Fatale Finale on May 21st, Winter Solider Book, Appearance in Toronto.

("Fatale Finale."  Say that five times fast, a phrase that looks like it ought to rhyme.)

Last week Image Comics released their May solicitations, which includes the finale to Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' Fatale.  Issue #24 is an extra-long 48 pages with a higher list price of $4.99. 

Will Josephine's final secrets be revealed? Will there be much tragedy? Will Brubaker and Phillips fans love all the crazy extras jammed into this special final issue? Yes, yes, and yes.

The issue is Multiversity Comics' top pick for May, and it's scheduled to reach stores on May 21st;  this lends some credence to our early guess that The Fade Out will arrive no sooner than July.

(After that?   Brubaker has at least tweeted that there aren't any plans to continue Incognito, "not as of now," but we're rarely privy to their plans beyond the most immediate upcoming project.  While I'd like to see a less open-ended conclusion to Incognito -- and while I can hardly wait to see more of Criminal -- we can trust that we'll continue to see great stuff from the pair.)

In the meantime, Sean Phillips has tweeted that he's received some boxes containing the first deluxe hardcover for Fatale, the series is now being reprinted in Spanish (starting with book one, La Muerte Me Persigue), and the Horror Writers Association has recently honored the series.  Book Three: West of Hell has been nominated for their 2013 Bram Stoker Awards, for Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel, with the awards to be announced on May 10th, at the World Horror Convention in Portland, Oregon.

Ed Brubaker just tweeted that the Captain America: Winter Soldier deluxe book is (finally) in stores today, and Wil Wheaton praises the book as "one of the best comic stories I've ever read."

And, our friends north of the border should take note that both Brubaker and Phillips are planning to attend the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, May 10th and 11th.   The press release notes that this is their first joint appearance at a Canadian comics event, and it will be the first public appearance together since the announcement of their five-year deal with Image Comics.

Fatale Issue 20 and Book 4, In Stores This Week.

The first issue of Fatale's concluding arc is in stores this week along with "Book Four: Pray for Rain," the trade paperback collecting the most recent arc, set in the 90's Seattle grunge scene.  Comic Book Resources, Comicosity, and All-Comic all have a five-page preview of the new issue, which apparently begins a story called "Curse the Demon."

The press release for the first deluxe edition is now making the rounds at sites such as The Outhousers, and Sean Phillips has responded that the book's length has already grown from 288 pages to 312 pages.  And, the New York Times would like to see Fatale become a television series, starring Game of Thrones' Emilia Clarke and helmed by the Coen brothers.

In the meantime, everyone has a good reason (or two!) to visit your local comic retailer this Wednesday.