Jason’s Comic Reviews – 4/10/19

I’m back with reviews of some of this week’s releases. Feel free to send feedback with thoughts on the reviews or let me know the gems you picked this week.

Fairlady #1

• Image Comics
• Written by Brian Schirmer
• Art by Claudia Balboni

Set after a great war, veteran Jenner Faulds returns home to start a new life and career. Jenner trades soldier life for being a  “Fairman” more specifically “Fairlady,” a private detective. Jenner and her feline companion take the cases no one else wants. Jenner takes the case of a missing bookkeeper for a prominent merchant and discovers she’s not the only one on the trail.

Fairlady is set in a fantasy world similar to ones we’ve seen before. However, the twist is instead of a typical sword and sorcery we get fantasy gumshoe. The series is marketed as an ongoing with each issue being standalone. Some plots may carry to reveal a larger story but as far as the first issue goes, it is definitely standalone. This is a light, fun series. The art is clean and vibrant. The series starts strong with effective world building and established chemistry with the characters. The lead is an interesting character as well.

Fairlady #1 is worth picking up. If the creative team can carry on what they started here, this will be a hit. This can easily be a TV series someday. Fan of fantasy and detective stories will be intrigued. 

Faithless #1

• Boom Studios
• Written by Brian Azzarello
• Art by Maria Llovet

Faithless is the newest series by superstar writer Brian Azzarello. Faith is a young woman who likes to play around with magic. She spends her time scribbling spells in her notebook. One day she randomly encounters a model named Poppy. What happens next is a series of random excursions that the pair have together. Faith’s magic may actually be working now, so what happens next?

Faithless had some buzz prior to release with Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets) attached and a shocking cover by Paul Pope. However, I was disappointed. I have no clue what’s exactly going on with this series. The first issue is a mostly short almost awkward dialogue between these two young women as they roam about town. We get a hint that the lead may indeed be magic, but it’s not entirely clear. The art is quirky and the highlight of the book. This also may not be for everyone. After a day of fun, the two go back home and we get a several page sex scene.

The series is marketed as “erotic depiction of faith, sex, and the devil in the tradition of the divine comedy.” They nailed the erotic part. Not sure about the rest, it may be too early to tell. If this sort of thing is your cup of tea then you may enjoy it. I was bored with the book and will probably not pick up the next issue. 

Infinite Dark #5

• Image Comics
• Written By Ryan Caddy
• Art by Andrea Mutti

After a short hiatus, Infinite Dark returns. When we last saw our hero, Deva, she was battling an entity in an attempt to save the last of humankind. This issue begins with Deva waking from a coma which was a result of her battle. She discovers she was successful or was she? She attempts to return to her normal duties as a security officer of the Orpheus. However, she has not fully recovered from her encounter with the entity. Deva turns to the help of an unlikely source.

This series was covered a few episodes back on Drawn & Paneled. We liked the concept of a space station with the last of humanity surrounded by nothingness. In the previous issues, characters were hard to tell apart on many occasions. This issue mostly fixes that. The color is slightly lightened however, during some more intense scenes characters become less discernible. The issue gets dialogue heavy with a lot of technical talk and space station politics. It was at time hard to get through. The series does delve into VR which is interesting. The book does end with a cliffhanger which may be the focus of this new arc, as Deva is surrounded by the literal ghosts of the past.

Infinite Dark has a very strong premise. However, the pacing of the story and art at times weaken that premise. This issue might be worth picking up if you were intrigued by issue 4’s ending.