The Fade Out: Act One

Eisner Award winners Brubaker and Phillips have teamed up again (Criminal; Fatale) on a new series. Set in Hollywood in 1948, the story revolves around an alcoholic screenwriter named Charlie who wakes up after a party to find the leading lady in his current film strangled to death. Soon afterward, though, someone has made her murder look like a suicide. Charlie's mentor Gil is a blacklisted Communist sympathizer who is covertly helping Charlie through his writing block, which has lasted since his return from fighting in World War II. The studio mogul and the security head are doing their best to keep the current studio system alive by any means necessary, and they are quick to replace the dead star. The mostly color illustrations display the turmoil of Charlie's sad life. The emotions drawn onto the characters' faces pull readers into the story as much as the writing.