Image Comics 2014
Written by Frank J. Barbiere
Illustrated by Chris Mooneyham
Coloured by Lauren Affe
This book continues to amaze and astonish me. From the concept to it’s execution to Chris’s amazing interior artwork bringing it all to life this series stands head and shoulders above the others. Image is the home for imagination but it’s also the home for excellence you can enjoy this series as is but you can also imagine Frank writing a full length novel about Fabian and then you can also see this translating to both the big and small screens so for one book to capture your mind and imagination this way is truly a rare feat.
So we open up with Fabian on a ship fighting pirates it looks like alongside his sister. No you aren’t mistaken this isn’t where we left off last issue but then read on fearless reader and see just what is really here. Oh yeah we get back to the story at hand and I am blown away because we finally see some of the whole business with the Dreamstone. How powerful it is and just how much it’s tied into him is something interesting to see.
I love the work Chris does he’s got his own unique style and it’s so darn expressive and evokes emotion, it is detailed and just makes the pages so much more dynamic to look at. Fabian is more than just a man he’s a force of nature and the raw power that seems to ooze from him is something Chris manages to show. That image of Fabian shirtless surrounded by the ghosts with his adonis style body, chest hair and the stones in his chest it’s one of those defining images for sure.
I love that this has that whole Maltese Falcon kind of vibe to it as well and when Frank focuses on the Nazi’s and their interest in Fabian things get even more murky. We all know that Hitler and his inner circle had this obsession with occult objects but to see it here again is just fun because the lengths they go to in order to obtain their objectives is delightful. This ties in to seeing Fabians partner Sebastian and the Hunter beautifully.
The twists that happen with Sebastian keep you on the edge of your seat nicely. Plus now that the Hunter has a chance to see Fabian as himself their relationship is going to change dramatically and it would be nice to see him have an ally such as this for further adventures.
I think the fact that Frank can use the ghosts as a catalyst to showcase man’s inner spirit and the will to survive and be more than anyone can expect of them is something rare. It isn’t the ghosts that make him special it’s really his force of will, drive and determination that does the ghosts are just a tool he uses to help guide him through the harrowing times.