Fables v18: Cubs in Toyland TPB

This is another strong, consistent series that I don’t think gets the attention it deserves. Just because Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham have been doing it for so long, it is easy to forget how riveting this title can be. I’m guilty of it myself. I let a few trades stack up and didn’t get around to them for a long time. I took the book for granted. Thank goodness this trade is so strong that it reminds me of what I’m missing.

The majority of the trade tells the story of Therese, one of Bigby Wolf and Snow White’s cubs. She seems like a normal kid, except that her toy boat has started talking to her in the middle of the night. Eventually, the boat whisks her away to the titular Toyland, where things are a lot direr than they seem. It’s pretty easy to get a Blaine the Mono vibe from the boat specifically, and Toyland generally. This is a place where discarded, forgotten toys pine away for a queen to save them. Therese is just the latest in a line of possible royalty.

After her disappearance, Darien (another cub) and the tiger Mountbatten stage a rescue, ably assisted by some of Darien’s favorite toys. Things just get darker and darker as Therese’s justifiable hunger keeps her from recognizing those who are trying to help. I felt so bad for most of the cast that even after I closed the book, I found myself thinking about the characters in the story and the trials they faced. Willingham has always been a master at this sort of thing; the warping of the childlike fables into something horrifying and fascinating. This is a great example of the heights this book can reach.

There is a two-parter at the end showing Bigby Wolf discovering his fate through the hand of fate, but I wasn’t as enthralled as I was in the first story. It’s a good thing; the first arc is so depressing it would be hard to move forward without a palate cleanser. There are also plenty of one-page tosses to keep the greater Fabletown story moving forward.

Mark Buckingham’s broken toys are fascinating. Their damage makes them horrific, but you can still see how they were meant to be cute at one time. It’s a perfect manifestation of the characters. Even the broken toys aren’t quite as irredeemable as it seems. Gene Ha’s art is gorgeous, as always, in the backup. I would have liked to have seen him draw more of the main cast, though.

Clearly, this is still an EXCELLENT read, and lapsed readers need to take note and get back on board. I know I certainly am.

Fairest TPB

I don’t know what I was expecting with this Fables spin-off, but I don’t think this was it. Based on all the covers and press I’d seen about Fairest, I assumed it was a new series following Snow White, Rose Red, Cinderella and the many other princesses involved in the world of Fables. 

Instead, Bill Willingham seems to have expanded his Fables book into two titles. This book literally picks up some dangling plot points from the main Fables series and sees them through a logical conclusion. It is good stuff, and an enjoyable read, just not what I was expecting!

The leads in this are Ali Baba, Briar Rose, the Snow Queen, and a silly little genie obsessed with Earth (or Mundy) culture. After Briar Rose put a whole city to sleep (including the Snow Queen), Ali Baba has to wake her up with true love’s kiss. Only it turns out that’s more of a fable-code requirement rather than actual love.

Willingham continues to play around with what fairy tales actually mean and how they can relate to each other. Fairy powers are broken down to spells with redundant language. Former villain Snow Queen isn’t so bad once she’s free of the Adversary’s influence. Ali Baba falls in love with the wrong royalty. The same tone of originality and attention to detail so present in the Fables core title is on display here. If you like that book, you really must be reading this one!

I don’t associate Phil Jiminez with this sort of fanciful art, but he really does a nice job with it. Jimenz’s Snow Queen and Briar Rose really steal the show with their exotic costumes and dynamic facial expressions. I really appreciate the variety in the different fairy godmother designs too. Each one has a ton of personality in her almost super-heroic outfit.

Matthew Sturges and Shawn McManus have a done-in-one featuring the Beast that is heartbreaking, but only on the last few pages. The abrupt departure from the first story is part of what makes this series feel like a companion to the core Fables book.

Good

Fables v14: Witches TPB

Well, that's odd. I was really concerned that I was losing interest in this, one of my favorite comics, after the uneven and confusing Great Fables Crossover. Turns out I shouldn't have been worried. I've never seen an excellent book lose its way, then return to the top so quickly.

Now that Bill Willingham is focusing on our core Fables, and more importantly, his great villains, the book is humming along once again. The Dark Man is a tremendous villain, and Willingham shows us a tremendous amount about him by following the history of one of the "Boxers," an organization of wizards who worked for the old Empire to eradicate evil magicians. But with the Boxers gone and the Empire fallen, there is no one around organized enough to stop the Dark Man. Enter the Witches of Fabletown. Totenkinder, long the head mage of the order, is slowly being phased out as she sets off on her own path to save Fabletown. I love that as soon as she heads off on her mission she becomes a beautiful young woman.

In her absence, Ozma and some other magicians start making plans for taking on the Dark Man. I'm concerned that they won't be strong enough, but Willingham has surprised me before. One of the things he does best is create new epic heroes for this title. I figured there was no way Boy Blue could defeat the Emperor, and there was no way the Frog Prince could be the epic hero he became either. Here we go again with Bufkin. With the Baba Yaga and her sons loose in the Fabletown offices, there is no one to stop the recently freed evil forces from seeking an escape. Bufkin has a little time, because the offices are in a pocket dimension and very hard to escape from, but he doesn't have much help. I'm thrilled to see how well he handles himself in dealing with a top-level Fable threat. Great stuff.

The final story is a riff on a couple classic stories, set in the Frog Prince's refuge Fable world. It's tremendous seeing the Prince try to get his professional and political life in order. His moments with Red Riding Hood are sweet, and I love seeing the politics of incorporating a large goblin population in a bigger society. Fantastic stuff.

Mark Buckingham handles the core story, as he usually does, and I can't imagine anyone else drawing Bigby Wolf or Snow White. He's got the style down. I really like the way Yaga's sons actually look heroic, and the designs for Gipetto's new "children" are great too. David Lapham draws the other chapters. It's a great choice. I love that Vertigo's biggest artists all stop by to draw the occasional Fable story.

Excellent

Fables TPB 13: The Great Fables Crossover

I'm afraid I'm a bit of a moron. I stopped reading Jack of Fables around trade number five, so I think I missed out on a fair amount of the Literals lead in. The problem is that the Literals are the core of this crossover, and so I found myself a bit confused about these... "ultra-Fables," one of whom has the power to destroy reality.

The threat is as big as it gets, and yet other than some clever meta-commentary about where the Fables comics have taken some classic characters (Snow White marrying the Big Bad Wolf? Preposterous!) I never got into this. I laughed at the silly Literal genres, they were very entertaining, but I never really worried about the outcome. Jack was great, of course, and he ends up being the best part of this trade. He totally doesn't care about the Literal part of the crossover, he just wants to cause trouble at the Farm and hook up with Rose Red. I found his chapters of this collection the easiest to understand (and therefore, the most enjoyable). I never quite understood why Thorne couldn't see Writers' Block, I don't get Deus Ex Machina, and the Page sisters are fun, but I don't understand their purpose.

The art is great, of course. Mark Buckingham, Russ Braun, and Tony Akins have been directing this world for so long that everything looked spot on. I do love the new Jack Frost design, too. Overall, this is one of the weaker chapters in the still-excellent Fables ongoing.

Average

Best of 2000's #6: Fables by Bill Willingham & various

#6: Fables by Bill Willingham & various

Here is another of the best of 2000's that is still going strong. Bill Willingham shocked me with just how fantastic his vision for the world of exiled fables could be. I wasn't entirely sold until the brilliant Animal Farm arc, where Goldilocks and the Three Bears led a rebellion that was so well planned and dirty that I thought it could succeed. Willingham always brings top-notch threats against his protagonists. The March of the Wooden Soldiers was an instant classic, and the exiles retaliation in the Homelands arc was a high point as well. The book has drifted a bit since taking out the Adversary, but he had so much buildup it is going to take time before another threat seems as terrible.

One of my favorite things about Willingham's writing is how logical and well-spoken his characters are. They are always willing to be reasonable and discuss a situation, and when they apply violence, it is always with a clear goal in mind. And Willingham's violence is top-notch too. Try to say "snicker-snack" without a grin on your face!

Mark Buckingham has handled the bulk of the artwork, and his pencils are the lens we see the Fables through. Mike Allred and more have lent assistance to certain arcs, making this one of the most consistently nice-looking books on the stands.

Excellent