Fell: Feral City

On the other side of the bridge is Snowtown, a blighted urban area whose superstitious residents mark their territory with the Snowtown tag: “You put it up, you belong to Snowtown. If Snowtown knows who you are, it won’t come and get you.”

And who comes to get you? Most notable among the cast of villainous characters is a Richard Nixon masked nun seen buying a gun and handing out a knife. But Tricky Dick isn’t responsible for filling the Coroner’s Lair. Causes of death range from alcohol poisoning to attacks by packs of feral dogs. “I could learn to hate this town,” says Detective Richard Fell.

Transferred to Snowtown’s police force, Fell is one of three and a half detectives assigned to cover the entire city. Reading like a police procedural set in Silent Hill, Fell follows the detective’s cases – shocking crimes brutally resolved. But what sets this apart from other grim and gritty graphic novels is the fact Fell cares, “This is where I live now. None of you are nothing to me.”

Fell: Feral City collects issues 1-8 of the Image Comics series. Story by Warren Ellis. Art by Ben Templesmith.

MeruPuri

Long time no see, manga fans!  I promised you a review of MeruPuri by Matsuri Hino, and here it is.

MeruPuri is the newest title released by Matsuri Hino  (of Vampire Knight and Wanted fame and a personal favorite). It’s the story of Airi, who believes that she will find her soul mate and lead a simple life like those she watches in Tales of Marriage on the Prairie, her favorite TV drama.  Enter Aram, a prince from the magical land of Astale, who is cursed to age when left in the dark.

Airi discovers the curse when the prince uses her mirror as a magical gateway to our world. The only thing that can return Aram to his true age is the kiss of his chosen maiden, and he’s chosen Airi. Airi’s promised to save her kisses for her soul mate. Wil she be able to break the curse?

MeruPuri is full of cute and funny moments, and the art style is very similar to that of Vampire Knight. Matsuri Hino always puts her characters into beautiful and elaborate costumes. The story takes a bit of a darker turn when Aram’s brother shows up and makes a play for Airi, and I liked that. If you are a fan of Matsuri Hino, check out MeruPuri, but if this is your first exposure to her work, check out Vampire Knight first.

Surrogates

Interested in the movie? Read the graphic novel it was based on: The Surrogates by Robert Venditti.

Whiteout

Interested in the movie? Read the graphic novel it was based on: Whiteout by Greg Rucka.

Heathentown

Studying overseas, Anna Romano witnesses the brutal murder of her best friend Kit. Anna travels to Florida for the funeral, but upon returning to the cemetery at night she sees Kit walking through the graveyard. Kit vanishes into the surrounding swamp leading Anna to exhume the coffin to determine if her friend is truly dead.

Heathentown is a solid horror title amplified by the fact that it’s set in our backyard. Bechko invokes the discomfort of being an outsider in a small town while blending in Florida’s history and legends creating something which reads like a new genre: FL-horror, maybe?

The horror is realized by Hardman’s artwork. It feels like something is lurking in every panel, especially when the story moves to the Everglades. There the swamp is stifling and every shadow takes on a sinister shape.