I may have been a bit rough on Warren Ellis during the year-end bit, but it’s issues like Fell #9 that frustrate me.

When Ellis is on his game, there’s few people that can write a better gripping story — very few. My problem is that he phones it in too often.

Fell, happily, has been quality work every issue. I believe Ellis cares about this creation, and well he should. It is a very good story about a disgraced detective working in Snowtown, which is basically “the wrong side of the tracks” — on every level.

Each issue tells its own story, so picking up this book won’t make you lost within cavernous bounds of continuity — everything is explained very well and fluidly within the dialogue, and the story starts very quickly. Ben Templesmith’s art gives Fell an otherworldly, jagged edge that adds to the ambiance. Pick it up, just don’t expect it every month.