The Fallen (1) - Softcover

Kim, Miran; Clark, David Aaron; Rankin, David

3.2

10 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1561632333 ISBN 13: 9781561632336

Publisher: Nbm Pub Co, 1999

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Tattoo artist John Savory witnesses the rise in power of a silent underground of vampires in the leading edge art neighborhoods of New York City. But who is he really? After Miran Kim, presenting the stunning photo collage art of David Rankin to continue this trilogy. The cover has already been nominated for the Spectrum Awards. For mature readers (nudity).

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From Kirkus Reviews:

Its hard to see where Kim (X-File covers, etc.) and Clark, whos written about gothic kink and fetishism, are taking this bizarre, full-color narrative, the first of a three-part series. The script often fails to live up to the visually stunning imagery as Kim creates a dreamscape of Manhattan after dark through a foreground of photorealism with a lush and eerie overwash. Much as in a European-style photoplay, the actors sometimes overstate themselves with odd expressionstheir broad gestures awkwardly advance the action from frame to frame, with little help from Clarks stilted dialogue (a wealthy New Yorker informs his dominatrix: The resources of an entire empire are mine. And yours, if you so wish). Kims cinematic jump-cuts make for some visual confusion among the disparate narrative threads, but there seem to be at least three main tales: the story of angel- seeking Rena Mojica, an artist whos raped by some demonic black guys, then rescued from death by the vision of John Savory, a tattoo artist who seems to know how to conquer devils; a creepy section about a slave named Lester, an AIDS victim who oozes from his sores, lusts for death, and grovels on his leash for his mistress Letha, who sports a mammoth dildo; and then there's a wacko named Reece, who wanders the city streets, appears to be a punk Son of Sam-like serial killer, taking his orders from a demon named Bob. Some of these plots converge at Entombed, a dungeon where the Poppy Spasms perform their goth rock for a crowd including Lesters daughter and her friends. A darkly surreal hospital scene, punctuated with a splash of yellow light, best captures Kims hallucinatory style her full-page collages of Manhattan street scenes also pulse with the citys colors and textures. Despite some throwaway frames, Kim maintains a high level of artistryone hopes that Clarks weak narrative will eventually rise to the visual challenge. -- Copyright �1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly:

X-Files comics cover-artist Kim makes her fiction debut with this full-length graphic novel, a dark and beautiful depiction of submission and violence, in collaboration with underground s&m and sex writer Clark (True Blood). In the kickoff to a three-volume series, they bind three contemporary supernatural stories set in the Goth rock scene on Manhattan's appropriately ominous Lower East Side. The stories present a world of vampiric feeders, fetishistic sex, bondage and domination--a world where night dwellers disguise themselves as ordinary citizens to better engage the sympathies of their human prey. When young artist Rena Mojica meets John Savory, a tattoo artist, a friendship develops based on their mutual talent for spotting these urban demons. Kim's artwork is an unusual and complex combination of painting and collage photography, layered with images of profane and sacred symbols. She constructs a surreal, visual world that is often violent but is tempered by a rich visual imagination that transforms a typical horror/fantasy narrative into a vivid work of art. Clark's writing, however, can be confusing and is only sporadically lyrical, relying mostly on stereotypes and shock value. It never quite matches the power of Kim's artwork. (Sept.)

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