The Fade Out 2

The Death of Me
By Ed Brubaker, Sean Philips, Elizabeth Breitweiser, and David Brothers
Oct 2014

- opens at the burial of VS and from there it drifts here and there, Charlie and the impact of Valeria's death seem to be the constants
- there is more of just about everyone who appeared in the first issue
- Flapjack makes a fuss about the fact that the headstone has her screen name on it
- the director (Schmidt) has a lot of pressure put on him by the Victor Street Pictures' boss (Thursby) to finish the picture quickly despite the fact that numerous scenes will have to be reshot
- Melba, Gil's wife, is introduced; there seems to be the potential for infidelity between her and Charlie, or maybe it already has happened and has yet to be revealed
- Gil continues to drink too much, and shows up at the burial, although he hides behind a mausoleum and is only spotted by Charlie
- the story of Charlie's relationship (personal and professional) with Gil is described in more detail; Gil is the one who told Charlie to tell the FBI that he was a commie
- Charlie has a minor obsession with Morty, a stand in for Earl Rath, who wears bandages on his face because Rath refuses to do so; Charlie dreams of wearing the bandages, being able to move invisibly around the set as Morty does
- Charlie feels like he betrayed Valeria, although it isn't clear why he feels that way unless it is because he thinks he killed her
- Charlie also feels that he has betrayed and in betraying Gil but it isn't clear why; Gil does seem very torn about Valeria's death, and Charlie seemed to know that would be the case before he told him about her death: but why I affects Gil so profoundly isn't clear

6/3