Imagine if Xena: Warrior Princess hung up her chakram and became a detective. “Fairlady” isn’t quite that, but you get a good idea of the tone of this high fantasy procedural. Issue #3 introduces a new case and a new arc, and with them, new questions about how the series will work.
Written by Brian SchirmerCover by Claudia Balboni
Illustrated by Claudia Balboni
Colored by Shari Chankhamma
Lettered by David BowmanWhen her client turns up dead, Fairlady Jenner Faulds thinks her biggest task will be figuring out whodunnit. Instead, she learns that the client was an imposter, that the assassin(s) might still be after the real guy, and that she might yet have a bigger role to play.
The ”procedural” is a funny type of storytelling mechanism. It can be a double-edged sword (an appropriate metaphor for “Fairlady’s” high fantasy world), as some readers prefer the low-stakes aspect of crime-solving and essentially resetting after each case. Others prefer a story that “goes somewhere,” building over time and exposition either within the confines of the cases or in the characters’ lives outside of them. Some good examples of this are the comic, “Copperhead,” or the first season of the Hannibal TV series: while there are crimes to be solved in each episode or volume, you get the sense that there’s also an overarching story to be told.
It’s difficult to get a handle on which one “Fairlady” will be by this third issue. While the past issues established who Jenner Faulds (a badass woman of color and the titular “Fairlady”) is and how the world works, issue #3 is still so early on in the series, it’s hard to tell if it’s working toward any greater objective. Let me put it another way: have you played an RPG (or “roleplaying game”) on your computer or console? You know how the game will sometimes start you off on an easy adventure to train you and have you learn about the universe, and when you’re done, it releases you out into the world on your first real quest? “Fairlady” #3 feels like that – you’re done with training, starting off on your mission, but you still don’t know the shape of the story ahead.
Either way, the entirety of “Fairlady” #3 centers around the case described in the solicit: it starts with a simple case to find someone who doesn’t want to be found, devolves into a murder, then quickly gets even more out of hand as more answers only lead to more questions. I’ll say this for Brian Schirmer: he has the “procedural” method down. The case’s twists and turns are compelling, but that’s not all Schirmer does to keep the reader interested. The issue unfolds like an episode of television; the case is presented, an unexpected and immediate danger is introduced, we pause for the opening credits, the action hooks the audience, and then we proceed with the detective work.
The beauty of “Fairlady” #3 and the procedural genre, in general, is that you can pick this issue up and read it without feeling lost, or like you’ve missed out on anything. The upfront summary tells you about our protagonist and the world, and the way the case plays out is so familiar for anyone who’s watched a procedural television show, it’s easy to fall into the beat and go with it. You don’t have to think. “Fairlady” isn’t asking anything from you. Therein lies its magic.
Of course, that’s not all of its magic. Claudia Balboni brings plenty to the page with her character-driven line art. Balboni’s backgrounds tend toward the simple, often just enough to give you a sense of venue. Sometimes, just some textured shading. It’s not something you miss, though – “Fairlady” has a very character-driven narrative and the background is just that. Background. A tone for the scene. That’s not to say she can’t draw a detailed scene. There’s one splash page, in particular, that’s such a cool, moody shot, you’ll want to posterize and frame it. But characters’ reactions? Their facial expressions? That’s what Balboni does best, and that’s what she chooses to focus on.
Where things break down a little is in the panel pacing. I don’t want to put it all on Balboni – it could be in the way the comic is scripted, but action scenes and slower dialogue scenes are equally paced, and it makes for a reading experience akin to listening to a song without a change in tempo. It’s so smooth, there’s nothing to hold onto. Fight scenes try to convey too much in too few panels. Dramatic lighting and pauses go far for the dialogue scenes, but letterer David Bowman is the real hero there. While his typeface choice is oddly jaunty and witchy for the book’s tone, his ability to imply apprehension and complicated feelings through the use of space and elongated tails does more for pacing and characterization than any other aspect of “Fairlady.” His little flourishes, like lettering the “annnnnnnd” so the “n”s are playfully misaligned to match the speaker’s tone bring so much personality to the page in subtle ways.
Continued belowShari Chankhamma pinch-hits (well, “pinch-colors”) for series colorist Marissa Louise in “Fairlady” #3, and it’s…not bad? It certainly doesn’t take you out of the moment, and it doesn’t not work with the narrative or tone of the comic. The palette seems more limited than Louise’s first couple issues, but not in that chic, Pinterest-y “limited palette” sense. More of the “this is modeled after Medieval-ish times, when you pretty much get various shades of brown for everything” sense. There are some blues that work with the 50 shades of tan to bring an ethereal vibe to the magic and a modern edge to our hero, but brown, brownish-orange and teal make up your basic palette throughout. But the pops of red don’t seem to exist to signal danger or to draw the eye so much as to break up all that brown.
While these few little issues chip away some at what’s an overall enjoyable book, the real determiner of success for this book lies in what it will choose to be. Is there a grand plan for a greater story to be told? Or will “Fairlady” continue down the procedural path, introducing and solving crimes, then resetting every few issues like a high fantasy CSI? While there’s not an answer to that question in this issue it’s still early in the series. There’s time for the creators to figure it out. There’s time to perfect the pacing and work out the kinks. Plus, “Fairlady” #3 makes for a fun read that ends before you want it to. And that says a lot.
Final Verdict: 6.5 – A low-stakes, high fantasy procedural that entertains. But could it do more?
