Fell

[sawyl]

I've just finished Fell by Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith. Here is a quick overview and a few thoughts.

Detective Richard Fell has fallen. Formerly a big city cop, he has been exiled across the bridge to Snowtown, a decaying and crime ridden ruin of a city. A big fish in a small pond, Fell's analytical mind and strong drive stand him in good stead as he starts to deal with the bizarre crimes thrown up by the feral city.

Fell also finds himself struggling to deal with the locals. His colleagues in the police department are, by and large, insane and the crime scene guy is usually so bombed that he's unable to pick up bullets lying on the side walk. When he first meets Mayko, the owner of his local, she brands Fell on the neck with the Snowtown symbol in an attempt to prevent the city from killing him, but he soon forgives her. Fell also finds himself taking an instant, not entirely surprising, dislike to a sinister, silent nun wearing a Richard Nixon mask, whom he encounters on a number of occasions indulging in some very un-nunish behaviour.

I really enjoyed Fell and, in particular, Templesmith's art which complements the noirish atmosphere of the story as well as being a thing of beauty in itself. The minor characters are also rather enjoyable, leavening the dark horror of the crimes committed by the city's denizens. Particularly good are the addled Lt Beard, who is shown at one point reading the Necronomicon in a determination to solve the crime problem with magic, and Violet the secretary, whose husband left her for a poodle.