Fervor

Posted: Tuesday, December 13, 2005
By: Steve Saville

Cover of Fervor Creator(s): Sean Detrich
Publishers: Rorschach Entertainment
From: USA
Price: $2.99(US)

A note accompanying this comic claims that the creator of Fervour, "writes his material more like poetry or music on paper rather than standard comic form." The creator himself [Sean Dietrich] in his introduction states that, "this book seems like an incomplete thought."

If you put those two comments together you end up with a pretty accurate picture of what 'Fervour" is all about, a poetic thought, a lyrical study of a character and a look at the light behind the eyes. Fervour is all of these things and much more besides.
The world revealed here is a sleezy one, it is the world of cocktails, strippers and middle- aged men with a pocket full of cash are on the prowl. A world lived best in an alcoholic or chemical haze. This dream- like quality is effectively captured by the poetic style employed as narrative.

"The moon is like a sack of that porcelain friendly powder and the cracked red edges of your nose are flaring to the air currents."

This sordid and grimy atmosphere evoked by the writing is enhanced by the stunningly effective art -work. The characters are distorted and grotesque as if viewed through the bottom of a whiskey glass. The overall effect is to make the reader feel that they have descended into a realm of hell that is both dangerous and amoral. The feeling of death and decay oozes from every page.

Sean has designed each page with the overall effect of the page as a separate entity in mind. As a result many operate as a single frame made up of a series of images and captions. This only adds to the hallucinogenic effect, as most of the pages are more of a mindscape than an attempt at realistic portrayal.

The book itself is divided into three acts that tell the tale of a wealthy if creepy male picking up a couple of girls for a night of ... well lets just say that it was a night to end all nights.

This is a compelling comic, to use a cliche, it allows the reader to take a walk on the wild side and escape. It is beautifully crafted but anything but beautiful in tone and theme. It pushed me into a place that I would rather not go but couldn't turn away from. Sean has managed to marry poetic word and poetic picture with considerable skill. The overall effect is intoxicating and well worth a read.

In a Word: Seedy.



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