Reviewer: Chris Delloiacono
Story Title: Down to Earth: Part 2 – No Entrance
Written by: Peter David
Penciled by: David Lopez
Inked by: Fernando Blanco
Colored by: Nathan Eyring
Lettered by: Rob Leigh
Editor: Lysa Hawkins
Publisher: DC Comics
Definitely PAD’s oddest work to date.
I give Peter David a ton of credit for taking huge risks and trying to tell a very original story with Fallen Angel. Why this is published under the standard DC imprint I have no idea though. This book has some superhero sensibilities, but has more of a Vertigo feel, and supposedly takes place outside of the DC Universe. It really doesn’t fit the DC imprint and I think they’re missing out by marketing it to the wrong audience.
I spoke with our esteemed Dark Overlord Daron Kappauff (see the adventures of the Overlord in comic form at 144anima.com—so I’m a shill) about just this type of thing recently. We were both boggled by the multiple imprints that DC has, yet they’re shoehorning books outside of where they would naturally go. With better marketing and placement of titles, not only will sales improve, but more books will succeed. Oh well. What can we do, but voice our opinion?
Angel beats information out of Black Mariah.
This month’s issue tells a dual story, both of which concern the Fallen Angel and her nemesis Black Mariah. We’re shown more details on the confrontation between the pair that occurred, chronologically, just prior to the series beginning. Interspersed with a “present day†encounter between Angel as she interrogates Mariah, who she captured last month. The meeting serves to give us further background on both characters; and moves the storyline along some.
The pacing for Fallen Angel has been methodical to say the least. Peter David has kept the reader in the dark about everything so far. He’s hinted at a lot of stuff, but given us little concrete information. The book’s one of the oddest out there and it’s strangely compelling, so I really do want the answers that are not coming easily.
Artwork that makes a book…
A book like Fallen Angel absolutely, positively needs strong artwork that transports us to a very different, yet somewhat recognizable world. Being totally in the dark about the overall storyline, the artwork by David Lopez and Fernando Blanco gives Fallen Angel a memorable look and allows not only the wild cast of characters, but more importantly, the city of Bette Noir to come to life and become such an important aspect.
The cult favorite television series Twin Peaks is where I have compared Fallen Angel in the past. That series had a similar storyline that always seemed just beyond your comprehension, a cast that were all seemingly insane, and a town that nearly stole the show. The problem with Twin Peaks was that it never got to the point and turned too many viewers off. Let’s hope that Fallen Angel doesn’t suffer the same fate.
