Writer: Bill Willingham
Artists: Mark Buckingham and Steve Leialoha
Publisher: DC/Vertigo
Bill Willingham follows last month's Fables masterpiece with this month's continuation, which neither lives up to the original nor presents anything engaging. Nevertheless, Mr. Willingham's genius shines through in the well-known characters, and Mark Buckingham's art is becoming some of my favourite in modern-day comics.
Goldilocks was set to murder Snow White and Bigby in the last issue. She seems to go about putting them in a trance, causing them to end up in the woods somewhere. Meanwhile, the mounted police, which know of Goldilocks' intentions, have not yet been able to alert Prince Charming and the likes as to what is going on. This issue ends with more development of Bigby's feelings for Snow White and vice-versa.
Sound confusing? Might be---I didn't write the synopsis all that well. But other than that, I think Mr. Willingham has to work harder introducing these characters to new readers. They know who the CHARACTERS are---it'd just be nice if they could find out more about their exploits in Fables.
Messrs. Willingham and Buckingham (along with inker Steve Leialoha) continue to display the fact that they are master storytellers. There have been several parodies of fairy tails in the past, but this one is very different. I enjoy the interactions of the mythical characters and the regular, "mundy" world, along with the modern-day conflicts between the Fables characters. It's really a fun read: clever and offbeat.
Mark Buckingham's art is very clean and suitable to the story. It's not over the top, and in execution, uses fine details to its advantage, rather than exaggerated angles. I'm also glad to see that it's very consistent. The faces and dress are always the same, and the expressions and reactions are fairly accurate, something that's hard to do when drawing from another creators' pen.
It could use some captions to reaffirm the story, but other than that, this is a nice addition to the Fables library. This might not be the best week to jump on board for new or recently departed readers, but to those who have been following the book continuously; it's a nice little treat.
What did you think of this book?
Have your say at the Line of Fire Forum!