Fell

Warren Ellis loves his fans. That was my first thought when I heard his plan for another on-going series called Fell. The plot concept was simple and appealing: Cop Richard Fell was transferred for reasons as-of-yet unknown from the unnamed city across the bridge to Snowtown, a place that’s recognized by sociologists as a ‘feral city’. Simply put, the place is Hell on Earth and he’s trying to maintain order there, with only three and a half other cops and a chief who looks to the Necromonicon for guidance. It’s not a fun job. (Fun fact to remember as you read it: Each case Fell deals with Ellis took from a news story somewhere. These people really exist. We are all doomed.) He survives by remembering one thing: everyone is hiding something.

Sure, who doesn’t love a good cop-with-a-secret story? I sure do. (I have watched every episode of Law & Order: SVU. Twice.) But what I found set it apart; even from Ellis’ other work is the format he’s writing it in, and his reasons for doing so. Each single issue is 24-pages, 16 panels of a self-contained story in each, plus “backmatter”: letters from fans, mad ramblings from Ellis, original sketches, ect. All this, for $1.99! Ellis and Templesmith must have known this kind of format would be a pain to write; anyone who has ever tried to draw or write a graphic novel knows it. But like I said before, Ellis loves his fans. A quote from a Newsarama interview about the format:

“Why? Well, I don’t know about you, but I remember being poor. I remember the difference between (the local equivalent of) a dollar ninety-nine and three bucks being the difference between buying a comic or missing a meal. And for that purchase price, I wanted value — a complete experience that I’d want to replay again and again.”

And that means something to me as a reader. To know that there’s at least one creator out there who wants me to be able to afford my dinner as much as he wants me to buy his book. Who understands that comics are expensive, that many people are poor and helping in his own small way.

Even if it wasn’t two bucks a pop, Fell is one book I find a place in my budget for. The combination of Ellis’ trademark warped humor and human empathy for his characters, plus Ben Templesmith’s evocative and uncompromising art is pure harmony. I couldn’t imagine a better team telling this story. Ellis writes Richard as a noir cop archetype, not a cliché. He’s tough as nails, smart as hell but still a true human coming off the page. The self-contained aspect of each story helps the flow of the trade, it reads like an illustrated book of short stories. Unfortunately, that also means that the plot development happens extremely slowly, and with the book coming out something like once a month…well, it’ll be a while before we find out anything. And I can’t say enough about Ben Templesmith’s art. I really can’t. It is grotesque and striking; ideal for this story. His color choices and line quality are exquisite.

Survival is not easy. Not in Snowtown, not as a writer, not anywhere. Every tiny bit helps: a cheaper comic book, a friendly stranger or one decent cop can make all the difference in this world. It feels good to be reminded that we are not nothing.

If you’re still not convinced, you can read the first story online free here, and then order it through
Amazon.

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