Bin Fodder: Faker

Hello!  Welcome to this week’s edition of Bin Fodder.  Today I review Faker, a Vertigo book written by Mike Carey with art by Jock (Mark Simpson).  Carey is best known for his work on Hellblazer but has also done runs on books like X-Men, Wetworks and Lucifer.  Jock has also done work on Hellblazer along with stints on The Losers, Green Arrow and Detective Comics.

 

Anyone familiar with the Vertigo line of DC knows that; A, it’s designed for mature readers (meaning lots of profanity and nudity) and B, the stories are generally going to be pretty weird.  But that’s the attraction, right?  Maybe the weirdness more than the nudity…but come one, who doesn’t like a little nudity randomly inserted into a comic?  Nobody, that’s who.  The first “adult” comic I ever read was called Egypt and it was riddled with boobs.

 

Faker holds true to the adult themed model Vertigo has set forth for close to two decades now.  Within the first five pages we see a young woman seduce her psychiatrist in order to blackmail him and we see her “extract” her leverage from her person.  The story only gets stranger from there.

 

Have you ever believed in something so much that it seemed to be real, even when it wasn’t?  Or a better example may be, have you ever been hanging out with some friends a week after a party swapping stories that mostly line up but with a few key differences?  Everyone remembers parts but not the same things.

 

Faker explores the idea that memories can be construed into a form and take shape as a person; a collection of data from a group of people created into an actual being who everyone in the group remembers and accepts as a member but no one else in the world has any knowledge of.

How would you react in that situation?  Faker gives you the opportunity to imagine it.

A little bit predictable when the government gets involved.  From there the story is more like a freight train than a crazy car chase.  Meaning: the end result is apparent and unavoidable because it’s on the rails and can’t get off.  And I can’t rag on Carey for going this route, the government is the most logical villain, especially considering the fact that he’s British and set the story in Minnesota…I’ll just leave that to be interpreted by you all as to what I really mean.

 

Overall it’s a solid story designed to leave you wondering about what the heck is going on until the moment Carey decides to pull back the curtain and reveal the wizard.  But instead of being a curmudgeon it’s a collection of, “stomach acids and anhydrous gel”.

 

Faker delivers where it counts: quality art, fast-paced intriguing story, intense situations designed to make you revisit your own best and worst memories.  A book that makes you think is never bad, in this writer’s opinion.  Because of this it gets a rating of

 

So, my friends, go Bin Diving and find this and other gems!

 

Until next time,

 

This is Bin Fodder Guru Tim Blacksmith signing off!

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