The first of three done-in-one issues, issue 12 takes us back to the first meeting between the woman called Lee and the man called Doctor Juris, in the throbbing heat of Mardi Gras. Whad’ja think?
Oh, and for those interested, there’s a detailed interview about “Fallen Angel” over on Newsarama.com which also features covers for future issues.
PAD
• 
“Mr. DiBello, if you’ll kindly step over to this woodchipper and lean in to take a GOOD look….
Sure thing…hey, I can see Steve Buscemi from here!”
—
For that, Mr. DiBello, I give you a kiss. X
I enjoyed the issue. One interesting aspect that nobody else has mentioned was Juris’ comment about “I’m really not a nice person”. That may have just meant that Lee didn’t really know him (e.g. because of the way he dealt with Boomer), or it may be because he acts differently when he’s off-duty. That then raises the question of which is the “real him” – the way he acts for the vast majority of the time, or the way he acts when he’s not responsible for/to anyone else?
Regarding the nudity issue, it doesn’t bother me directly to see it in comics. However, I do feel a bit embarrassed if I’m reading a comic in public (e.g. on the train), and I turn a page to see it – I’m concerned that other people might object to me waving pornography around in front of children or whatever. So, I’m quite happy for it to remain implied rather than explicit.
I hope PAD will read these and answer my question. I really enjoyed this issue and I’ve really been enjoying it so far. I think of Bete Noir as a combination Casablanca/Purgatory.
My question about this issue, though, has to do with Doc Juris’ business card. He wrote “Be seeing you” on it. Was that a purposeful reference to the Prisoner or was that just a coincidence?
my guess would be purposeful. you can really see the similarities between “The Prisoner” & Fallen Angel.
Issue 12 was some what of a…”dammit, i gotta read the first 5 issues if I’m ever gonna get a handle on this story”….Don’t get me wrong, I like the book, I’m just confused.
Is Juris like the gatekeeper of hëll or something?
Where is this Bette Noir supposed to be ? is it in the states ? i get that its probably fictional but I cant get a feel if its like New York or like inbred Kentucky?
anyways thats enough stupid questions for now…im gonna hunt down that tpb…
Eric, Bete Noir’s location is a few miles down the road from the Twilight Zone. It’s main museum is probably the Night Gallery.
Best issue yet of one of my favorite series of the moment. I’m hoping for a long, long run of this.
Yeah, I never really gave it much thought before now. The Village = Bete Noir, Lee is to Linda like Number 6 was to John Drake and “Fallen Angel” is to “Supergirl” like “The Prisoner” was to “Secret Agent.”
And in both the connections between the two series will never be made explicit.
Be seeing you!
I just pre-ordered two copies of the trade, one for me and one copy for a friend. 🙂
Just went out bought and read several issues of FallenAngel to fill in some story.The more i read the more i like .Issue 11 the whole sequence between Wilde and Lee was great.”may i ask what it does?”
“Yeah””………”What does it do?”
That was hysterical!!!!!Afraid i dont get the references to Linda Danvers everyone mentions ,guess i need to read the Supergirl series, any suggestions on which issues would help
greatly.
Some feel we need to get the whole back story on Lee right now ,which i actually oppose i would much rather get a little at a time.
Issue 12 was an enjoyable read for me,I loved the fist thru the wall sequence,and the “is crass good “face was pretty funny.I like the artwork and feel it flows well with the story.
As far as nudity,i really dont care as long as its natural given the circumstances.Found it interesting I picked up a copy of SUPREME POWER,
that was prepackaged in a plastic bag.Didnt pay attention ,but the one character Princess is nude a lot in the comic,( and looks like Monica Belluci
in my opinion),there was a scene where you see pubic hair but its a Mature tagged book and they have shown nudity before.Was this just at my comic shop or was this shipped that way by Marvel???Just my view but full frontal is not a big deal,i mean we arent talking HUSTLER magazine layouts here just a nude body in a comic book.Of course i could be wrong………:)
Minor clarification when i said i didnt pay attention in the previous post,i meant i didnt pay attention to the book being in a bag already ,not the nudity.not that im some kind of freak who looks at comics for nudity.As far as the HUSTLER reference ,i just meant they tend have more graphic displays of the female anatomy.
I am really explaining too much arent I???:)
I’m not interested in her back story all too much, but I would like to see her at work more (school). I’d like to see how she interacts w/ people at work compared w/ how she interacts w/ those we’ve seen.
In all this “Fallen Angel equals The Prisoner” thing, there’s a factor that’s ignored. Patrick McGoohan created “The Prisoner” out of his personal paranoia about government, conformity and society. It was a very personal statement, as McGoohan was a self-contained, defiant and even hostile man. (He never did anything that approached “The Prisoner” in his later life; he was mostly cast as cold, calculating villains, a part he played to perfection.)
Mr. David, on the other hand, isn’t driven by any of that. He is a more open individual; God knows, he’s been friendly to people I wouldn’t extend a handshake to (including myself). He isn’t making sweeping, personal, angry statements about society; he’s examining aspects of humanity, and not just through one viewpoint but through several conflicting individuals.
“Fallen Angel” isn’t easy to pidgeonhole. And that may explain its low sales; comic fans like things they can pidgeonhole. Give them something they really aren’t expecting and they can’t comprehend it.
I wouldn’t ever make a comparison between McGoohan and PAD–aside from the matter of both of them being creative individuals and both have written TV scripts.
However, PAD has mentioned in the past that he was/is a “Secret Agent/Prisoner” fan.
He’ll sing “Secret Agent Man” at the drop of a hat.
He modeled the “Foreigner” character in Peter Parker after McGoohan/John Drake/No. 6.
The title of that Supergirl arc: “Many Happy Returns” (a Prisoner reference).
Peter still had stories to tell about Linda, he just couldn’t CALL her “Linda”. PAD has an ownership stake in “Fallen Angel.” He has no rights to “Supergirl.” McGoohan had the same situation where the character in “The Prisoner” was clearly John Drake, but he didn’t own “John Drake” therefore he could never admit to it.
“Questions Are A Burden To Others”
“Answers Are A Prison For Oneself”
PAD – #12 did its usual job of raising more questions than it answered. For example, we now know that Dr. Juris can indeed take care of himself quite well and he does appear to wield low-grade PSI abilities (related to Maxwell Lord, perhaps? Without the nosebleeds, that is?) but was he hired because of them, or did his bosses give him that ability to help him get the job done?
Insideman
“‘Not my cuppa.’ just does NOT cut it in my world.”
I can live with it. I’d much, MUCH rather see the disappearance of such tripe as the annoying (and often incorrect) habit of replacing “you’re welcome” by “no problem”. Which linguistically challenged imbecile first stared that trend anyway? That, and “significant other”. Significant other … what?
Josh
“I would guess that the average wordcount of a comic has decreased in the last few years, and that it is simply the norm now.”
Apparently true. I look back to some of my favourite comics, often French language Belgian ones and a single panel often had more dialogue than an entire page of today’s American strips.
I’ve heard a lot of good things about She-Hulk. I’ve heard that it is clever, well written, and pretty unique.
Rick
“On a side note, imagine if the village had abducted Maxwell Smart, Secret Agent 86 of Control….”
OK, you had to say that. Now I can’t get the image out of my mind. Sure you’re not a stand-in for PAD?
Fallen Angel
Because it was such a small week, I picked up the first six issues of Fallen Angel. I was impressed….
The StarWolf wrote:
“Rick
“On a side note, imagine if the village had abducted Maxwell Smart, Secret Agent 86 of Control….”
OK, you had to say that. Now I can’t get the image out of my mind….”
Sorry about that, Chief.
Rick
I figure that Lee will never be explicitly connected to Linda/PAD’s Supergirl, but that after FA is cancelled (hopefully in a decade or so) Linda will reappear in another PAD comic and she will claim to have emerged from a “dark time” in her life. Or something like that.
Finally got my copy at Third Plnet off of 59 in Houston. (You guys rock!) As usual, I’m not 100% able to articulate my feelings right out of the gate, but I did like it. This weekend, I think I’m gonna do a read-through of the entire first year and see how it works that way; I should have some comment after that.
The more and more that I think about it. The more I deem it appropriate that FA be moved to Vertigo or one of the Wildstorm lines. I love the series, but I can understand why even some of Peter’s fans appear to be freaked out by Lee and company. It is not written in Peter’s usual style. Heck, the atmosphere is even more darker that the Mad Capt. Marvel issues. I think that placing it in a different imprint would accomplish two things. First, it would create a lot of press as this is not something done that often by DC. Second, it would be a big announcement to non Peter David Fans that he is trying something new.
I picked up the trade today and sat down and re-read all 12 issues.
I liked what I read. The story kept my interest, and I want to know more about Lin– I mean Lee. You know, who she is and how she came to be?
Actually I already know who she really is. It was pretty obvious upon re-reading. I don’t recall her real name, but “Lee” is beyond a doubt the young woman who came to Riverdale and tried to convince Archie to forget about both Betty and Veronica, because neither of them had red hair, like the two of them did.
Of course, a great deal of angst and sorrow occurred as a result (as often happens in Riverdale), and “Lee” set out on a quest of atonement and self discovery.
I generally give books that interest me a 12 issue test run. “Fallen Angel” has passed the test, so I’ll be sticking with it.
I do have to agree with those who feel it reads better in one sitting. I don’t think that has anything to do with the way PAD writes (at least not in a negative way), but with the fact that unlike when we were kids, we have a lot more to occupy our minds in the weeks between issues. It’s only to be expected that we might forget about certain details or otherwise lose the thread of the story from one month to the next.
In the positive way that reading “Fallen Angel” all in one sitting reflects the way PAD writes, it allows the reader to catch certain things that might’ve slipped by before, especially subtle things that might carry over from one issue to another.
So, that’s the advantage of a trade paperback. The advantage of monthly issues, however is (or was, actually) the letter columns. The publishers should really bring those back.
Rick
I picked up the trade yesterday and really enjoyed the book. I am a big fan of Peter’s and I will add this to my monthly list.
Best
Matt Wang
Just got this issue and I really enjoyed it. I think it was my favorite one so far. It was nice to get some of the backstory. It gave me a better understanding of the characters.
Thanks for a good read.
Ðámņ you Peter!
As I was finding a replacement for CM, I’ve been trying FA. I was finding it wasn’t “my cuppa”.
Then I read #12.
I’m in for a few more, along with Busiek’s Conan and She-Hulk (Spidey get screwed by the guy trying to help him!!!). My theory is that Bette Noir is a chess board for Order and Chaos aside from DCU. A suggestion for the final issue; have a certain Spirit of Vengance clean house. God would not be amused.
PS: CM #24… Oh my.
David
Please tell me this series will last a long time.I am really getting a complex then when ever i start to enjoy a book it disappears.Started reading with the Black Mariah arc,got the TPB and am in love with this book.My suggestion is no direct connection with the DCU maybe some fringe characters or vertigo residents but even at that use them sparingly if at all.BTW i like Benny of the everchanging hat and Valdez and his demise (just nasty).