The Fade Out #7

by RobertJCross on June 24, 2015

Written by: Ed Brubaker
Art by: Sean Phillips

What a glorious time to be alive! We get to experience so much in our wild world of technology and creativity! This comic is surely one of those marvels. Never before have I been transported back in time and felt the things that I've felt than with this comic. This issue in particular gave me a lot of roads by which to evaluate with my mind. The issue starts off with a callback to #5 and then we see Charlie and Maya run off to Malibu (a place I've been a few times before) and spent some "quality" time together. Charlie gets in over his head at one point but the story swings back around to what we know and love. Masterful.

I could use this paragraph to tell you how amazing Brubaker is at his craft, but instead I'm going to keep talking about the atmosphere that was created. I myself didn't live in Hollywood during the 1940s but I did live there during the 80s and 90s. The area has this eerie historic feeling all around it, mostly because of how much history is baked into the city itself. Reading this comic gave me some of those historic vibes I used to get when I was a kid and my father would take me up the hill to the old movie star mansions covered in overgrowth. This comic is a literal time machine. If you know anything about the history of film or Hollywood, you NEED to read this. There's nothing else to it. A MUST READ.

Now onto Phillips, who played a lot with low light in this comic and I was again impressed beyond all caliber by his artwork. It reminded me of Frank Miller at points when things got sexual and the light got dark. His 40s Malibu was pretty spot on in tone. This guy just knows how to use a picture to get you into a time period. There's nothing else I can say about it. It's perfect and breathtaking.

If you haven't started reading this comic, you're missing out. PICK IT UP NOWWWWWWWW!! Doctor's orders!

Our Score:

10/10

A Look Inside