Fairest #27 – Review

By: Mark Buckingham (story), Russ Braun (art), Lee Loughridge (colors)

The Story: Even a fox loses his charm once he turns human.

The Review: And we’re back! It’s been several months since the abysmal Mice and Men arc, and if I had any doubts at the time whether I was doing the right thing temporarily Dropping the series, I have none now. I’m in a much better spirit of mind than if I had forced myself to buy into Andreyko’s wandering, inconsequential storyline, and eager to check in with the less pressing side of the Fables universe, especially as we’re winding down to the series’ conclusion.

Since I’m still woefully deficient in my Fables history, I can’t confirm whether Prince Charming’s promise to provide glamours to all non-humanoid Fables was ever established before this issue, but it does lead to a solid plot for the Fables that tend to be overlooked. It’s true they don’t get enough respect; that will happen when you look like a walking sunflower in breeches or cat with a bonnet or some other anthropomorphized creature in medieval costume. Kind of hard not to see them as comical even when they have very real grievances.

Fairest #20 – Review

By: Sean E. Williams (story), Stephen Sadowski & Meghan Hetrick (pencils), Phil Jimenez & José Marzán (inks), Andrew Dalhouse (colors)

The Story: Prince Charming is relieved to know he can still keep an eye on his love life.

The Review: Reading through this arc has made me realize that Bill Willingham must have a lot of courage to trust others with his toys.  It’s one thing for mainstream writers to loan out their storyline ideas or to pass on their continuity to the writers who come after them; those characters don’t belong to them anyway.  But an indie writer owns not only the premise and characters of his story, but the story’s entire vision; can he really trust others to see the world the way he does?

In hindsight, Willingham probably shouldn’t have entrusted one of his bigger characters to Williams, who has unfortunately proven to lack the skill necessary to meld a personality like Prince Charming with an entirely new mythos in the Fables universe.  It’s possible that Williams was hindered by a mission to revive Charming and figure out a way to return him to Fabletown, but this by itself can’t possibly be the reason why this entire arc has felt so lifeless.

Fairest #19 – Review

By: Sean E. Williams (story), Stephen Sadowski (pencils), Russ Braun (art), Phil Jimenez & Christian Alamy (inks), Andrew Dalhouse (colors)

The Story: Nalayani’s village becomes a victim of serious huffing and puffing.

The Review: Of all the arcs on this series thus far, this one has been the least engaging, embodying all your worst expectations about a spin-off title.  Besides stretching a thin plot well beyond what it can actually sustain, the arc has accomplished shockingly little for it.  Despite Williams’ efforts—I would say “best efforts,” but I would be appalled if these were actually his best efforts—we remain unattached from the characters and the story at large.

I suppose it’s sort of an interesting twist on the usual chauvinistic dynamic in fiction that Prince Charming has turned out to be really a very thin character in this arc, largely defined by his relationship to Nalayani.  His professions of love last issue felt so unconvincing as to make you squeamish, but it looks like Williams won’t be dropping the subject anytime soon.  Through some eye-rolling plot developments, he confirms that Charming has finally experienced “genuine true love” (as opposed to just good ol’ plain true love, presumably), but still can’t manage to offer any evidence of it, or even a good reason why.

Fairest #18 – Review

By: Sean E. Williams (story), Stephen Sadowski (pencils), Andrew Pepoy (inks), Andrew Dalhouse (colors)

The Story: In a country with few men, even a one-handed fellow starts looking pretty good.

The Review: It’s easy to see that the relationship between plot and character is one of mutual dependence, where if one falters, the other must compensate, and each may help with the development of the other.  A powerful plot can challenge weak characters to reveal greater dimensions to themselves, while strong characters can invigorate an otherwise insubstantial plot.  When both essential sides of a story fail, however, then the story can’t help collapsing on itself.

After four whole issues, it’s become pretty clear that Williams doesn’t have much of a plot to offer here.  If he does, he must be saving it all for one heck of a finale because what he’s given us so far has been completely inadequate.  The Dhole have been the only active antagonists thus far, and there’s no sign they’re anything more than smarter-than-average carnivores.  While we know another mastermind is at work, we learn nothing about him or his intentions here.  Kind of makes it hard to generate the necessary enthusiasm in such stake-less circumstances.

Fairest #17 – Review

By: Sean E. Williams (story), Stephen Sadowski (pencils), Phil Jimenez, Andrew Pepoy, Dan Green (inks), Andrew Dalhouse (colors)

The Story: Nalayani and Charming get the sinking feeling that someone is out to get them.

The Review: Longtime readers of this site—specifically, longtime readers of me—probably have noticed that I have a fairly unusual (some might argue unpredictable) grading style.  You can check out this article for some comprehensive explanation behind that, but I can tell you right now what falls under C-material in my mind.  It’s the same things I used to comment on my C students’ work: passing effort, messy, lacks originality, barely functional.

I bring all this up now because this issue of Fairest and this whole arc in general seem to hit all those qualities.  If some find this assessment harsh, I offer as proof Williams’ explanation of Prince Charming’s return from the apparent dead.  It basically boils down to the fact that he’s too popular to die, even after getting blasted apart by an explosion which shattered the gateways to other worlds.  But this is simply the physics of the Fables universe.  What’s really problematic is the unaffected, nonchalant, even dull manner in which this story is recollected.

Fairest #16 – Review

By: Sean E. Williams (story), Stephen Sadowski (pencils), Phil Jimenez & Dan Green (inks), Andrew Dalhouse (colors)

The Story: Prince Charming realizes this is no Bollywood romance he’s stumbled into.

The Review: Not that every story has to be layered with double meanings and secret symbols, but for a reviewer, the more straightforward a story, the less he naturally has to talk about.  After all, why would you need a critic when a synopsis of the plot would suffice just as much?  Fables, for example, wouldn’t have such lasting power if they weren’t crafted in such a way as to deliver a bigger message beneath the simplicity of their actual substance.

This is all to say that I find it very interesting that Williams’ reinterpretation of Nalayani’s character and journey is in many ways less complex and meaningful than the original.  Admittedly, sequels and spin-offs do tend to end up like this, but Fables isn’t usually your typical sequel or spin-off.  It’s possible that Williams will at a later point reveal how deeply layered his story really is—he’d have to if he wants to make any impact with this arc at all—but for now, his individual issues aren’t particularly engaging.

Fairest #15 – Review

By: Sean E. Williams (story), Stephen Sadowski (pencils), Phil Jimenez (inks), Andrew Dalhouse (colors)

The Story: If you’re a Fable with an appetite for sex, India’s your kind of place.

The Review: As a real latecomer to Fables (my first issue being #104), it’s not surprising that I missed out on quite a lot of the series’ history.  I’m not just talking about major events, like everything to do with the Empire, either.  There are some characters whom I’ve heard of only in name and never actually go to see, as they were long dead by the time I got around to the series: Boy Blue, Goldilocks, and Prince Charming, to name a few.

Still, you’d be amazed how much familiarity and attachment you can develop for a character with a thorough reading of their Wikipedia entry.  So while longtime fans of the series may be far more enthused about the return of Charming (which I don’t consider a spoiler since it is only right there on the cover), I can honestly say I’m quite intrigued, too.  I’ve heard a great deal about the resilience of a Fable, even one that’s killed, so I’m very interested to see it in action.

Fables #77 – Review

By Bill Willingham (Writer), Mark Buckingham (Penciller), Andrew Pepoy (Inker), and Lee Loughbridge (Colors)

The Story: Two new characters, mercenaries Freddy and Mouse, scrounge through the ruins of the defeated empire looking for loot, and come across a big, heavily chained casket that may contain more than treasure. Boy Blue is still suffering from the magical arrow he was shot with during the war. Sinbad relates to Rose the last heroic moments of Prince Charming. The second generation fables try to determine if they can or will have any place in the newly liberated homelands. And Bigby Wolf sends Mowgli and his wolf brothers up the beanstalk to explore the situation in the Jungle Book world.

What’s Good: Willingham is clearly in this book for the long haul. He gives every single character time to express themselves, to breath, to become real. And the quiet moments, like the ones in this issue, give them weight when things become sticky later on. And, of course, Buckingham’s art is consistently wonderful, unrolling in Fable’s patented horizontal scroll, like the Bayaux tapestry.

What’s Not So Good: “Freddy and Mouse” are obviously Fritz Lieber’s classic heroes Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. I don’t think much of Willingham expanding from fables and children’s stories into the realm of adult fantasy, especially as these two are still under copyright and can’t be addressed by their proper names.

Conclusion: As a single issue, there’s practically nothing to this book. But Willingham clearly has plans for the future of the Fable universe. Think of the collapse of the Empire as analogous to the tearing down of Saddam’s statue; chaotic elements hidden by fascistic suppression are beginning to stir. Regular readers will know that Willingham has proven that these interlude issues are an integral part of the larger epic. And of course it’s always nice to see Bigby Wolf with his wife and children, as if Wolverine finally decided to stop working so hard at being a bad-ass and just allow himself to settle down.

Grade: B

– Andrew C. Murphy