Bin Fodder: My Faith in Frankie

 

DC Comics’ Vertigo line is well known for its adult audience books (Egypt, Hellblazer, Preacher) but there are a lot of titles that Vertigo puts out that are less cursing and nudity but just not meant for the younger audience (Fables, Faker).  My Faith in Frankie of the latter variety.  Nary a slipped nipple graces these pages with curses coming in only at opportune times.

The premise of My Faith in Frankie is surrounds following the events of life of the title’s namesake, Frankie Moxon.  Like most kids Frankie had a vivid imagination and a desire to be special.  The difference is; she made it happen.  Frankie has her own personal God named Jeriven: God of the Heart’s Fires.

 

Pretty sweet deal, right?

 

Being the only worshipper of a god has its drawbacks that you may not have thought of.  For instance, taking a lover is perceived as an affront to your faith since “thou shalt worship no other gods before me” and who hasn’t bowed at the altar of lust?  There are several moments in this book where Jeriven humorously intervenes and prevents Frankie from…circumventing her faith.

For those of you that prefer a linear reading experience you may struggle a bit with this four-part mini-series (wonderfully collected in a Vertigo Resurrected soft cover collected edition).  The story jumps around a lot from past to present, visual landscapes and character features and consists of thirty-seven micro chapters.

 

The trials and tribulations of Frankie are on both fronts caused by Jeriven, inadvertently.  She has become the target of a demon spawn and her desire for closeness (prevented at nearly every turn by Jeriven in the past) overtakes her sensibilities and she makes bad choices (like every seventeen year old, personal god or no).

 

Mike Carey has an imaginative way of story telling the oldest story ever: love, loss, religion and faith.  The makeup of the characters is strong enough to stand on their own and malleable enough to mesh as a group without being awkward.  Sonny Liew and Marc Hempel do a wonderful job with the art.  It flows very well and gives the story another character.

Overall My Faith in Frankie is a quality story well worth a read.  I give it an A grade for story, inventive twists and quality characters.

 

If you have suggestions for future Bin Fodder reviews, drop me a line in comments!  Or e-mail me at [email protected].

 

Check out this week’s Playlist!

 

Till next Wednesday…

 

This is your Bin Fodder Guru Tim Blacksmith signing off.

 

Fastball – Love is Expensive and Free, Kings of Leon – Knocked Up, Less than Jake – Pete Jackson is Getting Married, The Fairlanes – Wide Awake, Longwave – Brighter than Time, The Misfits – Walk Among Us, Red Hot Valentines – Everything’s Fine, Jonathan Coulton – Shop Vac, Alkaline Trio – Death Bed, Raconteurs – Together, Counting Crows – New Frontier, Dashboard Confessional – Again I Go Unnoticed, Rival Schools – Everything has its Point

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