Fake Empire Review

Fake Empire Review
Writer: Eric Palicki
Artist: Vinnie Rico
Colorist: Fred C. Stresing, Juancho Velez with Joaquin Pereyra
Letterer: Erica Schultz
Review by Josh Canales

Going into this book I was unsure what to expect, I had heard nothing about it. I’m not sure why, a book of this quality needs to be talked about and shared. Palicki and his team of creators bring the world of fairies into the real world in Fake Empire. These aren’t your Tinkerbell type fairies though, they look just like us, except with wings. Fairies have always existed alongside humans, but kept themselves secret for their own safety. The fairy population had already been shrinking over the years when something most shocking happens; the Tooth Fairy is murdered.

The first page opens on a fairy being cornered on a rooftop and being gunned down. We soon find out this lone fairy, named Jill, was none other than the Tooth Fairy. The fairy kingdom is distraught when their leader, the victim’s father, calls in his other two daughters to help. One is a cop, Charli, secretly living with humans while hiding her wings; the other, Lucy, has left the fairy community altogether for a more degenerate lifestyle, going as far as removing her wings. The tension between the family members is high as they try to figure out exactly what happened and how.

After being told by their father to go home and not to do anything rash, Charli and Lucy go their own ways, completely ignoring their father. They’re both determined to find out who killed their sister and why. The search leads them both down some interesting paths, some being dead ends, others being clues they never would’ve suspected. From secret lovers to trained fairy assassins, Jill’s murder opened a can of worms that Charli and Lucy must work together to figure out. The end result being the reveal of the murderer, someone the girls didn’t even consider to be a possibility when starting on this case.

Eric Palicki brings an exciting crime story to the world of fairies in a totally down-to-earth manner. Each of his characters is distinctly their own person, no two characters are alike. The two sisters are so different and are at each other’s necks from time-to-time, but their sisterly bond keeps them together. Yet it does so in such a true-to-life way and not nearly as cliche as it easily could’ve been. Palicki’s balance of storytelling and character building is nothing short of impressive, especially for a writer with minimal experience. He creates a flow that had me three issues in before I had even realized it.

While Palicki’s writing is great, Vinnie Rico and the team of colorists make the book a complete home run.  Together they create beautiful scenes and realistic people, all while giving it a kind of crime noir feel. From page one I was sold on the art, the flow of Jill’s hair and the looks on her face as she realizes she is at her end really hit home. Throughout the book there are many panels and pages that are simply striking. This art team was a great fit for this book in all aspects.

The Verdict

Buy it. Eric Palicki and his team of artists successfully combine fairies and murder mysteries in Fake Empire. It is a fun, creative, and suspenseful story that I cannot recommend more.