Fallen #1 is a comic written and illustrated by Raymond Lolacher with colors by Sean Baggs. A man struggles with nightmares that seem like they’re becoming real. This is a gritty supernatural comic with mystery elements and multiple perspectives. The main man for this story is Zander, he is a refinery worker currently on strike who is having nightmares and visions about supernatural beings. He is with a TV reporter named Macy. There are also two detectives named Mazz and Gunnerson who are investigating a series of grisly murders. There are a number of other characters who play significant roles here. The story begins with Zander waking up from a tumultuous sleep and going about his day a bit off, which Macy notices. He then drives to the refinery but on his way there he is plagued with voices and flashes of strange beings. Meanwhile the police are hitting a wall in their murder investigations. The action here is very bloody with gory and gruesome attacks. The pacing here is overall steady at first but speeds up later on. The tone is dark and serious with an angry intensity. The dialogue here is primarily conversational with narration from a variety of sources. No word-heavy pages here. This is a dark and gritty tale focused on a man who is struggling with himself, detectives attempting to catch a murderer, and a reporter who is trying to make it big.

            The art here is detailed and has a unique style with a strong grittiness about it. The colors tend to lean towards the darker end of the spectrum but overall realistic. Besides the dirt ground outside the refinery this mainly takes place in the inner city so there isn’t really any scenery. Due to different perspectives there isn’t a central location but we’ll visit Zander’s home, a police station, a dark and dirty alley, and some stranger places. The backgrounds are split between showing the actual surrounds and being colors in different forms from gradients to clouds. The expression level here is a bit below-average as only Zander gives us much beyond a stoic look. The emotional range consists of mainly fear and anger with terror and depression as well. The faces are decently drawn with quality varying from panel-to-panel; this sometimes results in characters looking lifeless. The violence here is very bloody with gory and gruesome shots. The action scenes aren’t too long but they flow well.

“Is this worth reading?”

Yes, if this is up your alley.

“Would I like this?”

If you like gritty supernatural stories starring a struggling man but also showing different perspectives with violence, drama, and mystery then this is for you.

“What would this comic’s film rating be?”

R. Violence, gore.

“Could I get a quote from the comic?”

“This might be a bigger problem then we think.”

 

Physical Link: https://raylolacherart.bigcartel.com/product/fallen-1

Digital Link: https://raylolacherart.bigcartel.com/product/fallen-1-pdf

Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/raymondlolacher/fallen-1-a-story-of-mystery-fantasy-and-heroic-drama/description

***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***

Probably Contains Spoilers

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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 31

Violent Pages: 4, for 13% of the comic

Sexy Pages: 0, for 0% of the comic

 

**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**

 

Violence Level – 3

“Wasn’t no tussling at all.”

“Sometimes you gotta hit somebody.”

“I’m getting charged with how many counts of assault?”

“This was a tournament arc.”

“All my life I had to fight.”

 

Gore Level – 4

“The only thing leaking out your face is tears.”

“Looks like somebody spilled some ketchup.”

“Might need to soak that up with a bath towel.”

“That isn’t supposed to be outside the body.”

“This is a slaughterhouse.”

 

Death Level – 2

“And everybody lived happily ever after.”

“We might have gone to a couple funerals.”

“It just LOOKS like a serial killer was here.”

“Yeah this was a tragedy.”

“Think Gettysburg.”

 

Porn Level – 1

“Everybody kept their clothes on.”

“I guess it was too hot for a bra.”

“Sometimes you got to let everything air out.”

“This is like late night Cinemax in the early 2000’s.”

“Oh. This is porn.”