The Literals #3 (Great Fables Crossover) – Review

by Bill Willingham & Matthew Sturges (writers), Mark Buckingham (pencils), Andrew Pepoy (inks), Lee Loughridge (colors), and Todd Klein (letters)

The Story: The Great Fables Crossover comes to its conclusion as our heroes finally confront Kevin Thorn.

What’s Good: Well, this issue feels a bit less slapped together than last week’s; the characters sound like themselves once again.  Also, we finally get Gary actually making himself useful, which is refreshing.

Also, I’ll admit that for better or for worse, I always snicker a bit whenever Willingham and Sturges get metatextual and have their Literal characters break the fourth wall.  Revise’s comments on the comic were great, as was Deus Ex Machina’s tongue-in-cheek remarks about himself.  I also liked how Kevin Thorn’s powers were depicted, affecting the actual comic.  It was also nice seeing the business office again, if only for a moment.

Unfortunately, the best thing about this comic is that it marks the conclusion of this underwhelming crossover.  It was great seeing things go back to normal:  the reunion of Jack and Gary was oddly touching, while the Page Sisters join up with Frost and head out, guaranteed to cause mayhem in future issues of Jack.  It’s just a giant breath of relief as we are reassured that all of this nonsense is over and that we’ll hopefully once again be getting the comics we know and love.  At least Buckingham’s art has been consistently outstanding.

What’s Not-So-Good: This issue clearly demonstrates why shaping an entire story arc around the Literals wasn’t the best of ideas.  The Literals are all, not just Dex, walking cases of deus ex machina.  Now, that’s all right for a quick gag here and there or a fun side character, but when an entire story rests upon them?  It leads to problems and a truly anticlimactic ending.

Indeed, words cannot describe just how anticlimactic the ending is to this crossover.  After all of the build-up, there is more or less no real “battle” with Thorn.  Worse still, the ending comes courtesy of Dex.  Yes, Dex is funny, but unfortunately using him nonetheless means that Willingham closed off his series with a ludicrous deus ex machina moment, which is unforgivably lazy.  Just because you wittily acknowledge using deus ex machina doesn’t mean that you aren’t using it.

Can’t figure out what to do with Thorn?  Dex shows up with a random artifact that solves everything.  Can’t figure out how to use it?  Don’t worry, Revise just “edits out” the part of the comic where our heroes work it out, making the artifact work instantaneously.  I don’t care if Revise edited parts of our real world comic out, nor do I care how admittedly witty that is, the fact remains that Willingham just took a shortcut that allowed him to avoid explanations.

More anticlimactic still is that the crossover ends with seemingly the removal of all the Literals from the series, which creates an even stronger sense of pointlessness to this crossover.  Jack and Gary are back together, the Literals are gone, and Bigby and Snow go home.  What in the hell was the point of this crossover?!  I’ve been plagued by this question for the last three months and this issue gives me my answer:

Nothing.

Conclusion: This pointless, drawn out crossover is finished.  Thank God.

Grade: C-

-Alex Evans

Jack of Fables #35 (Great Fables Crossover) – Review

by Bill Willingham & Matthew Sturges (writers), Russ Braun (pencils), Jose Marzan Jr. (inks), Daniel Vozzo (colors), and Todd Klein (letters)

The Story: Old Sam makes his play and the battle with the Genres comes to its bloody conclusion.

What’s Good: Little Girl Bigby Wolf is a joy to read and see. Russ Braun does a fantastic job drawing  her, with the frequent scowls being absolutely priceless. Seeing the little girl do bloody battle with the Genres is hilariously good fun and the definite high point of this issue. Willingham and co. go for broke on the gore here and it’s a real laugh.

Also, as ever, the Genres provide great commentary/ satire on literature as a whole, this issue in particular focusing on Science Fiction and Fantasy. The descriptions of the individual Genres early on in the comic is clever and the calling out of SF and Fantasy’s undeniable similarities is enjoyable. I also got a good laugh out of the very first two page Babe sequence. Oh, the awkwardness… Somehow, someway, Willingham manages to lampoon Snoopy of all of things.

What’s Not-so-Good: Despite providing a laugh here and there, this issue just felt strangely lifeless; not a good thing for the second to last issue of a 9-part crossover. I think part of it comes from the feeling that some of Willingham’s writing feels rushed. Some of the words and phrasing are repeated within individual word bubbles, which is usually a no-no, and little Girl Bigby just doesn’t sound like Bigby, nor does she sound like a little girl. Bigby’s dialogue lacks the distinct voice, containing little of the customary grit.

Meanwhile, Gary is such a lost cause in this Crossover that even he himself seems aware of it. The idea of Gary as Bigby’s sidekick had so much promise, but like many things in this crossover, it came to nothing. Bigby never even acknowledges his presence, leading to Gary having no comedic foil and just being flat out unfunny and repetitive.

Also indicative of a rush-job are a couple of underwhelming story elements. Old Sam’s attempt to steal Thorn’s pen ends in uncreative and anticlimactic fashion. Why even bother include this plot element? Meanwhile, Bigby overcomes his little Girl form simply by… trying really hard. Seriously?

Not to mention that this solution to Bigby’s dilemma makes little sense given the scope of Thorn’s powers. It doesn’t make sense, but hey, Willingham knows it and says it’s due to Thorn’s being “distracted.” Lazy. Similarly, I’m not entirely sure how Gary, let alone Hillary Page, is able to recognize Jack Frost, or know who he is. Also, several of the Genres are entirely forgotten for the first half of the issue (they are not even listed as being present), and then magically show up in the second half.

Conclusion: There are a few laughs here and there, but this is a lifeless and rushed issue in an increasingly tiresome crossover.

Grade: C

-Alex Evans

Fables #85 (Great Fables Crossover) – Review

by Bill Willingham & Matthew Sturges (writers), Tony Akins (pencils), Andrew Pepoy & Dan Green (inks), Lee Loughridge (colors), and Todd Klein (letters)

The Story: Jack meets his son, offering fatherly advice before he and Rose are shipped off to Wolf Manor.

What’s Good: Jack’s comedy seems to be a bit better than it was last issue. This still isn’t the funniest Jack issue, but it has its moments. Jack’s interactions and the “sagely wisdom” he offers Jack Frost is quintessential Jack and is all the more enjoyable for it. It’s funny, self-centered stuff. I also enjoyed Jack meeting the cubs and giving them an education in vice.  Not laugh out loud funny, but it’s a cute moment that shows Jack mentoring the kids around a poker table.

I also thought Jack’s manipulation of Frost at the end was smart stuff. It was interesting to see Jack reasoning and behaving exactly like a Literal and not realizing that he was. I really do enjoy it when Willingham and Sturges play up Jack’s Literal heritage, as this served as another method of breaking the fourth wall.

Akins’ work is as loaded with comedy as ever. He may be no Mark Buckingham, but he does have a unique style that works well with this story. Once again, Akins manages to draw a wide array of humorous facial expressions that lead to some really memorable panels– Jack’s expression when caught stealing Bigby’s booze is absolutely priceless.

What’s Not So Good: I tried to keep believing in it as long as I could, but the fact is that this crossover just sucks. It just doesn’t have the scope and nuance to demand nine issues to tell it. Fables #85 only provides further proof of this.

This issue is all but completely pointless. The only item of any importance is Jack sending off Frost, which takes all of a single page. That means that plot-wise, this is about 20 pages of filler. Nothing important happens.

What’s worse, nothing RELEVENT happens. For the most part, this issue has absolutely nothing to do with the crossover. Sure Willingham throws in a couple pages of Old Sam planning on stealing Thorn’s pen (and what a “no duh” moment that is) to make us think this is a crossover issue, but it’s not like those scenes were particularly vital either. It’s just the seventh issue of Thorn hesitating. What does the Boy Blue cult have to do with the conflict with Thorn? What does Jack’s arrival in Wolf Manor and his meeting the cubs have to do with the effort to stop the creative Literal? The answers are nothing and nothing; and unfortunately, most of the issue is spent on these two topics. The fact that Thorn isn’t even mentioned by any of the characters on the farm until the very last page certainly doesn’t help.

Conclusion: Fables is a cute, fairly amusing comic that has little to do with the crossover of which it claims to be a part of, having pretty much nothing of importance occurring within its pages.

Grade: C-

-Alex Evans

The Literals #2 (Great Fables Crossover) – Review

by Bill Willingham & Matthew Sturges (writers), Mark Buckingham (pencils), Andrew Pepoy (inks), Lee Loughridge (colors), and Todd Klein (letters)

The Story: The Page sisters battle the Genres, Old Sam and Hansel finally get sick of one another, and Kevin Thorn tries to get around his brother, Writer’s Block.

The Good: Not that it’s saying much, but this is easily the best issue of the Fables Crossover this month and possibly the whole crossover. Why? Because the plot actually moves! Things stay centered on the world-ending threat of Thorn, our heroes close in on him, and there’s actually plot development that sees not one but two characters getting killed (probably). In the process, we get to see the grumpy little girl Bigby in action, and more metafictional wit and self-lampooning from the Genres. With a little forward movement of the plot, everything else just feels a bit more enjoyable.

Another result of this is that Willingham actually manages to remind us of Thorn’s vicious, evil side; something that has been frequently lost behind his affable exterior in spite of his apocalyptic intentions. Strangely, the last comic to actually make Thorn feel at all menacing was last month’s issue of the Literals. This second go-around only ups the ante, reminding us that Thorn really is a mean little bastard that’s capable of horrible things.

Lastly, praise be to Mark Buckingham!  After two Fables-related comics in the past two weeks drawn by Akins and Braun, respectively, Buckingham reminds us why he is the best and how he’s on a totally different level. Akins and Braun are no slouches, but by comparison, Buckingham just outclasses them. It really felt great to have him behind the pencils again.

The Not-so-Good: As refreshing as it is to see some plot movement, we shouldn’t get too excited. Fact is that while it moves, that movement isn’t very interesting, shocking, or inventive. The heroes are literally just physically closer to the final battle.  Thorn’s decision over Writer’s Block also isn’t particularly creative, it was seen a mile away, and it makes you wonder why the hell it didn’t happen sooner (barring Willingham’s need to stretch out this crossover and tread water).

While the plot develops and things improve, it still feels like Willingham is just going through the motions. While funny and reasonably enjoyable, there aren’t any surprises, twists, or anything particularly creative going on story-wise.  Things just happen exactly as you’d expect they would without any nuance or subtlety.

I guess this all leads me to a troubling conclusion after this comic: this story can now all easily be wrapped up in one more issue. It’s unfortunate that Willingham’s got three to go.

Conclusion: Nothing earth-shattering that will change your mind about this crossover, but at least it isn’t hideously bad or outright frustrating like the past issues.

Grade: C+

-Alex Evans

Jack of Fables #34 (Great Fables Crossover) – Review

by Bill Willingham & Matthew Sturges (writers), Russ Braun (pencils), Jose Marzan Jr. (inks), Daniel Vozzo (colors), and Todd Klein (letters)

The Story: Bigby continues to feel Kevin Thorn’s wrath, Thorn continues to grapple with writer’s block, and the Page sisters decide to get in on the action.

The Good: After a lacking Fables issue last week, I was more than a little worried regarding this comic. Thankfully, this issue was a definite improvement.

The humor of seeing Bigby transform from one awful thing to another was great, all the funnier thanks to Braun’s artwork. The forlorn looking Bigby-chimp is a real laugh.

One of the true strengths of this issue though, was the dynamic of this group of characters. As Bigby got angrier and angrier, Mr. Revise served as a deadpan foil while Gary held the role of the cheerful irritant. It was a fantastic crew. Meanwhile, I continued to love Kevin’s “good angel/ bad angel” in Old Sam and Hansel.  I thought it was really promising in the Literals #1, and this issue started to show me why I was right. I expect even more from this in future issues. The sequences with Thorn and the genres continued to be strong intellectually and comically as well, especially with us finally seeing the characters recognize Writer’s Block and the little info on Thorn’s “brother.”

I also enjoyed the fact that Willingham has not left the Page sisters in the dust. I’ve always liked the sisters, and seeing them in an action-packed journey with a crapload of guns was just a damn special treat. I’m glad to see that they will factor into the final outcome of this crossover.

The biggest thing with this issue though is that it actually delivers on the “crossover,” unlike last week. There is one, central adversary in Kevin Thorn and one united goal to stop him which features characters from both comics. There aren’t multiple opponents or side-issues. The comic is focused on the issue that brought on this crossover to begin with, and as a result, I actually felt like there was actually  a strong sense of direction.  There’s no Jack Frost, Boy Blue cult, or Mister Dark to worry about, which is refreshing. Also, I do have to say that I love Bigby’s final transformation at the end of the issue.  It has a ton of comedic potential and I wouldn’t mind seeing him stuck in that form for most of the rest of the crossover.

What’s Not-so-Good: Despite what I said about direction, there really isn’t a lot of plot progression in that direction in this issue. The book literally ends with our characters on the exact same patch of grass that we left them on last month, not having made any major discoveries, as Bigby continually transforms into different creatures. That’s a little distressing considering that we’re at 5/9 on the crossover now. There just isn’t a lot of forward momentum here, especially considering where we’re at in the crossover. I will admit that as funny as it was, the fact that plot progression was being sacrificed in favor of jokes was a little worrisome.

At this point, it feels as if this “Great” crossover has been treading water for several issues now. There’s just not a lot going on here. And while it’s all good and humorous, it’s also getting a bit frustrating. We’ve got great characters and great comedy and the pieces are in motion, so move them! There is some development in this issue in the main conflict (unlike last week), with the Page sisters hitting the road and Kevin discovering Writer’s Block, but these sound like “beginnings” that could have occurred in issue 3 rather than 5.  At five of nine, we should be further along and we certainly shouldn’t be moving at the speed of molasses.  I feel as though Willingham is trying to keep me from noticing the fact that not a whole lot happened in this issue.

I guess the criminal thing is that while this issue had more direction, I’m honestly not sure if you’d really miss anything if you didn’t pick it up.

Conclusion: A better issue in what has thus far been a lackluster crossover. It’s focused, smart, and the comedy is definitely a high point. I just wish that we’d see a bit more forward momentum.

Grade: C+

-Alex Evans