The penultimate issue in the current storyline which has already received rave notices in the latest thefourthrail.com from both reviewers. Plus we finally used the freakin’ Kaluta cover that I ran in this blog nearly two years ago.
So whad’ja think?
• 
All I can say about that issue is: WOW!
Actually, that’s not true. I can also say: ÐÃMN!
While I’m at it, I think I’ll also say: FREAKIN’ AWESOME!
I’m sure I’ll have more to say after I read it again.
For some reason, I can’t access thefourthrail website. Keeps on timing out.
But FA 17-read it. Is great. Hated the final bit though-mainly due to personal preferences. Always feel a bit turned off when something like that happens.
Well, having collected the whole run so far from the get go (partly because of Supergirl to start out with) I really do feel it gets better and better with each issue.
My boyfriend is very into indie comics and graphic novels. I asked him to try out Fallen Angel. He was pretty wary because he’s not into superheroes. I gave him my copy of the trade and he was blown away and has become a fan! I think that is a testament to the wide net of people that could fall under Lee and Bette Noir’s spell.
I think it just keeps getting better with each new issue. Of course, all the characters have been developed so that they are all interesting in their own right. It’s amazing that Lee hasn’t been overshadowed by all the characters. But this is still very much her book. She’s an amazing character. I think everyone crying out for a decently written female character finally have someone to turn to.
I loved that in this issue we saw her at her most ášš-kickingest and also at her most fragile. That ending… oh man… it tore MY heart out.
My mind keeps trying to figure out what the aftermath of this is going to be…. but this is Fallen Angel, so there’s not telling. Which I think is the best part.
P.S. – I’m a graphic desginer and I’m working on a Fallen Angel fanstie right now. I’ll let you know when it’s all together.
As usual, it leaves you wondering about the utter lack of taste and narrow-mindedness of the current comic book readership (even if I was one of them until last week..)
A book like this should sell far above what’s curently selling.
A question, Mr. David:
Is Fallen Angel a finite comic book series (like Sandman) or is it open ended?
Quote from my friend Bob:
“If a Second Fallen Angel trade comes out, I’ll buy it”
Heh, promised him I’d do that.
Really liked this issue, the enging was one of the most shocking I’ve read in a while.
Oooo — things look bad for Boxer.
Bad?Bad?
Understatement of the century there. Boxer is a dead man. Juris is gonna be pìššëd.
Oh, and given a certain explosion, is it me or is Lee not the only metahuman in town?
Alan.
(Who finally manages to get a copy of an issue in time to comment on it)
I liked it….except for the ending. One of my least favorite plots that seem to happen often in comics, and tv shows for that matter, is the character getting pregnant and then losing the baby. I’ve gotten to the point that as soon as any character is pregnant I know she will lose the baby.
Why? I guess it is that it would be too hard to write characters as mothers without changing them. Betty Banner gets pregnant…I knew she wouldn’t have the kid. I know that wasn’t your choice but I knew how it would turn out. Byrne couldn’t write Scarlett Witch as a mom so he aborted the kids after they were born. That worked out well later…..
I’d just like, occasionally, that a charactor gets pregnant and goes full term and has a kid. I know it would be tougher to write and likely isn’t the character you want to write in this case. But it has become so cliched that this happen, it isn’t a shock.
Tom Dakers
mmmm…MacBeth, And I seem to remember early on (“Little Better Than a Beast”) Slate quoting the same line as Mr. Kind.
I’m still thinking Slate was behind the bombing of the school somehow. He seems to be manipulating the hëll out of people, including Lee. Making his own bid for power, maybe playing the big dogs off against each other. Wonder if he knew she was pregnant? Maybe, maybe not. Also, telling her she could eventually work for him… implying that he’s moving up in the ranks? And that was a positively evil look he had while answering her question about the hierarchy.
As always, a study in contrasts; Lee’s power vs. her vulnerability, and again some correlating of her emotional state with her strength.
As for the artwork: excellent! I really like the panel showing Lee standing ready, just before the face-off.
Overall: great. No complaints, in fact one of my favourite issues so far. And I did not see that ending coming. Very unsettling. But it suited the story.
It wasn`t so long ago when this was the typical picture of a hero: Male, the typical “tough guy” who was not allowed to show any “weaknesses”, someone who a) either lost his family and is out for revenge or b) who is at best allowed to have a lover but at the end disappears alone into the sunset.
Fortunately literature in the broadest sense evolved a lot. Heroes can be male or female and nowadays ongoing intimate relationships including getting married are even allowed to be an important part in character developments. Nowadays I don`t have to automatically get nervous any more when people in Star Trek get married because in the past this was treated as a death sentence for one of them or at best, the relationship was doomed for other reasons. NF is the best example for that.
PAD was always good at moving forward. Therefore I am not pessimistic: Should Fallen Angel go on, I am pretty sure the baby will not only survive, the child will play an important part in the series.
I’m inclined to agree with Tom Dakers about the woman losing the baby becoming a cliche. When I was growing up, one of the things that I really liked about the Justice League, and that made it much more realistic for me, was that Barry Allen was married and that Aquaman had a wife and a son. These days, youth culture reigns supreme along with its disdain of family and nearly every character in comic books loses his or her family. I find it very distasteful.
More specifically, about Fallen Angel, I’ve picked up the trade, depleted my store’s back issue supply (they had one extra copy of each issue, except for #14 which I guess somebody else picked up … I hope nobody else in the area wants to try the series cause there’s nothing left), and am still lukewarm about it. For something that’s PAD claims is his best work, it seems much weaker than Atlantic Chronicles and some of the other PAD books I’ve enjoyed in the past. I find the art to be very average, and haven’t noticed anybody here raving about it either. At $3 an issue for modern comics (about three times what they should cost if one looks at historical inflation rates), I find it hard to buy a book that isn’t drawn really, really well.
On the other hand, PAD is one of the few comics writers my wife will read and she liked Fallen Angel instantlty. She is pregnant and found the ending of the latest issue very disturbing and disliked it. Since the fate of the book doesn’t look very good (from a publishing, not plot standpoint), I’ll keep on buying it while it lasts and hope for a pleasant surprise with the story. I actually expect to get one. One thing about PAD’s writing I like is that when given time to develop something it often turns out to be much more interesting than it appeared in early chapters.
If the book does get cancelled, what I’d really like to see is it continue in the form of prose novels. They’re a much better value than comic books in terms of the amount of story you get for the money spent and I’d like to see how this all turns out.
Lynn
ooooooo…right in the GUNT!..er no, um right in the F.U.P.! thats gotta hurt. That was just like the movie “saw” where u see the dead guy in the middle of the floor, or Boxer in the closet…in the beggining. Then all kindsa crazy stuff happens and u forget about Boxer, right until the end when he smokes her one. Or like in said movie, the dead guy gets up at the end, to reveal himself as the killer…in both cases, I didn’t see it coming….I love it!
I’d just like, occasionally, that a charactor gets pregnant and goes full term and has a kid. I know it would be tougher to write and likely isn’t the character you want to write in this case. But it has become so cliched that this happen, it isn’t a shock.
What about Franklin Richards? They didn’t remove him from continuity, did they? Or Ariella from Supergirl?
I continue to be impressed with HurlyBurly. What a great issue. I still find it hard to believe that this storyline will be wrapped up in a mere 22 pages!
The continuing back-story of Boxer is intriguing. I noticed that his mother is pregnant in these flashbacks. My guess? In the next issue we see more of Boxer’s origin. The father strikes the mother who subsequently miscarries. Boxer, in retaliation, kills the father. Funny how those deals with devil work: sell you soul to save your father only to kill him the next day.
Anyways, the memory of his mother’s miscarriage is a strong one in Boxer. My guess is he tries to help Lee get medical attention. I hope, now that we have learned more of Boxer’s origins, that he is not the character who dies next issue.
The battle between Lee and Mr. Kind was well done. One splash page to show the extent of the battle and of their powers. Then the end result, Kind holding his heart and dying. The rest is left to our imagination. Excellent.
But the best part of this issue was the conversation Lee has with herself in her apartment. Do any 2 pages encapsulate Lee’s emotions better? The emotion I felt from her crying was emptiness. Shouldn’t she feel something after this battle? Exhiliration from defeating her enemy? Regret for killing him? I think Lee feels nothing and as a result is crying at her own emotional inertia.
How will this all wrap up? Slate will end up having planted the bomb and warning Lee, a way to encite her into action. Juris will die, trying to defend Lee against the remaining hierarchy and failing. Lee loses the baby, defeats the remaining Hierarchy, and becomes the new head of Bete Noire.
To paraphrase L.A. Confidential: I wouldn’t trade places with Boxer for all the whiskey in Ireland.
Interesting speculation. All I will say is that Yes he does wrap up this story line in the next 22 pages (issue 18) and then. . . .Well let’s just say you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Not to drag speculation & commentary in the wrong direction or anything, but did anyone else notice the reverse “S” shape in the water as Lee was washing the blood off her hands?
Ooooh …I didn’t notice the reverse S. Will have to look for that!
As I have said umpteen times, Lee has always been Linda V2.0 for me. I know it will never be revealed one way or the other, but it all fits for me.
I’m still betting that the “Hierarchy” are the Lords of Order & Chaos having a little side bet. Look at their employees; Mr Goode, Mr Kind.. Mr Gray, Mr Fate?
And the ending, whoa. To paraphrase Wolverine in New X-Men, “Pretty hard core Pete.”
I’m inclined to agree with Tom Dakers about the woman losing the baby becoming a cliche. When I was growing up, one of the things that I really liked about the Justice League, and that made it much more realistic for me, was that Barry Allen was married and that Aquaman had a wife and a son. These days, youth culture reigns supreme along with its disdain of family and nearly every character in comic books loses his or her family. I find it very distasteful.
Um, yes…normally I’d agree, but in most instances, these “tragedies” are more than a little contrived and don’t flow organically from the characters.
I get a different vibe from this; this isn’t an authors’ contriviance…it flows from the characters circumstances and has (I predict) more resonances with Lee than we’ve seen so far.
“Not to drag speculation & commentary in the wrong direction or anything, but did anyone else notice the reverse “S” shape in the water as Lee was washing the blood off her hands?”
Nah, you’re reading something into that that’s not there. The water was red and there’s just separations where her hands are in the water. No reverse “S” there.
There are, however, “MacBeth” references galore. When Lee is washing up and then preparing for bed, her dialogue paraphrases Lady MacBeth.
And consider the title of the storyline: “Hurlyburly.” As in:
“When will we three meet again, in thunder, lightning, or in rain?
When the hurlyburly’s done, when the battle’s lost and won.”
The three who meet once and then meet again in the storyline? Lee and her two antagonists, Boxer and Mr. Kind. Lee and Kind meet once more, in thunder, lightning and rain. Lee wins the battle with Mr. Kind…and then loses the one to Boxer.
And thus is the Hurlyburly (the noise of battle) done.
PAD
I realize there’s a whole lot of subtext to all that’s goin on but I gotta say:
“Anyone else want to have thier heart ripped out of thier chest and shown to them?”
That was worth the pricetag of the issue alone. Great reveal.
Oh and isn’t “the old man had so much blood in him” & “Ðámņdëd spot” from Hamlet & not MacBeth?
Anyway I’m almost CERTAIN that: “Anyone else want to have thier heart ripped out of thier chest and shown to them?” is from a Midsummer Night’s Dream. Go shakespeare. Whooot!
And consider the title of the storyline: “Hurlyburly.” As in:
“When will we three meet again, in thunder, lightning, or in rain?
When the hurlyburly’s done, when the battle’s lost and won.”
Ah, so the title wasn’t an FLCL reference.
“Oh and isn’t “the old man had so much blood in him” & “Ðámņdëd spot” from Hamlet & not MacBeth?”
Uh, no. No, it’s all from the famous speech by Lady MacBeth. Trust me.
And, just in case it comes up, “Something Wicked This way comes” and “Dagger of the Mind” are also from “MacBeth,” and not from, respectively, a Ray Bradbury story and an episode of “Star Trek” as is popularly believed…
PAD
Artwork in this issue was awesome.Is it me or is the art just getting better with each issue?As I stated before i still think Slate was the bomber.Boxer is an up close and personal guy.Lee thumping Mr.Kind Or more to the point stopping the thumping in chest…Ðámņ she is scary at times.by the end of the book ,I felt sad for her though.She seemed very alone and vulnerable and in need of a big hug.Boxer,Boxer……Yes you got your shot in but at what cost???Not so much the revenge or anger of Lee but what is that going to do to him inside?It seems obvious his Dad was an abusive jerk and he doesnt want to be like him.IMO
if she was not pregnant it would not have bothered him but her current situation makes her “sacred”almost.Slapping around a woman,albeit a bad ášš like Lee is one thing,a pregnant woman in his mind may be someone he is just not willing to do harm to.His face at the realization of what he did was so painful.
Favorite line of this issue was Mariah to Dolf
“thats it.Youre going the way of the Berlin Wall”
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Oh and isn’t “the old man had so much blood in him” & “Ðámņdëd spot” from Hamlet & not MacBeth?
Definitely MacBeth. Hence my earlier post starting with “mmm…MacBeth.” I had to memorize & recite Lady MacBeth’s “out dámņëd spot, out I say” speech in 9th grade. (Well, we could pick any Shakespeare we wanted, but that one let me say “dámņëd” in front of the class w/o getting in trouble.)
There have been numerous references to the peculiarities surrounding Juris; he’s old/been in Bete Noire longer than Dolf; references to his family having been there long/always; family having special abilities; disappearing at midnight, and so forth.
Maybe I’m reading to much into his behaviour, but while it’s natural to be concerned about a baby, Juris seems to have more than just a fatherly concern.
Unless Juris has an ex-wife or something we haven’t heard about, it seems this baby might be his heir, maybe also of his powers/status. I guess it partly depends how much of his powers are granted, and how much they are inherent. The child could be of great importance to Bete Noire.
Even if Lee doesn’t lose the baby, she might not have much say in where/how it lives. Another tradeoff? Lee has her “right to… go when she desires”, but her child doesn’t? Heck, I don’t know, maybe Juris’ family line can only exist one at a time, and he’ll vanish the moment the kid is born. Just guessing, of course, but there’s a lot going on there, and I can’t imagine that all of those hints were dropped for no reason.
Posted by Eric Pilgrim:
“Or like in said movie, the dead guy gets up at the end, to reveal himself as the killer…”
Yes, well, thank you. I was going to go see that movie.
PAD,
Simply magnificient. Fallen Angel gets better and better as we learn more about her and the whole milieu. The ending was shocking. I could almost feel that kick myself. I expect the next story to go in an unexpected direction. PAD is never predictable.
Regards,
Dennis
The writing and art in this book keep getting better and better, there is no question about that.
With that sad, as odd as this seems, I’m dropping this book once the storyline finishes with next issue. And it’s not a money issue.
I’m finding that as time goes on, I’m liking each character less and less (except for maybe Dolf, which is interesting as fan speculation loves to believe he’s Hitler. In fact, more “proof” was thrown in there with how long he’s been in Noire for, yet I have a feeling PAD is doing that just to toy with the fans).
When Lee was sucker punched at the end, there, I felt bad for the baby, as the baby does not deserve that). However, I didn’t feel bad for Lee. She’s not a likable character, one who smokes while pregnant, rips out hearts of enemies and jokes about it, and, from issues past, goes beyond what is necessary in her torturing of “villains”.
And the “villains” (so many shades of grey that it has to be put in quotes) though interesting and incredibly well developed, again, leave little to be admired.
And those are things I don’t want to read about. There’s not a shred of nobility to be found in the city of Bete Noire, and because of that, I’m not having a problem packing up my belongings and moving out.
Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. Just one I’m not personally interested in.
PAD,
Reading the entire 17 issue run of Fallen angel in one sitting, I suddenly realized I’ve run through a whole gamut of emotions reading each issue every month. Shock, surprise, anger, sadness, relief, and others. Also, it’s a comic not to be read and kept in a box, it’s something to read over and over again, leaving the comics right near your bed for easy access when one has nothing to do. Thanks for a great comic. Barring all that, any news when the next SPYBOY wil coming out??
Great Issue! I can’t wait till the conclusion next month.
I’m hopeful that DC will continue to keep Fallen Angel for another year..or 2…or 3. Heck, just try to make sure they don’t cancel it.
“Nah, you’re reading something into that that’s not there. The water was red and there’s just separations where her hands are in the water. No reverse “S” there.”
Oh well. And here I thought I decoded something cool and hidden. Oh well. This comic friggin’ rules, by the way. As does Madrox.
I am really enjoying the series. The ending was not telegraphed to me at all.
My guess (for the day) is that Lee is the the “fallen angel” aspect of Linda(Supergirl) and that she is now in Limbo. As a result, Lee does not truly have a complete soul in that would have stayed with Linda. She could leave Bette Noir due to being an “angel” who is really not suppose to be there at all.
Now of course, I could be wrong(and probably am), but it is really fun to have to think about a comic after I am done reading it.
I am torn over this issue. One the one hand I know brilliant writing and artwork when I see it and this issue, as well as the entire series, has been an enjoyable emotional rollercoaster ride. Peter
I really enjoy Fallen Angel and Madrox, PAD, but you need to stop inflating your self-esteem based on what is said at thefourthrail.com. Those guys give positive reviews to pretty much everything. 10/10 BEST OF THE WEEK
“I really enjoy Fallen Angel and Madrox, PAD, but you need to stop inflating your self-esteem based on what is said at thefourthrail.com. Those guys give positive reviews to pretty much everything.”
Well, first of all, a few weeks ago I was chatting with a fairly well known comic book writer who happened to be talking about reviews in general and (without any prompting from me) crabbed about fourthrail, saying they hated everything he wrote. So from that alone, I’m gonna say no, that’s not right.
Second, it has nothing to do with self-esteem, but rather a reassurance that I’m turning out a good book.
Third, they HATED “Captain Marvel.”
Fourth, reviewers from aintitcoolnews, cinescape, and many others have likewise lauded the series, so it’s not like I’m hanging my hat on one place.
PAD
It took me until a few days ago to track down all of the back issues of this series, and I just read issues 7 to 17 tonight.
Wow.
Surprises on every page. Great stuff.
John
I hadn’t remembered that “Hurlyburly” was a reference to the Scotish Play. It’s been twenty years since I read it. However, even I couldn’t miss the references to Lady M’s famous speech. It makes me wonder if Lee is also McDuff, who kills the unkillable foe that “no man of woman born may slay.”
What, me superstitious about naming a certain play? Nah! 🙂
So how come there is no thread/discussion on the excellent SOULSEARCHERS AND COMPANY which also came out this week? Silly, but intelligent humor ala the songs of Neil Innes.
o how come there is no thread/discussion on the excellent SOULSEARCHERS AND COMPANY which also came out this week? Silly, but intelligent humor ala the songs of Neil Innes.”
Well, first of all, I didn’t know it was out. And second, even if I did start a thread for it, how depressing would it be to get two, maybe three responses.
PAD
Hmmm, having reread the threads from issue 14, there have been a lot of guesses by we readers about the mysteries in FA.
What is Bete Noire?
Who are the Hierarchy?
Does Lee’s baby live?
Who bombed the school?
Who sent the note?
Who dies?
22 pages and a lot of info to be parcelled out. We should have an informal ‘I got the most guesses right’ contest for all of us prognosticators.
What is Bete Noire? — some place in between life and death where only the dámņëd call home, like New Orleans
Who are the Hierarchy? — Inside every Wal-Mart there is a mirror in the back of the TV section. Look into it. THAT is the true Hiearchy, my friend.
Does Lee’s baby live? — I think the better question would be do WE live or is it all just a madman’s dream?
Who bombed the school? — Dr. Light in combination with the Scarlet Witch using her “Chaos Magic”. . . waitasecond THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS CHAOS MAGIC! AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
Who sent the note? — Commander Stone
Who dies? — Sue Dibny.
What was funny in that above post by TallestFanEver — none.
I had written I thought there might be a problem with the baby, given the fights Lee was likely going to get into. I didn’t see Boxer coming out of her closet, but the idea is still there. Thing is, IS it dead? Mr. David stated that “A character” would die. Mr. Kind sure seems dead. Maybe the baby is in trouble (at the very least), but not dead yet?
Either way, Boxer is not going to be a happy camper, regardless of whether the baby lives or not.
One thing, though. The comment about Dolph having been in Bete Noir for “sixty some years, now”? Unless the stories are set in the future, or there’s the unstated idea of Adolph having been replaced by a double partway through the war, this puts paid to the theory of Dolph being Hitler as the latter supposedly died in his bunker in ’45. Fifty-nine years ago. Juris is careful with his words. Seems to me, if it wasn’t quite sixty years, he’d probably have said “almost sixty years, now”.
Pity. There was indeed a certain fascination with that theory.
Lastly, what, exactly, is “Bete Noir”?
Let’s look at what we’ve got.
1 – It isn’t a big city, because, if it is, the action all takes place in the subburbs. No skyscrapers. Nothing above a few stories tall. This would eliminate most big cities in the U.S.. (Yes, I’m assuming this is in the U.S. because, if it isn’t, it becomes that muich harder to pin down.)
2 – Port city with access to the ocean.
3 – Not a recently created community.
4 – Bit of a melting pot with immigrants from all over.
I’m sure there are other clues, but I don’t have the issues right at hand to check.
Still, this should narrow things down somewhat.
OK, I had written that, given the fights she’d be in, Lee’s baby could be in trouble. True, I didn’t see Boxer pulling that fast one, but the idea is there nonetheless.
Only … IS it dead? Mr. David chooses his words carefully (nice trait to have for a good writer) and he DID say “A character dies”. Mr. Kind sure seems to be dead. Does this mean the baby, which is at least in trouble, isn’t actually dead?
Either way, Boxer is not going to be a happy camper.
Finally caught up by reading FA# 15, 16 and 17 this weekend. The book is getting better, though there’s still not anyone I really care about in the book.
Looking forward to #18 and see how it all turns out.
I wish peter would make his Star Trek New Frontier books into movies
Sam,
I agree. Unfortunately, as long as berman is in charge, it’ll never happen.
Now, if somebody like JMS were to take control of the franchise…well, that would be different.
Wait…..
Isn’t there supposed to be a solicit for Fallen Angel in the February DC Solicits or am I confused? Which month is being skipped? I thought it was January.