Comic Review: Faithless #3

Faithless #3

BOOM! Studios

Writer: Brian Azzarello

Artist: Maria Llovet

Faithless #3 follows up on the wild events of the previous issue. Brian Azzarello and Maria Llovet are starting to allow readers to understand the world around Faith, but there are still a lot of questions to be had. As a six-issue miniseries, we are now halfway through, and I am still not convinced that this series has any real direction. Still, there is enough out there worth checking out to keep going.

Faithless has been a slow burn as Azzarello has spent more time allowing readers to fall into the world. Readers who are wanting things to blow up will find themselves disappointed in Faithless #3. Even though more happens in this issue than ever before, it still feels like this series hasn’t hit its peak yet. Instead, this issue explores tragedy as Faith comes to the realization that she might not be alone and that the universe is turning on her.

Azzarello and Lovet do a fine job at working together to create an unsettling world for both Faith and the readers. The balance between daily mundane activities, tragedy, and the unexplainable is jarring, making this an unpredictable and compelling read. Unfortunately, while the content is incredibly interesting, it is hard to find myself too invested in the characters and their circumstances. Despite being a slow read, I’m not sure that there is enough substance here to make the worldbuilding worth it. It has a lot of interesting pieces that just aren’t coming together and clicking.

The rocky pacing isn’t helped by how many pages exist just to stimulate readers. I understand that this is essentially an erotic mystery, but it is a shame that so much storytelling potential is wasted on sex. It’s nice that Llovet’s art makes these scenes look wonderful, and the objective of creating erotic scenes is absolutely accomplished. The raw style works well for how ominous and corrupted Faith’s sexual encounters are, adding a welcome amount of atmosphere to the scenes. The eroticism of the book is at least relevant with the title’s themes, I just think the creative team spends a tad too much time on them. I’d rather see other areas of Faithless explored.

Llovet’s art continues to be the book’s saving grace, with a raw style that effectively captures every emotion needed on the page. It’s “messy,” but that’s exactly what a title like this needs. The art allows for the dialogue and drama to travel across the panels nicely, making this an easier read. It feels like the writing moves a bit too fast at times, but the art helps keep everything grounded for the reader. The more impactful scenes of this issue hit right where they need, and leave no need for clarity via words.

I’d like to take a moment to address how great the designs in this book are. The characters all have a wonderful aesthetic that reminds me of Snot Girl. The “Monsters” are haunting, and the old lady is just unnerving. Some will consider Faithless’ aesthetic ugly, but everything just works here as far as art goes.

Faithless continues to be a frustrating read because there is are so many possibilities for it. Instead of focusing on the traumatic mystery, Azzarello emphasizes the erotic elements of the book. Llovet’s art makes these scenes look great, but I can’t help but feel that we are losing out on tons of wonderful worldbuilding in an attempt to arouse the reader.