Detective Sunday: Review: Fell Vol. 1: Feral City

Yes! The second Detective Sunday. Let the drawing begin! We'll have to wait for that for a few more minutes, because I would also like to share some short comic-reviews now and then on Detective Sundays.

So let's start with my favourit of all.

Fell-Feral City, by Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith
Published by: Image Comics
ISBN: 9781582406930

Cover of Fell Vol. 1: Feral City

I have to be honest, that I do not know a lot about the writer and artist, except that Warren Ellis is a great writer (Transmetropolitan) and Ben Templesmith is a great artist (30 Days of Night). And I'm not going to talk about what other reviewers talked about allready.

Fell Vol. 1: Feral City is the only trade paperback consisting of eight, sixteen page stories about homicide detective Richard Fell. Fell has been transferred from an unnamed city across the bridge to the suburb Snowtown. Something happened which made him be banned from the city, and forced him to work in the industrial nighmare of Snowtown that's literally eating itself and every person in town seems to be insane somehow.

The short storries are presented in a tv-like drama serie. Each short issue is for example a case to solve by Fell and within the greater story there's attention for character development. The reader get's hooked to each story from the first picture to the last, and doesn't get a chance to slow down the pace. 
There has been thought well about keeping up this pace by the two creators (I assume). The lay-out of the page are by most a 9 picture (3 x 3) set-up. Sometimes alternated with a wide-shot. So you jump from the next to the next to the next picture, and you might be able to take a breath when you reach a wide-shot. 

First page of Fell Vol. 1: Feral City

I conclude with Ben Templesmith's artwork. Templesmith proves to produce incredible art. Dark yet fine and quite beautifull. But what noticed me that it is a somehow simple style, which makes it accessible for the reader to place himself in the characters, like novels. The reader could be the character Fell. Helping him solve the cases, trying to make sense of the crazy town and it's insane inhabitants.


Fell is a great example of crime/detective fiction in comics I've read. And I highly recommend! And with me, more reviewers do!

For the Dutch readers who would like the Dutch issue, look for: Fell 1: Welkom in Snowtown.

Now.. Let the drawing begin!