Review by Comix
I got to admit, when I first saw the title “Clown Fatale” and the tag “sexy female clowns mistaken for contract killers,” I wasn’t completely sold. I was imagining an awful, tit-filled comic stuffed with shitty art, shitty story, and shitty dialogue. Well, at least two of the three. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. Centered on a group of down-and- out ladies, the quick action and witty banter, mixed with a hefty dose of booze, drugs, and clown make-up, created a pretty decent grindhouse comic. If your fan of hot chicks doing ridiculous stuff, or Machete I suppose, you’re going to dig this new Dark Horse addition. It may not be the most original thing, but it’s a fun read.
Clown Fatale opens up on a big top, fun house in Nowhere, America as four incredibly sexy clowns reflect on their poor life choices. While Chloe-the failed actress, Candy-the ex-hooker, Tina-the abused housewife, and Aya-weird Asian girl, scrub off their grease paint (and unhook some bras), a figure watches them from the distance with an offer of a life time. Enter Wayne Talbot, a pompadoured greaser who offers the girls fifty grand to bump off some ‘local scum.’ Now, you’re asking yourself, why would a man as smart as Talbot offer a bunch of clowns money to kill a person? Frankly, because he’s not that smart. Mistaking them for the real undercover assassins at the carnival, the girls are force to decide what is more important them: a clean conscience, or a life free from the circus? With danger lurking in every corner, the decision is about to be made for them.
Like I said, this is very much a grindhouse comic. It would do well smashed into the back of a comic box, quarter bin for a quarter budget, to be picked up by gum-chewing 12-year olds for a flash of nipple. Now, I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. Like seeing your first nude in I Spit on Your Grave (because there is no such thing as the internet), Clown Fatale has a certain charm to it. Yeah, it’s a bit schlocky and I’m sure there will be plenty of car chases, but it’s nice to see a series that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s fun to read a work that realizes it’s a comic and goes “fuck it, let’s do something ridiculous!” It also helps that the art is pretty decent and doesn’t give it a cheap-o vibe but instead, reads simply like two creators who actually wanted to do this series instead of being stuck to it, pumping out something stupid until better work comes along.
I’ve actually written about the author, Victor Gischler, when I reviewed Kiss Me Satan, about a rouge angel trying to get back into heaven. I wasn’t really into that one just because it seemed like he was attempting to do something grandiose but dropped short, but this comic really works for him. With his library of comedy crime fiction, it fits right in with his writing style and becomes a pretty decent work. The art by Maurizio Rosenzweig is an improvement over the Kiss Me Satan artist, mostly because on top of a solid grasp of anatomy, he also understands sequential art and dynamic action a lot better (though I wouldn’t go by the cover, I don’t know what’s happening there.) Honestly, it’s just a smoother read. Now, don’t quote me, but I believe that Clown Fatale is Rosenzweig’s American debut. It seems that most of his work had appeared in French publications, so it’s pretty exciting to get this unknown talent state-side.
All in all, Clown Fatale was better than I hoped, but don’t expect to be blown away by it.