Picking up a few months after the events of "Death Chases Her", this chapter of Fatale finds the perpetually unlucky Nicholas Lash still chasing down the elusive Josephine despite what it has cost him so far. Needless to say, this foolish search only gets worse for him as the story rolls on. But I would argue that Nicholas' story is merely a subplot (and, I might add, an effective framing device that Brubaker handles like the pro he is). The REAL story once again takes place in the past, this time in late 1970s Hollywood.
A struggling actor with one lousy B movie to his credit is looking for the right drugs to get in on a party. What he finds at the orgy where he is trying to score instead is a girl he knows having killed the member of a freakish cult that even Charlie Manson respected. In their attempt to flee the scene, they pull a Sunset Boulevard by going into the wrong backyard...whose owner is none other than the now-reclusive Josephine.
To say more would be to spoil the story. So all I will say is that, much like the inaugural volume, "The Devil's Business" is a preposterously perfect blend of film noir setups and Lovecraftian horror. Add in the decadent 1970s angle, complete with a cult of too-rich-to-jail members (headed up by an old "friend" of Josephine's) and some direct ties to the first story in the 1950s (which are first inserted in the framing device as a latent memory tripped by Nicholas' subconscious) and this story plays out like a cross between a late period Hammer film and the aforementioned Sunset Boulevard.
Sean Phillips, as usual, has the right linework for this kind of story, detailed enough to where you can make out fine details but also murky enough to suggest a world that is in an advanced state of noble rot. It's probably the best use of shadows and light I have seen since Gene Colan's work on the old Tomb of Dracula series.
I'll mention one last thing: if the ending doesn't want to make you want to know even more of what's really going on, I can't help you. For me, that totally expected yet totally predictable ending has got me on the hook for the next round!
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