Fables #139 – Review

By: Bill Willingham (story), Steve Leialoha (art), Lee Loughridge (colors)

The Story: Oh, Danny Boy, the groupies are calling…

The Review: I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’ve reviewed Fables for nearly three years, which is a ghastly sort of time commitment to a venture which yields almost no profit whatsoever. But the enduring power of this series is truly a testament to its consistency. Though I have yet to read a truly extraordinary issue of Fables, nearly every issue has been well-crafted—at least, they’ve always given me something to talk about.

It’s impossible for any title to not have its duds, though, and this arc seems from the start to be one of those. Willingham started on the right note by featuring the Fabletown band, a collection of the most musically gifted Fables: Baby Joe Shepherd (drums), Peter Piper (flute), Briar Rose (guitar/vocals), Seamus McGuire (harp), and Puss in Boots (fiddle).* Had Willingham taken the band on some wild, silly adventure that involved travel by van/bus to a gig of expectedly unexpected danger, this could very well have turned into a very fun break from the main Fables narrative.