Writer: Mike Carey
Artist: Jock
Publisher: DC/Vertigo
Price: $2.99
The solicit for Faker made it sound like a fairly fast paced summer blockbuster type horror affair. Not necessarily a bad thing, but not something to get me really excited. It was then, with curiosity but not expectation that I picked up the first issue; curiosity and a desire for Jock’s fabulous art, which I’ve been seriously missing since the end of The Losers. Having finished the first issue I can now report that Faker is neither fast paced nor a summer blockbuster style tale. It is however a quality read, and a fantastic first issue.
This first issue introduces us to a group of freshman housemates returning to their second semester of College. Jessie has taken to seducing her lecturers and then blackmailing them for better grades, Paul is sullen and withdrawn, Marky is merrily making his way through every girl (and some boys) in College and Yvonne hacks in her underwear. They’re back from holidays and they’re blasting the new term in with little style but plenty of drugs and alcohol. When they wake up they find they’re a bit the worse for wear but joined by their other best friend Nick, and so all is well. Or not. Apparently no-one else knows who Nick is. In fact Nick doesn’t exist in any records and no-one remembers him, apart from them. Weird! But oh so intriguing, and it ends on a cliff-hanger.
Carey has delivered a near perfect first issue here. We get a great feel for all of the characters and their individual personalities, and a real sense of that student camaraderie that always grows between housemates in those early Uni months. The pace is exactly spot on, with all the exposition provided by an excellent mix of visuals, Jessie’s internal monologue and conversation/banter. Nothing is superfluous, and everything feels right in terms of context, tone and setting. Enough of the characters and the overall mystery are revealed to get the readers interest, but enough is left hanging that you want to come back for the rest of the tale. You can’t ask more of a writer on the first issue of a mini really.
Jock’s art is the equal here of anything he produced while on The Losers. There’s a great variety in panel layout that looks good and fluid, and some really brilliant uses of close ups and cuts in angle. As with his work on The Losers there is also an expert use of light and dark, and of different tones of colouring to set the mood of a scene or locale. It’s also worth saying that there seems to be a really good synergy here between writer and artist, which makes the whole issue gel really well as a complete work.
Overall this was a great first issue. Great writing. Great art. Great story. Go buy it. Now.
Having recently finished a PhD in Immunology Ross is currently working for a UK biotech company. He lives in Cambridge where he reads comics, spends too much money on music and attempts to learn Portuguese. He owns at least 7 lightsabers, yet still manages to have a very attractive girlfriend who he misses very much, thus proving anything really is possible.