Reviewer: Chris Delloiacono
Story Title: N/A
Written by: Gabriel Benson
Art and Cover by: Jeff Amano
Publisher: Beckett Comics
It may have taken three months to reach comic stores, but the concluding chapter of Fade From Grace was certainly worth the wait! I have loved everything that Beckett has done since last yea’s Free Comic Book Day. The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty was easily one of the best comics to come out in all that time. Shockingly, Fade From Grace was as good, if not a little better! Why didn’t either of these books receive Harvey or Eisner Award nominations? It’s a damn shame. There are a lot of comics out there that could be used to lure new people to the comic industry. Fade From Grace definitely fits that bill.
FFG tracks the relationship of John and Grace. A bond faces problems when John is gains the ability to control his density. The problems that ensue are not bickering, infidelity, or the need for space. John feels the need to use his powers for good. The story is told entirely through Grace’s eyes in a lovely voice that places the readers squarely in the situation. Grace is behind him, but lives much the way the wife of a policeman must, with the inherent danger always on her mind. There’s a real sense of danger and looming loss on every page of this book. It makes the love story that much more powerful.
As the last issue closed out, John, known as the superhero FADE, attempted to save Grace from brink of death. We learn this month that Grace indeed survived, but John’s increasingly wonky powers have caused him to pay a rather heavy price for their use. John and Grace deal with the ramifications like a normal couple would a tragic illness. Let’s put superpowers aside. How would you react if you could no longer do all of the things that you used to do? Grace and John decide it’s time to put everything else behind them. They must get away. It’s time to focus on themselves. Of course comics have a way of making that rather difficult.
The denouement of the story comes down to long, suspension bridge, thousands of lives, and a fateful choice. The series has always focused on the ramifications wrought by the choices we make. Superhero antics aside, the choices John must make as a superhero will most certainly affect his life with Grace. Those choices are lent a massive power by writer Gabriel Benson’s choices in storytelling. I don’t want to give the ending of the series away. I’ll only tell you that it’s an appropriate moment of happiness mixed with tragedy.
Jeff Amano’s done absolutely miraculous work with this story. The style used by Amano lends the book a feeling of timelessness. It appears set in an idyllic world inhabited by normal people, but when danger crops up it is heightened exponentially by the stylized look. The superhero action is captured wonderfully, but the romantic side is allowed to shine equally. Mr. Amano skirted a razo’s edge of balance to craft this artistic triumph. It would be difficult to find a more visually stunning book on the shelves of you comic shop.
There’s enough in FFG to hook most girls on the comic world, but the action quotient will keep the testosterone-set going too. Just like the film Titanic, Fade From Grace should please both men and women equally. Fade From Grace hits on the perfect blend of romance and action that James Cameron used to make the world’s highest grossing film and win a pile of Oscars. Just about anyone should enjoy this rousing, yet romantic tale.
