Bizarro Noir: Ben Templesmith

I just finished reading Feral City, the first installment in the graphic series Fell, written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by Ben Templesmith. Feral City compiles issues #1 through #8 of the original comic book run.

Comics Worth Reading writes:

Richard Fell, a cop with a mysterious past, has just moved over the bridge to the worst city ever. Each chapter, he investigates a crime, doing his job, even when he’s off the clock. Many of these cases are inspired by real-life, dementedly weird news clippings the author has seen ... [including] domestic murder, stranger murder, a vengeful suicide bomber, the interrogation of a disturbed killer, and a really disturbed child abusing parent. The book’s about the trade-offs that humans make to keep going in the face of an uncaring world that will do horrible things to its inhabitants.

Templesmith is the artist responsible for the cold and gory illustrations in the new-school vampire tale 30 Days of Night, penned by Steve Niles and translated (rather ineffectively) to the big screen by director David Slade.

After you've sat a spell with homicide detective Richard Fell, explore some of Templesmith's other projects, including Wormwood and other tales in the 30 Days of Night franchise.