Fatale, Vol. 1: Death Chases Me by Ed Brubaker (Writer), Sean Phillips (Illustrator)

Fatale, Vol. 1: Death Chases Me by Ed Brubaker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is definitely hardboiled horror. I read this during the day, but I wouldn't read this before bed. It's very dark and some of the aspects and imagery are pretty disturbing. I couldn't tell if the author was going for a Lovecraft mythos kind of vibe or more of a Satanic/black magic kind of thing. Maybe both. There are many questions, particularly about the lead female character. What is she? Who is she? Why does she lead every man she encounters down the road of destruction. The author who is a prominent character did not inspire my sympathy in any way. The sad results of his choices did bother me, but moreso because of the innocents who were hurt because of his obsession with that woman. I am not sure if I will continue this. Part of me is curious, but I didn't like the way this made me feel as I read it. I've learned to go with my gut in my reading choices. Having said that, if you like the strange intersection of genres, particularly hardboiled/noir crime thriller and horror, you might pick this up. I would give this four stars because it's very well-written.

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Swamp Thing, Vol. 3: Rotworld: The Green Kingdom by Scott Snyder (Goodreads Author), Jeff Lemire, Yanick Paquette (Illustrations)

This book was a very intense close to an arc in this series. Man, the imagery is really disturbing. This storyline really gets under my skin in the aspect of decay being a force of evil. One of the good things is I got to see Animal Man with a different artist. I really didn't like the art in the New 52 Animal Man volume I read. The storyline is inherently disturbing, so creepy, squiggly artwork made it worse for me. With this, that barrier wasn't there. There is a hanging thread with the Animal Man story, but I don't know if I will keep reading those. We'll see. As far as this book. It was really epic. It features a very dark future that's enough to give one nightmares, especially if zombies and animated, rotten dead things makes one feel icky. Definitely yes for me. I really liked that they delve into the starcrossed love affair between Alec/Swamp Thing and Abigail, who has a secret legacy to the Rot. Things have a real bittersweet feel, but it's also satisfying. I was having a lot of wincey feelings when I read this, but it's a four star read, because it's well-written and the artwork is both nightmarish and grotesque but very artistic at the same time.

Animal Man, Volume 1: The Hunt by Jeff Lemire, Travel Foreman (Illustrator), John Paul Leon (illustrator), Steve Pugh (Illustrator)

Animal Man, Vol. 1: The Hunt by Jeff Lemire
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I picked this up because I've been reading Swamp Thing and the story seems to cross over--the war is between the Green and Red versus the Rot. Honestly, I didn't like the artwork at all. It made an already gruesome and disturbing story moreso. The drawings were so squiggly and unappealing, and the colors were too muted for my tastes. If the creators were going for a horror tale, they achieved their goal. I love animals, so I like the idea of Buddy (and his daughter) having a connection to the animal web of life, but I hated how the Rot distorts this.

I am on the fence about continuing this series. I think I prefer the Swamp Thing execution. I'm hoping that Buddy and his family will show on that side and I can get a different and in my mind better perception of the Animal Man concept.

Unfortunately, the artwork was such a turnoff, I had to give this one 2.5/5.0 stars.



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