The Fade Out Volume 1

by Ed Brubaker

[Quirky Cat]

A friend recommended The Fade Out to me, and after seeing the cover (love it!) I was sold. I know, I know, don’t judge a book by its cover; but sometimes I just can’t resist. It’s an epic noir set in Hollywood (ironic, I know) and has a main character unable to remember details to a pivotal event in the series. It all sets up to be a pretty intriguing read, to say the least. It’s from the same creators that brought you Fatale (which I haven’t read yet – it’s on the list).



Warnings First: the main event that sets things in motion is the rape, murder, and cover-up of said rape/murder. Nothing is directly shown (yet, that may change in future volumes), we do see her body and it is heavily implied that she was raped before/during her murder. The cover-up leaves a bad taste in one’s mouth, but that is intentional and part of the point.
The Fade Out had a lot of potential and so much going for it; a classic noir setting and theme, beautiful and thematically appropriate artwork, and much more. Despite that I found myself losing interest at points – I think it was borderline too busy and it just ended up being distracting at points. I’m actually disappointed I didn’t like it further, as I really wanted to get into a series like that (maybe Fatale will be more my pace?).
I think the main reason I couldn’t get into the series was the serious lack of development in all of the characters – I don’t even know what the main character’s motivation is. Considering I read the entire first volume, that is not a good sign to me.
I’m rating this one 3 stars as the artwork and foundation for the plot was perfect. It’s the follow-through that was lackluster. Will I be trying Fatale anyway? I believe so. I’ve had it on my list for a couple of months, and it has also been suggested to me. So I think it’ll be worth trying, even though Fade Out wasn’t my cup of tea.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks