FALLEN #3, from Red 5 Comics on 5/10/23, brings the fallen gods a few steps closer to all-out war when bodies start piling up over Apollo’s new drug and the mysterious assassin goes after the head of the Japanese syndicate.
The Details
- Written by: Matt Ringel
- Art by: Henry Ponciano
- Colors by: Henry Ponciano
- Letters by: Toben Racicot
- Cover art by: Henry Ponciano
- Comic Rating: Teen+
- Cover price: $3.95
- Release date: May 10, 2023
Is It Good?
FALLEN #3 twists and turns the mystical murder mystery in a few different directions to escalate the violence and stakes into the advent of an explosive gang war. Matt Ringel’s script juggles multiple plot threads well enough to give each scene enough space to do their part, but a few readers may feel like they need a scorecard to keep track of what’s happening.
When last we left Caspar Clay, the gods pulled Caspar back into their hidden life to find Zeus’s killer, much to the chagrin of several gods who aren’t Caspar fans. Now, Caspar waits for answers from the Stygian witches while Athena takes advantage of her new role as leader to prepare expansion plans.
To Clay’s credit, you get a lot of meat for the cover price. The power base of the gods is about to undergo a major shift, Apollo’s dalliances with drug dealing are making a lot of money, a lot of enemies, and a lot of dead bodies, and the mysterious assassin claims more victims. It’s a lot, and some readers may feel like it’s too much to cram into a single issue. Again, Ringel lays out each scene well, so you don’t feel like any threads are cut short.
Ponciano’s art is first-rate. The character designs are memorable, the detective noir mood comes through loud and clear with heavy, expressive shadows, and Ponciano makes excellent use of shading and light sources.
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What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
Check out our FALLEN #2 review to find out how Caspar Clay was summoned to serve the gods once again.
We begin with Athena meeting Izanangi in New York. Since Zeus’s death, Athena has chosen to resurrect ideas and plans Zeus would regularly dismiss. Now, Athena proposes a partnership with the Japanese gods to expand their mutual territories.
Elsewhere, Caspar Clay waits for the results of the Stygian Witches’ test on the fabric Caspar obtained from the assassin’s cloak. Caspar provides an update to his “employer” in a seedy strip club and ends the night searching Apollo’s office for clues about Apollo’s drug-dealing connections.
We conclude the issue with overdoses, interrupted business plans, and a new killer in town.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
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FALLEN #3 escalates tensions among the groups of fallen gods with assassinations, double-dealing, drug overdoses, and more. Reading like an urban fantasy version of The Sopranos, Ringel’s story is heading in unexpected and intriguing directions.
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