Fables #102 – Review

by Bill Willingham (writer), Mark Buckingham (pencils), Steve Leialoha (inks), Lee Loughridge (colors), and Todd Klein (letters)

The Story: Ozma begins to assemble a super team under the guidance of Pinocchio as the Dark Man threatens Haven.

The Review: As weird as it seems at first, and as dubious the reasoning is behind it, this whole Super Team thing is really, really enjoyable.  It feels new and fresh for Fables and makes for some smart reading as well.  It allows Fables to discuss superhero comics and, by extension, comics as a medium.  The end result is an intelligent comic that almost feels self-conscious of its own medium.  It allows Willingham to think over some of the tropes and absurdities of superhero comics by bringing it into a comic that is anything but.

The whole superhero element also allows for a good deal of comedy as well, much of it thanks to that absurdity.  There’s also a good deal of hilarity in seeing Willingham’s piss-takes here and there, for instance, with Pinocchio’s dressing up as Professor X/Chief.  As you might suspect, it also leads to Mark Buckingham’s getting to do some really cool stuff.  His costume for Ozma is both gorgeous and humorous and quite honestly, even seeing the always-serious Ozma dressed up in such a get-up is all kinds of awesome.

As I mentioned, however, the reasoning for this whole Super Team is a bit questionable.  I can see where Willingham’s going with his reasoning, but it seems like a sort of ad-hoc explanation, as though Willingham just really, really wanted a superhero team in his comic and tried to come up with the reasons afterwards.  Furthermore, it’s a bit of a strain seeing someone like Ozma buy into the whole thing and dive in so completely.  That said, the visual and intellectual places that the comic is allowed to go as a result makes all of this fairly forgivable.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Batgirl #18 – Dustin Nguyen is soooo good.  I love the way he’s mashed up the style he was using on Batman: Street’s of Gotham with his kinda Tiny Titans-esque style to make something that fits the softer and more fun tone of Batgirl.  This series hasn’t had a bad issue and this fun one-shot might be the best issue yet.  Runner-up: Incognito: Bad Influences #3

Most Anticipated: 28 Days Later #20 – This is another heavy week for comics, but the story I’m most excited about is seeing how Selina deals with a British Army colonel out for vengeance.  You should all be reading this great series.

Other picks: Marineman #3, Memoir #2, Amazing Spider-Man #654.1, Hulk #30, Spider-Girl #4

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Hotwire: Deep Cut #3 – Another fantastic outing for Steve Pugh’s awesome series and an explosive, gripping conclusion.  Alice Hotwire has fast found her place among my favourite characters in comics.  I hope we see more of her sooner rather than later.

Most Anticipated: SHIELD #6 – Honestly, there’s not a whole lot that gets me truly excited this week.  Don’t get me wrong, there are good books and more than enough reasons to head to the comic shop, but I’m just not seeing that one book this week that really gets me super pumped.  So I guess I’ll go with SHIELD, if only because it’s book that consistently surprises insofar as I never know what to expect from a new issue.  Well, other than ridiculously awesome art, anyway.

Other Picks: Amazing Spider-Man #654.1, Wolverine #6, Fables #102, DMZ #62, Wonder Woman #607, Doom Patrol #19, Brightest Day #20, Green Lantern #62

DS’ Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: I’m going to call a tie between Batman and Robin #20 and Warlord of Mars #4. It’s a real apples and oranges sort of tie because I liked them for different reasons. Dynamite’s Warlord of Mars is pure fantasy adventure escapism with heroes, monsters and princesses on a strange world. DC’s Batman and Robin is a family tale set in the psychologically unhinged city of Gotham. Both quality books. Both got an ‘A’ grade, something I rarely give.

Most Anticipated: Brightest Day #20 is topping my pull list as the last 6-8 weeks have been so consistently fun, with such high quality. We’re into the home stretch and I want to see what the heck is up with Deadman, Aquaman, the Hawks, and Firestorm.

Other Picks: Batman #707, Green Lantern #62, Green Lantern Corps #57, Legion of Super-Heroes #10, Marvel Girl #1, Loki #3, Thunderbolts #153.