10 Best Ed Brubaker Comics Fans Must Read
6. Fatale
As the name suggests, Fatale was Brubaker and Phillips exploring the classic femme fatale archetype with a supernatural twist.
The lead character of Jo (Josephine) is woman in the mould of a classic femme fatale. But more than that, her powers to entrance, even hypnotise, men are very real. Whether she desires it or not, men become infatuated with her.
Jo has survived from the 1930s to the modern day, unaged, and the various arcs take place throughout recent history. We jump back and forth through time seeing through the yes, not only of Jo, but of the men drawn to her who have become lovers or protectors.
Throughout the decades Jo is continually hunted by a cult that worship Lovecraftian gods that are, in some way, intertwined with Jo herself.
Fatale is all the more valuable a comic for the fact that it featured a woman in the leading role who felt very three-dimensional and human (even if she is also supernatural).
While femininity and sex are central to the story, Brubaker and Phillips didn’t feel the need to fill the pages with T&A at every turn, and it really serves to elevate the story.