FALLEN ANGEL # 8

The lead character, the mysterious Lee, captures Black Mariah, one of her enemies, and interrogates her rather forcefully. Yes, there is another graphic torture sequence. But don't fret, because the torture depicted here seems so stiff and unnatural. Despite the horror of it all, the whole thing looks like just another action scene in a comic. This is partly a fault of the writing, partly of the art, which doesn't really capture the emotions of the characters. In fact, there is a rather self-indulgent tone to this whole series. The story is extremely complex with characters having sex with the very people who are trying to kill them but even by comic-book standards, it doesn't seen realistic. The creators also don't seem to care if their characters are sympathetic. They also make no attempt to make the series accessible to newcomers. If some newbie picks up this comic, all he will see is a white character in a hood torturing a black character. Frankly it all seems to be an uneven mix of Anne Rice novels and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and I'm not really a fan of either.