $1.99. Thanks to Image, Ben Templesmith, and, above all, Warren Ellis, they can now buy a substantial one.

Fell #3 goes on sale November 9 in comic shops worldwide.