The Fade Out - Issue 4 - Comic Book Review - Image Comics

The Fade Out - #4 - Image

Written By: Ed Brubaker

Art By: Sean Phillips

Charlie and Earl are talking about his “date” that is approaching and the legitimacy or lack there of regarding the circumstances. It’s pointed out that Earl is not much help because he’s a movie star and doesn’t work for women, they work for him. From there we see Charlie and Gil have been working on scripts every night for awhile and how life and heavy alcohol consumption is taking its toll on Gil, physically and mentally. The story continues forward and Charlie discovers a mysterious man is appearing in photos around Hollywood and he can’t remember his name, only his face. finally, we see Charlie on his “date” and how even something as simple as a dance can be entertainment if you pay the right people. Things seem to be going alright by Hollywood standards and Charlie has an opportunity to chat alone with Maya for the first time. Then, a fire breaks out and the mysterious man appears and snaps a few photos of Charlie near the fire. 

There was so much in this issue to digest! The plot moves at an incredibly quick speed this issue and there’s no slowing down the development of characters. This was the best issue so far in this series. There’s action, real life Hollywood references, trippy dream sequences, arson, a mysterious new character and Charlie and Maya officially meet. 

I don’t doubt for one second that Maya and Charlie don’t have a thing based off the discussion they have in this issue. There’s immediate chemistry there and it’s curious considering the different personalities present with these two. There also seems to be something comfortable and familiar for them both which leads me to believe this won’t be the last time we see them together, alone. 

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The Fade Out - Issue 3 - Comic Book Review - Image Comics

The Fade Out - #3 - Image

Written By: Ed Brubaker

Art By: Sean Phillips

The issue starts off with Victor Thursby stripping naked in the forest and walking deep into the forest until he reaches a massive party/orgy. From there we jump forward in time until we meet Maya Silver. She’s the new hot actress the studio is looking to make a star now that Valerie Sommers has died. 

Starting off with some wild party and sex scenes, painting a vivid picture of who Thursby was/is really grabs your attention from page 1. His journey to become head of Victory Street Pictures is pretty clear after this issue and we learn so much more about the roles of certain characters, like Brodsky. There’s little left to the imagination in this issue because we discover that 3 issues in and we’re still in character development. 

The dialogue again is fantastic. We learn that every character is playing a unique role in this story and we know that something is building but we’re still not sure what. I’m all in on this series. It’s slow progress but it’s enjoyable and captivating. The characters continue to shape into 3 dimensional individuals who are much more than they show any single character in the series. This is a truly well written and developing story.  

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The Fade Out - Issue 2 - Comic Book Review - Image Comics

The Fade Out - #2 - Image

Written By: Ed Brubaker

Art By: Sean Phillips

We start the issue at the funeral of actress Valerie Sommers and from there Charlie and Gil exchange some words and then Charlie decides that a graveyard is no place to hang out and leaves. Charlie concludes that his place is the best location for some thoughtful reflection until a phone call snaps him back to reality and sends him back to the graveyard.

I’m only two issues in and so far the dialogue is incredibly well written. It feels like this series will be moving at its own pace, which is absolutely fine. The characters are starting to develop and take shape. There’s more to Charlie and Gils relationship than expected and seeing the bond these two have was a highlight this issue. 

I’m looking forward to more issue because there is a clear path Brubaker is taking and he’s in no rush to get there. Thankfully the writing is excellent and the fact the story is building characters makes this series truly enjoyable. 

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