The Wild Party

The Wild Party is the inaugural issue of The Fade Out. It was written by Ed Brubaker with artwork by Sean Phillips. It was released on August 20, 2014.

The Wild Party shows the beginning of a murder mystery. Charlie Parish, a screenwriter and "part-time reprobate", wakes up in a bathtub inside a house he does not recognize. As he tries to remember the night before, he stumbles upon the lifeless body of Valeria Sommers, the star of his next film.

Solicitation
''The first project from their groundbreaking five-year deal at Image will have ED BRUBAKER and SEAN PHILLIPS fans, old and new, at the edge of their seats, as they weave an epic crime story unlike anything they've done before. Hollywood - 1948. A noir film stuck in endless reshoots. A writer plagued with nightmares from the war and a dangerous secret. An up-and-coming starlet's suspicious death. And a maniacal Studio Mogul and his Security Chief who will do anything to keep the cameras rolling before the Post-War boom days come crashing down. THE FADE OUT is the most ambitious series yet from the award-winning Noir Masters. Bonus: This 40-PAGE FIRST ISSUE features more story pages, as well as exclusive back pages articles that are only in these single issues!''

Characters

 * Main Characters
 * Charlie Parish
 * Phil Brodsky
 * Gil Mason
 * Valeria Sommers


 * Supporting Characters
 * Dotty Quinn
 * Earl Rath

Trivia

 * The cover of this issue was painted digitally using Frenden brushes in Manga Studio.
 * This issue was an immediate sellout at the distributor level, so the comic went back to print to meet consumer demands. The second printing was released on September 24, 2014; the same day the second issue was released.,
 * An article by Devin Faraci, "The Lonesome Death of Peg Entwistle" is included at the end of this issue.

Cultural references

 * Charlie jokingly refers to Gil as being the "Ghost of Christmas Yet-To-Come." The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is a ghastly spirit from Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, and represents the morbid future in store for the story's bitter main character if he does not change his ways.

Historical references

 * This issue opens with the narrator recalling a period of paranoia shortly after the bombing of Pearl Habor, which occurred on December 7, 1941 and led to the United State's entry into World War II.
 * The restaurant where Charlie has to pick up Gil at is the Vine Street Brown Derby. In the "Golden Age of Hollywood", it was a famous celebrity hotspot that attracted major individuals from the worlds of both cinema and radio. It was here that Robert Cobb, a famous restaurateur, allegedly created the famous "Cobb Salad."