The Fade Out
The Fade Out | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | Image Comics |
Schedule | Monthly |
Format | Ongoing series |
Genre | |
Publication date | August 2014 – January 2016 |
No. of issues | 12 |
Creative team | |
Written by | ISBN 1632159112 |
The Fade Out is a crime comics series created by writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips with the help of colorist Elizabeth Breitweiser and research assistant Amy Condit. Twelve issues were published by Image Comics between August 2014 and January 2016. The story has been collected into three trade paperback volumes and a single hardcover collection.
The story, partly inspired by the life of Brubaker's uncle, is set in 1948 and stars Charlie Parish, a Hollywood
Although Brubaker had been concerned the premise was not commercial enough to have wide appeal, The Fade Out sold better than any of the authors' previous collaborations, and early issues went through several printings. The series received positive reviews from critics.
Publication history
Development
Ed Brubaker's uncle,
In mid-2014, having just finished their previous collaboration,
When they were asked for a promotional image for use at Image Expo, Brubaker suggested "a typewriter and some blood and a dead body's hands". Phillips removed the hands and incorporated the blood into the logo. After completing the image, he thought the stark white background would help the book stand out on sales racks and continued to use it for subsequent covers.[10]
While the central plot is a murder mystery, the initial idea was of a writer with
Phillips, who lives in the United Kingdom, sometimes has difficulty accurately portraying modern America and said "1948 Hollywood might as well be sci-fi".[10] Since there was not enough time for him to do his own research and maintain a monthly schedule, Brubaker hired Amy Condit as a research assistant.[10] Condit, who is the manager of the Los Angeles Police Museum, supplied Phillips with thousands of reference photos.[3][5] Phillips also bought some DVDs he thought might be useful, but never found time to watch them.[4]
Although Phillips has been using digital tools like
Publication
The 40-page first issue was released in print and digitally on August 20, 2014.[1][13] Jamie McKelvie and Chip Zdarsky provided art for two retailer-exclusive variant covers. These variants were commissioned directly by the retailers.[14] Unlike most comics sold in the direct market, unsold copies of this issue could be returned to the publisher.[15] This tactic allowed retailers to place higher orders without taking a financial risk.[16] Estimated sales were just under 35,000 copies, making it the 61st best-selling comic book for the month.[15] Due to re-orders, the issue sold out at the distributor level on the day of release. A second printing was announced the next day and was released on September 24, 2014, the same day as issue two.[17] Including sales for the second printing, the first issue sold approximately 41,000 copies.[18] In addition to the standard print version, a larger "magazine" version with eight additional pages of art was available for an extra cost.[19] This version, which was not returnable, was estimated to have sold an additional 8300 copies.[15] All told, The Fade Out #1 had better sales than anything Brubaker and Phillips had previously done together. Brubaker suspects the numbers were higher partly because they had developed a following, and partly because retailers had become more supportive of Image books in general.[20]
The second issue also went through a second printing, which was released the same day as issue three.[21] Its total sales were estimated to be around 30,500.[17]
In addition to the regular 22 pages of story, each issue included extra material. Because the opening credit page was a
In September 2015, Image's solicitations for upcoming comics revealed The Fade Out would end with issue twelve, which was released on January 6, 2016.[23][24] Like the first issue, it had twice as many pages as a standard comic book.[4] It sold an estimated 16,500 copies and was the 136th-best selling issue of the month.[25] Brubaker has said The Fade Out was, at the time, his most complex story and it ended "exactly the way [he had] pictured it in the beginning".[22] The creators had already begun work on their next collaboration, Kill or Be Killed, before the final issue of The Fade Out had been published.[4] The series was collected into three trade paperback volumes during publication and one oversized hardcover in October 2016.[26] The articles and essays found in the single issues are not included in the collections.[19]
In the letter column of Kill or Be Killed #12 (September 2017), Brubaker mentioned plans for a semi-sequel to The Fade Out. He said that if made, the comic book would share the setting and some of the supporting characters, but the plot would be unrelated.[27]
Plot
Charlie Parish, a Hollywood screenwriter suffering from
Reception
Critics gave the series positive reviews. According to the
Sam Marx, writing for Comicosity, called The Fade Out the creators' "most ambitious series yet" and praised their ability to set a scene.[7] Reviewing for Comic Book Resources, Greg McElhatton gave Brubaker credit for avoiding excessive exposition at the start of the story, but felt some of the characters seemed stereotypical.[30] The first issue was placed on the Entertainment Weekly "Must List".[31] Chase Magnett of Comics Bulletin described the ending as "an anti-climax with no big showdown, revelations, or death", but went on to say the "sense of disappointment is exactly why it's great".[32] McElhatton agreed, saying a happy ending would have "felt like a cheat", but the "central mystery [is given] a proper amount of closure".[24]
Phillips' art was commended by McElhatton, who appreciated the variety of body types in crowd scenes and the strong use of body language to convey emotion.[30] Jim Bush at Entertainment Fuse usually liked Phillips' work, but felt the sex scenes in issue seven did not play to the artist's strengths.[33] Mary Kate Jasper, a reviewer for Comic Book Resources, noted how colorist Elizabeth Breitweiser enhanced Phillips' work with "splotches of color in unexpected arrangements, giving everyone the appearance of being forever in shadow or inside with the windows drawn". She particularly liked how Breitweiser made characters' eyes appear to glisten and stand out in otherwise dark panels.[34]
Collected editions
Title | Material collected | Published date | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|
The Fade Out: Act One | The Fade Out #1-4 | February 2015 | 978-1632151711 |
The Fade Out: Act Two | The Fade Out #5-8 | September 2015 | 978-1632154477 |
The Fade Out: Act Three | The Fade Out #9-12 | February 2016 | 978-1632156297 |
The Fade Out: Deluxe Edition | The Fade Out #1-12 | October 2016 | 978-1632159113 |
In other media
Brubaker received calls from interested parties in Hollywood about adapting The Fade Out very early in its publication. However, he did not want to sell the rights until the series was finished. He had done so with a previous work, and it affected the way he wrote it because he was imagining it in the other medium.[5]
References
- ^ a b c d e Sava, Oliver (August 8, 2014), "Exclusive preview: Brubaker, Phillips, and Breitweiser tackle post-WWII Hollywood in The Fade Out #1 Archived 2016-08-10 at the Wayback Machine", The A.V. Club (accessed May 29, 2016)
- ^ Sims, Chris (January 6, 2016), "The Real Tragedy Is That He’ll Never Leave: Ed Brubaker on 'The Fade Out,' Part One Archived 2016-03-22 at the Wayback Machine," ComicsAlliance (accessed May 28, 2016)
- ^ a b c Truitt, Brian (August 19, 2014), "'Fade Out' stars melodramatic noir of '40s Hollywood Archived 2016-04-17 at the Wayback Machine," USA Today (accessed June 7, 2016)
- ^ a b c d e f g Smith, Zack (January 6, 2016), "Brubaker and Phillips on The Fade Out's Finale Archived 2016-04-17 at the Wayback Machine," Newsarama (accessed May 28, 2016)
- ^ a b c d Kim, James (March 3, 2015), "'The Fade Out': comic book writer Ed Brubaker on Hollywood in the 1940s Archived 2016-07-24 at the Wayback Machine," SCPR (accessed May 28, 2016)
- ^ a b Schmidt, Kevin (January 15, 2015), "Talking to Ed Brubaker on His Five Year Deal with Image, The Fade Out and The Winter Soldier – At Image Expo Archived 2016-08-21 at the Wayback Machine," Bleeding Cool (accessed May 28, 2016)
- ^ a b Marx, Sam (August 21, 2014), "Review: The Fade Out #1 Archived 2016-03-14 at the Wayback Machine," Comicosity (accessed May 28, 2016)
- ^ Dissanayake, David (January 9, 2014), "Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips Sign a Five Year Deal with Image... Archived 2016-08-21 at the Wayback Machine," Bleeding Cool (accessed June 10, 2016)
- ^ a b Phegley, Kiel (August 11, 2014), "Ed Brubaker on Horror, Jealousy and "Fatale's" Finale Archived 2016-08-13 at the Wayback Machine," Comic Book Resources (accessed May 28, 2016)
- ^ a b c d Harper, David (August 20, 2014), "Artist Alley: Sean Phillips and the Dark Side of Hollywood in "The Fade Out" Archived 2016-04-17 at the Wayback Machine," Multiversity Comics (accessed May 30, 2016)
- ^ Parker, Charley (June 9, 2015), "Sean Phillips Archived 2017-04-01 at the Wayback Machine", Lines and Colors. Retrieved March 31, 2017
- ^ Reese, Nathan (August 14, 2014), "Sex, Blood, and Tentacles: Ed Brubaker's Comic Book Noir Archived 2016-08-27 at the Wayback Machine," Complex (accessed May 28, 2016)
- ^ "The Fade Out #1 Archived 2016-06-30 at the Wayback Machine" Image Comics (accessed June 10, 2016)
- ^ The Fade Out #1 (w)Ed Brubaker (a)Sean Phillips (p)Image Comics (August 20, 2014)
- ^ Comichron(accessed May 28, 2016)
- Diamond Comics Distributors(accessed June 10, 2016)
- ^ ComicBook.com(accessed June 10, 2016)
- ^ "Comic Book Sales for 2014 Archived 2016-06-16 at the Wayback Machine," Comichron (accessed June 10, 2016)
- ^ a b Wilson, Matt D (May 15, 2014) "Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips Go Hollywood Noir with 'The Fade Out' Archived 2016-08-20 at the Wayback Machine," ComicsAlliance (accessed May 28, 2016)
- ^ Harper, David (March 28, 2016), "This Noir Life: A Retrospective of the Brubaker/Phillips Partnership Archived 2016-06-12 at the Wayback Machine," SKTCHD (accessed May 28, 2016)
- ^ Salazar, Kat (August 21, 2014), "The Fade Out comes into focus Archived 2016-11-15 at the Wayback Machine", Image Comics. Retrieved September 13, 2016
- ^ a b c Sims, Chris (January 7, 2016), "They Work For The Machine: Ed Brubaker on 'The Fade Out,' Part Two Archived 2016-06-10 at the Wayback Machine," ComicsAlliance (accessed May 28, 2016)
- ^ (September 15, 2015), ""The Fade Out" Ends, "Spawn" Takes on Satan & More in Image December Solicitations Archived 2016-04-17 at the Wayback Machine, Comic Book Resources (accessed June 13, 2016)
- ^ a b McElhatton, Greg (January 7, 2016), "The Fade Out #12 Archived 2016-06-16 at the Wayback Machine," Comic Book Resources (accessed May 2016)
- Comichron(accessed May 28, 2016)
- ^ "The Fade Out Archived 2016-08-11 at the Wayback Machine," Image Comics. Retrieved September 12, 2016
- ^ Kill or Be Killed #12. September 15, 2017. (w)Ed Brubaker (a)Sean Phillips (p)Image Comics
- ^ "The Fade Out #12 Archived 2017-03-16 at the Wayback Machine," Comic Book Roundup (accessed May 28, 2016)
- ^ Schedeen, Jesse (July 23, 2016), "Comic-Con 2016: 2016 Eisner Award Winners Revealed Archived 2016-04-17 at the Wayback Machine," IGN. Retrieved September 8, 2016
- ^ a b McElhatton, Greg (August 20, 2014), "The Fade Out #1 Archived 2016-04-17 at the Wayback Machine," Comic Book Resources (accessed May 28, 2016)
- ^ Harper, David (July 2, 2015), "Image Expo: Publisher Eric Stephenson on Where Image Is and Where It's Headed Archived 2016-09-11 at the Wayback Machine," SKTCHD. Retrieved September 12, 2016
- ^ Magnett, Chase (January 7, 2016), "The Fade Out #12: Burning the Past Archived 2016-03-17 at the Wayback Machine," Comics Bulletin (accessed May 28, 2016)
- ^ Bush, Jim (July 1, 2015), "The Fade Out #7 Review Archived 2016-04-17 at the Wayback Machine," Entertainment Fuse (accessed May 28, 2016)
- ^ Jasper, Marykate (October 1, 2014), "The Fade Out #2 Archived 2016-08-13 at the Wayback Machine," Comic Book Resources (accessed May 28, 2016)