We’re big fans of Jay Faerber here at GeeksUnleashed.Me. Issue #10 of his series Near Death was our Comic of the Week a while back.
When the news was confirmed recently that Near Death was ending with this week’s issue #11 I was very disappointed. I’ve really enjoyed the series and I could see it going on for a lot longer than it has done.
Fortunately for fans of his writing, Faerber has a brand new 4 issue limited series coming out this October, published by Image Comics. Entitled Point of Impact the story begins with the murder of a young woman Nicole Rafferty. Over the limited series we are introduced to three people who were close to Nicole and the story follows their efforts to find out what happened to her.
The preview images that have been released for Point of Impact so far look absolutely stunning. The artwork for the series is by Turkish artist Koray Kuranel and it is drawn in striking black and white from cover to interior pages.
I was lucky enough to catch up with Jay Faerber and ask him a few questions about Point of Impact and the premature end of Near Death.
Geeks Unleashed: You always seem happy to talk about the comics, books, film and TV shows that influence your work. Were there any particular influences to the development and writing of Point of Impact?
Jay Faerber: In a weird way, the movie Gone Baby Gone influenced Point of Impact. The two have almost nothing in common — you’d never be able to detect its influence if I hadn’t pointed it out. But what I liked about Gone Baby Gone was that it was a really great crime story, but at its heart it asked some powerful moral questions. And I wanted to use Point of Impact to also examine something deeper than good-versus-evil. With Point of Impact, I wanted to explore how a single person can be different things to different people. It’s true with all of us. We act differently when we’re with our parents, or our friends, or our spouses. We play different roles, fulfill different needs. So in Point of Impact, I have three people who are connected to a murder victim, and we follow all three of them as they try to find out who killed her, while also grappling with the fact that they didn’t know her as well as they thought.
GU: At what point in the writing process did you know Point of Impact would be a 4-issue limited series?
JF: Pretty early into the plotting stage. I knew it was going to be 4 issues before I actually started scripting. I knew it was a finite story — these characters weren’t designed to exist past this single investigation. So then it was simply a matter of whether the story was 4, 5, or 6 parts. And as I plotted it out, it fit nicely into 4
issues.
GU: What can you tell us about the main characters in the comic and how they are connected?
JF: There are three main characters, none of whom really know each other, but they all know Nicole Rafferty, who dies on page 2 of the first issue.
Mitch Rafferty is Nicole’s husband. He’s an investigative reporter for the city newspaper. Abby Warren is a friend of Nicole’s, and she’s also the Homicide detective assigned to Nicole’s case. Patrick Boone was having an affair with Nicole. He’s an ex-Marine.
These three people all try to find out who killed Nicole, using their own unique methods and contacts.
GU: Had you always intended Point of Impact to be in Black & White?
JF: Yep, from day one.
GU: The preview images I have seen look absolutely fantastic. Has it turned out the way you envisaged and hoped it would do?
JF: Yeah, Koray’s done a fantastic job with this book. He’s a phenomenal storyteller and there are plenty of silent scenes in this story simply because his art can tell the story on its own.
GU: You recently confirmed that Near Death is ending with issue #11, news that was very disappointing to all of us at GeeksUnleashed.Me. Is it an absolute end or do you think we will see Markham again?
JF:I very much hope that Markham will be seen again. When I conceived the series, I knew exactly how it would end, and this isn’t it. I didn’t use that ending in issue #11 because I don’t feel like we’re done with the character yet. I’ve got more to say about him, so hopefully we’ll figure out a way to bring him back.
GU: Thanks for your time Jay. Do you have any final words for our readers?
JF: Point Of Impact goes on sale October 10th. Don’t miss it!
If you’re a fan of Faerber I’m sure you’ll be picking this book up. If you’re not familiar with his work I would thoroughly recommend Point of Impact as a way to acquaint yourself. This series is shaping up to be one of the best comics on the shelves in October. Yes, even with the little event that is happening over at Marvel. So check it out. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
Mark Brassington 