Post by jainitai on Nov 3, 2012 19:00:49 GMT -5
Here's my two cents on Faust Act 14. Please be aware there are minor SPOILERS here if you haven't read it yet! So don't cry that I ruined it for you!
So we waited, what…8 years for this next installment? I have to be honest and say that when I delved into Act 14 I hadn’t bothered reading Act 13, nor the previous twelve Acts to review. Since there was such a long lapse of time between 13 and 14 it seems an almost required necessity to read 13 before you crack open the cover of 14. That would have really helped me in getting my bearings, as I often found myself confused or struggling to understand what exactly what was going on.
The story begins with Faust rising from the dead after having been fed M’s “mojo juice” (as Tim once called it) by the reporter Balfor. Faust seems rightfully upset that he has been brought back after having found some solace and release in death.
The first few pages are very dark and this was also noted by Tim at the New York Comic Con (where I witnessed him seeing the final book in print for the first time). He was like, “Aww man, it printed dark!” It was really only on the first few pages that I noticed it though, as it seems to lighten up as you go along. This of course is not really due to any inconsistencies in printing, but rather in Tim’s use of the grayscale shading.
Speaking of the shading, it’s interesting to see Tim’s progression and creative process from the duo-shade of those early Faust books to the digital, Photoshop shading of present. When Tim uses it in just the right amount and with the right technique it really makes the artwork “pop” and makes it look three-dimensional and like a realistic painting. There are some panels of note where this is really apparent, but I’m too lazy to go through the book, take photos of them, upload them and post links into this review. Sorry. At the same time, it seems over-done in some places to the point where it muddies the image and makes it look all dirty and gray. This was probably where it looked lighter on Tim’s computer monitor and got fucked in the printing process.
I should also note a couple of years ago I had previously seen a photocopied version of the complete Act 14. It was just the artwork, sans dialog and complete inks. Seeing it without words and without the finished artwork made it a rather incomplete and unfulfilling experience. After reading it with Quinn’s dialog it really brought Tim’s artwork to life and gave it all new depth and dimensions.
Speaking of the dialog, M’s diatribes were often difficult to follow, but as I was reading them I remembered something Tim said to me in an interview years and years ago. At that time he told me that one of the bad guy or devil’s fallacies was that they talk too much. It made more sense in that context that M was spewing all of this diatribe, which gave Faust time to revive, regroup and plan an attack. Maybe it was a bit of a cliché plot device, but I see its necessity, for without it the world would simply be destroyed by M with no chance of intervention.
There are times in Faust: Love the Damned where Tim and David are in perfect harmony and creative sync. When this happens there are truly moving and powerful moments within the story. There is one such episode like this within Act 14 when M gets Jade to relive her darkest secrets and pains. Just the way that David wrote the dialog and the way that Tim illustrated it makes you feel the emotional depth of the moment. It feels so raw and real and leaves you feeling dirty and violated. It was quite a masterful moment in the book, which revealed the expertise in storytelling that they have developed over the past 25 years.
When I first began reading Faust it seemed like Quinn and Vigil were out to shock people for the sake of shocking people. It seemed like when you would get the next issue that you were expecting to see something top the previous one in its graphic, disturbing content. After all these years I no longer read Faust as an adolescent waiting to be thrilled and to say, “Oh, man! No way!” In this regard, nothing really truly shocking happens in Act 14 compared to the things we’ve seen in the past. But again, that’s really not the point of Faust: Love of the Damned. After all these years I can finally see in these two last acts how Quinn and Vigil have really crafted a masterpiece.
The story or plotline may not be obvious and apparent if one goes into Faust just looking at the surface. Sure, the surface is beautiful, shocking and at times horrifying or grotesque, but the artwork and visuals are really meant to fuel this deeper story that’s going on. If you read my interview with David and Tim from the New York Comic Con you’ll get a small taste of what Faust was/is really all about. When David told me the ultimate message is “reality is up for grabs” and Tim said it’s about getting a second chance, that really resonated with me. Underneath the gore and sex and violence there’s this beautiful, profound drama taking place. It’s dealing with the human condition: we’re weak, we’re lost, we’re looking for happiness and we sometimes do things that we regret in trying to find it. John Jaspers loses his mind and his soul trying to find meaning, purpose and happiness. He then tries to make things right in the end, fighting for the one and only thing that makes sense: true, genuine, real love.
Perhaps in the end this theme of reality being “up for grabs” will determine the reader’s perception of what Faust was all about. Everyone will read the finale with a different perspective. Some will have just liked looking at Claire’s ass and boobs, some will say the whole thing made no sense, and some will say it was a deep, profound drama about the human condition. We’ll all take something different away from this story and that’s okay. That’s what makes art so wonderful and personal.
Anyway, I digress. My point is the story in Act 14 is moving and leading us to the crescendo of Act 15. Die hard fans of this series will not be disappointed with the art or the story. Sometimes in the past I’ve seen panels where it seems that Tim was rushing and there’s a lack of consistency in the work, where people have muddled faces or wonky anatomy. But here in 14 almost every panel is a labor of love (there are a couple places where it’s like “Hmm, looks like Tim was sleeping on that one”, but it’s rare).
Balfor really plays a big role in the finale. Without him Faust would be dead and without him, in this issue, the souls that M possessed are freed, causing M to lose a little bit of his power. Claire is still being a bad-ass bitch all the way to the end and manages to blow some of M’s fingers off with spell-infused bullet.
Jaspers/Faust has a blast beating the shit out of the homunculus (although I wonder, why doesn’t he just cut its head off like the way he was hacking through dudes like they were butter in earlier issues?). M is reveling in his power and plan and Jade is broken, vulnerable and helpless. Everything happens within a very limited space of M’s mansion, grounds and rooftop, which makes the story feel very focused and intense. Everything is coming to a head.
We’re left at the end of Act 14 with the inevitable show down between “super” Faust and a “super” M, who has reabsorbed some of his power from the homunculus by a very, uh…interesting re-absorption process. Last year I saw a photocopy version of Act 15, but I’ve since forgotten what happens, expect for a couple key moments. I’m kind of glad that I forgot, because I want to read 15 with a sense of unknowing excitement.
This is pretty much all that I have to say about Act 14. If you’re still along for the ride after all these years you won’t be disappointed. If you were a casual reader or are just getting aboard now it probably won’t make much sense to you. No matter which category you fall into there’s no denying that Faust: Love of the Damned has really become something magical and game changing. It really deserves the attention of the industry and creators who are in it for the love of the craft and not just to make polished shit that sells. Faust has been a labor of love for Quinn and Vigil and it’s becoming even more apparent in these final two acts. I’m proud to have been a witness to this power of creativity and graphic storytelling.
So we waited, what…8 years for this next installment? I have to be honest and say that when I delved into Act 14 I hadn’t bothered reading Act 13, nor the previous twelve Acts to review. Since there was such a long lapse of time between 13 and 14 it seems an almost required necessity to read 13 before you crack open the cover of 14. That would have really helped me in getting my bearings, as I often found myself confused or struggling to understand what exactly what was going on.
The story begins with Faust rising from the dead after having been fed M’s “mojo juice” (as Tim once called it) by the reporter Balfor. Faust seems rightfully upset that he has been brought back after having found some solace and release in death.
The first few pages are very dark and this was also noted by Tim at the New York Comic Con (where I witnessed him seeing the final book in print for the first time). He was like, “Aww man, it printed dark!” It was really only on the first few pages that I noticed it though, as it seems to lighten up as you go along. This of course is not really due to any inconsistencies in printing, but rather in Tim’s use of the grayscale shading.
Speaking of the shading, it’s interesting to see Tim’s progression and creative process from the duo-shade of those early Faust books to the digital, Photoshop shading of present. When Tim uses it in just the right amount and with the right technique it really makes the artwork “pop” and makes it look three-dimensional and like a realistic painting. There are some panels of note where this is really apparent, but I’m too lazy to go through the book, take photos of them, upload them and post links into this review. Sorry. At the same time, it seems over-done in some places to the point where it muddies the image and makes it look all dirty and gray. This was probably where it looked lighter on Tim’s computer monitor and got fucked in the printing process.
I should also note a couple of years ago I had previously seen a photocopied version of the complete Act 14. It was just the artwork, sans dialog and complete inks. Seeing it without words and without the finished artwork made it a rather incomplete and unfulfilling experience. After reading it with Quinn’s dialog it really brought Tim’s artwork to life and gave it all new depth and dimensions.
Speaking of the dialog, M’s diatribes were often difficult to follow, but as I was reading them I remembered something Tim said to me in an interview years and years ago. At that time he told me that one of the bad guy or devil’s fallacies was that they talk too much. It made more sense in that context that M was spewing all of this diatribe, which gave Faust time to revive, regroup and plan an attack. Maybe it was a bit of a cliché plot device, but I see its necessity, for without it the world would simply be destroyed by M with no chance of intervention.
There are times in Faust: Love the Damned where Tim and David are in perfect harmony and creative sync. When this happens there are truly moving and powerful moments within the story. There is one such episode like this within Act 14 when M gets Jade to relive her darkest secrets and pains. Just the way that David wrote the dialog and the way that Tim illustrated it makes you feel the emotional depth of the moment. It feels so raw and real and leaves you feeling dirty and violated. It was quite a masterful moment in the book, which revealed the expertise in storytelling that they have developed over the past 25 years.
When I first began reading Faust it seemed like Quinn and Vigil were out to shock people for the sake of shocking people. It seemed like when you would get the next issue that you were expecting to see something top the previous one in its graphic, disturbing content. After all these years I no longer read Faust as an adolescent waiting to be thrilled and to say, “Oh, man! No way!” In this regard, nothing really truly shocking happens in Act 14 compared to the things we’ve seen in the past. But again, that’s really not the point of Faust: Love of the Damned. After all these years I can finally see in these two last acts how Quinn and Vigil have really crafted a masterpiece.
The story or plotline may not be obvious and apparent if one goes into Faust just looking at the surface. Sure, the surface is beautiful, shocking and at times horrifying or grotesque, but the artwork and visuals are really meant to fuel this deeper story that’s going on. If you read my interview with David and Tim from the New York Comic Con you’ll get a small taste of what Faust was/is really all about. When David told me the ultimate message is “reality is up for grabs” and Tim said it’s about getting a second chance, that really resonated with me. Underneath the gore and sex and violence there’s this beautiful, profound drama taking place. It’s dealing with the human condition: we’re weak, we’re lost, we’re looking for happiness and we sometimes do things that we regret in trying to find it. John Jaspers loses his mind and his soul trying to find meaning, purpose and happiness. He then tries to make things right in the end, fighting for the one and only thing that makes sense: true, genuine, real love.
Perhaps in the end this theme of reality being “up for grabs” will determine the reader’s perception of what Faust was all about. Everyone will read the finale with a different perspective. Some will have just liked looking at Claire’s ass and boobs, some will say the whole thing made no sense, and some will say it was a deep, profound drama about the human condition. We’ll all take something different away from this story and that’s okay. That’s what makes art so wonderful and personal.
Anyway, I digress. My point is the story in Act 14 is moving and leading us to the crescendo of Act 15. Die hard fans of this series will not be disappointed with the art or the story. Sometimes in the past I’ve seen panels where it seems that Tim was rushing and there’s a lack of consistency in the work, where people have muddled faces or wonky anatomy. But here in 14 almost every panel is a labor of love (there are a couple places where it’s like “Hmm, looks like Tim was sleeping on that one”, but it’s rare).
Balfor really plays a big role in the finale. Without him Faust would be dead and without him, in this issue, the souls that M possessed are freed, causing M to lose a little bit of his power. Claire is still being a bad-ass bitch all the way to the end and manages to blow some of M’s fingers off with spell-infused bullet.
Jaspers/Faust has a blast beating the shit out of the homunculus (although I wonder, why doesn’t he just cut its head off like the way he was hacking through dudes like they were butter in earlier issues?). M is reveling in his power and plan and Jade is broken, vulnerable and helpless. Everything happens within a very limited space of M’s mansion, grounds and rooftop, which makes the story feel very focused and intense. Everything is coming to a head.
We’re left at the end of Act 14 with the inevitable show down between “super” Faust and a “super” M, who has reabsorbed some of his power from the homunculus by a very, uh…interesting re-absorption process. Last year I saw a photocopy version of Act 15, but I’ve since forgotten what happens, expect for a couple key moments. I’m kind of glad that I forgot, because I want to read 15 with a sense of unknowing excitement.
This is pretty much all that I have to say about Act 14. If you’re still along for the ride after all these years you won’t be disappointed. If you were a casual reader or are just getting aboard now it probably won’t make much sense to you. No matter which category you fall into there’s no denying that Faust: Love of the Damned has really become something magical and game changing. It really deserves the attention of the industry and creators who are in it for the love of the craft and not just to make polished shit that sells. Faust has been a labor of love for Quinn and Vigil and it’s becoming even more apparent in these final two acts. I’m proud to have been a witness to this power of creativity and graphic storytelling.