Fatale Volume 2: The Devil's Business: 02 (Fatale (Image Comics))

Ok

Loved the atmosphere, the story and the art. I bought the 1st one as a print copy but this as Kindle. Was pleasantly surprised how good it looked.

As good as the first, if not better. Definitely suggest getting into Brubaker's other work as well, particularly the Criminal series!

I loved Book One of this series which was dark and menacing. Although this new stage of Josephine’s life has flashes of Noir, I didn’t feel this storyline was as strong. There wasn’t such a strong Lovecraft vibe about it. What is potent is that during this particular time period, (late sixties/early seventies) cults were a big thing in the U.S. and recruited many young, disaffected people disillusioned about the ‘American dream’ and angry at the government over the fiasco of ‘Nam. I felt that this was handled extremely well and evoked the period perfectly. Josephine continues to be a charismatic character and you cannot help but feel sorry for this poor woman who only wants to be left alone, or even find the perfect mate, but you know she is stuck in a cycle of death, of being constantly hunted down. Although I felt this volume was not as gripping as the previous story, this still had flashes of brilliance and pieced together a bit more about the ageless Josephine. I am looking forward to the next instalment of this series.

The story running through issues #6-10 of Image Comics’ series Fatale is collected as  Fatale Volume 2: The Devil's Business TP (Fatale (Image Comics)) . This continues the story from the first volume (so go and read it first!), as Nicholas Lash digs further into his family’s past, and finds something strange – he met Josephine as a boy (he was the boy, not Josephine). Meanwhile, in 1970s Hollywood, the main story unfolds, as Josephine gets involved with an aspiring actor and his girlfriend who has escaped from a ‘church’ run by the head of the cult pursuing her. I’m sure you can probably see where it is all heading, but the fun is in the journey to that place. Nicholas’s story is told in short episodes in between the ‘main’ action, which fills in some of the immediate background to the first volume.I can’t really describe any detail without ‘spoiling’ the story; but this volume is as expertly scripted and illustrated as the first. This is a superb mystery/detective/horror story, and at the end somebody goes to jail…THE SPOILER ZONETHE SPOILER ZONEIssue #6 opens in the present with Nicholas Lash continuing his researches into Josephine’s past. He is accosted by a Private Investigator working for a bank to track down the owner of a safety deposit box, owned by his late Godfather. When they reach the box, they find that Josephine has got there first. Nick is attacked outside the bank…Chapter One is set in Los Angeles in 1970 where we meet Miles, who is looking for some drugs, and has to go to a new supplier, Suzy Scream, a friend in the ‘Method Church’, a cult of some sort. He finds her in a basement surrounded by dead bodies, and tries to help her escape, grabbing a reel of film on the way out. They happen to climb over Josephine’s wall during their getaway, and she takes them in…Issue #7 opens with the cultists discovering the loss of the film, and Josephine talking about it with Miles. There was a book shown in the film, and Josephine is interested in getting her hands on it. He does some digging and finds that the Church is holding a ceremony that night… When they try to sneak in, Josephine spots some of the ‘creepy guys’ she is running from, and they later discover the church membership piled up in the basement…Issue #8 opens in the present with Nick on the run, and remembering a childhood memory – he, his father and Dominic Raines visiting Los Angeles, and meeting Josephine. He later has some strange dreams involving her, and then has the manuscript stolen.Chapter Three (in 1970) opens with the visit Hank remembered, but from Josephine’s viewpoint. We then get some back-story on Hansel, the cult leader who lost his eyes in the previous volume. Meanwhile, Suzy has been nosing about in Josephine’s house, while she and Miles are off on an errand, and discovers photos of Josephine from the 1950s. She does a runner, and is caught by some cultists who have been searching for her.Issue #9 opens with Suzie in the back of the cult’s van, remembering scenes from her past, and working up the determination to escape. Josephine and Miles are meeting with a friend of his, to plan a break in to the Method Church’s compound. They return home to find Suzie missing. Looking for her, Miles runs into Claudia, who has found an interested buyer for the film… Miles later discovers that Josephine had a son. Miles and Josephine go to a Hollywood party, where Miles meets his buyer, while Hansel the Cult leader attempts to question Suzy’s corpse. A cultist sees Miles at the party and follows them to Josephine’s home.Issue 10 opens with Miles and Rat breaking in to the Method Church’s compound, where as well as the book, they find Suzy’s body, and the photo she took from Josephine’s home. They dash back to Josephine’s house, where the Cultists have begun their attack…Epilogue: in the present, Nick comes across a crashed car belonging to the woman who stole the manuscript from him. As he ransacks the car, the police arrive and suspect the worst of him…