FEMME NOIR #2 (of 4)

[MattGrant]

<img src="http://www.femme-noir.com/Graphics/previews/covers/FN02_CVR1.jpg" align="left" hspace="10" width="182" height="273">
Title: FEMME NOIR #2 (of 4)
Publisher: Ape Entertainment
Writer: Christopher Mills
Art: Joe Staton and Mark Stegbauer
32 pages, full color
$3.95

Safety Content Label: PG to PG-13, some violence.

Publishers Blurb:

On the mean streets of Port Nocturne, justice is blonde. Join writer Christopher Mills and Eisner award-winning artist Joe Staton as they crack open the case files of crime fiction's most unusual sleuth in an attempt to unmask the mystery woman known only as… Femme Noir!

Two variant covers- one by Joe Staton and the other by comic greats- Brian Bolland (issue #1), Matt Haley (issue #2), Phil Hester (issue #3), and Mike Weiringo (issue #4) will adorn each issue of this amazing series!

Reviewer Comments:

In this second installment of the Femme Noir, we follow the tragic story of a man who's racked up a twelve thousand dollar debt in off shore gambling (like literally on a boat). After some verbal threats to the gambler's wife, the bookie gives the gambler an ultimatum: Get the money in 24 hours, or its his wife. The next thing we know the gambler's wife is dead. Naturally, with a mystery like this, the police and the mysterious Femme Noir are on the scene!

This story continues the compelling crime/noir feel that was initiated with the first issue. While archetypical to the genre, I found the story to still manage to be fresh and compelling, giving some pulpy nods to its inspirations. The sub-plotting introduces and develops some "lesser" (for now, at least) characters, drives the main plot, and continues the mystery of "who is Femme Noir?" by trotting out all the possible suspects just long enough to keep you wondering. Joe Staton's art continues to be top notch and, once again, really ties the whole crime/noir vibe together. I'm looking forward to seeing how this mini-series develops.