Fairest, Vol.2 – “Hidden Kingdom” (Vertigo)

Writer: Lauren Beukes (#8-13), Bill Willingham (#14) | Art: Inaki Miranda (#8-13, finishes #14), Barry Kitson (#14) | Colors: Eva de la Cruz (#8-13), Andrew Dalhouse (#14)

Rapunzel lives one of the most regimented lives in Fabletown, forced to maintain her rapidly growing hair lest her storybook origins be revealed. But when word of her long-lost children surface, she races across the sea to find them – and a former lover.

Collects: Fairest #8-14

Ever since I bought Fables Deluxe Vol.1, I have been in love with Willingham’s fantasy series (and everything connected to it). Then Fairest started in 2011, and I found a new comic addiction. This second collection collects award-winning-author Lauren Beukes’s run on the series handling writing duties. And it’s absolutely superb.

[NB: There are some slight spoilers in the review!]

Art: FAIREST #14 (Vertigo)

I just saw this on CBR, as part of an other-wise black-and-white preview for Fairest #14, and really wanted to share it. This excellent, atmospheric piece is Adam Hughes’s cover for the Bill Willingham-penned issue from the very good Fables spin-off series:

Fairest #14 is billed as a “special issue”, written by Willingham (who created Fairest and Fables) and features internal art by Barry Kitson. Here’s the synopsis:

Dating is hard for everyone in this standalone tale — but it’s especially tricky if you’re a gorgeous tree nymph from Fabletown. Princess Alder tells her tales of woe to Reynard the fox

Fairest #14 will be published April 3rd 2013.

Batman: “War Drums” (DC)

Writer: Andersen Gabrych & Bill Willingham | Artists: Pete Woods, Damion Scott & Brad Walker | Inks: Cam Smith, Damion Scott, Troy Nixey & Robert Campanella | Colors: Jason Wright & Guy Major

Familial discord lies at the heart of BATMAN: WAR DRUMS as Batman is taxed to the limit by new threats and trouble within his family. When Tim Drake’s father discovers his son's identity as Robin, Tim is forced to quit the team. Everyone must adjust as the Spoiler Attempts to fill his boots, with disastrous results.

Collects: Detective Comics #790-796, Robin #126-128

I bought this a while ago, but for some reason took my sweet time getting around to it. And damn it was good. I hadn’t really been sure what to expect from it, but everything from the writing to the artwork is fantastic. There’s a nice balance between Gabrych’s darker chapters and Willingham’s slightly lighter chapters, and I was hooked from the first page until the end.

Fairest, Vol.1 – “Wide Awake” (Vertigo)

Writer: Bill Willingham & Matthew Sturges | Artist: Phil Jimenez, Andy Lanning, Steve Sadowski, Mark Farmer, Andrew Pepoy & Shawn McManus | Colours: Andrew Dalhouse & Shawn McManus

Balancing horror, humor and adventure in the FABLES tradition, FAIREST explores the secret histories of Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Cinderella, The Snow Queen, Thumbelina, Snow White, Rose Red and others.

The first 6-issue tale follows the misadventures of Briar Rose immediately after the events of FABLES #107 (collected in FABLES VOL. 16: SUPER TEAM), in which she was stolen away by the goblin army.

The first issue of Fairest was the first comic I’d read written by Bill Willingham. Since then, I’ve read the first five Deluxe editions of Fables, his expansive re-interpretation of fairy tales transposed onto a contemporary setting (New York, for example). He has quickly become one of my favourite comics writers. With a bit more Fables under my belt, I was a little better informed about some of the content of Fairest. This is a superb series.

Recent Acquisitions (November/December)

A pre-Christmas selection of books that I’ve received or purchased over the last few weeks. A very nice selection, all told – only one book probably won’t be reviewed, and that’s because it’s the fifth book in a series I’ve never read. [See below – I’m offering it to a US/Canadian in return for a guest review.]

“Fables” Deluxe Vol.5 (Vertigo)

Writer: Bill Willingham | Artist: Mark Buckingham, Steve Leioloha, David Hahn, Lan Medina, Andrew Pepoy, Dan Green | Colours: Daniel Vozzo

In these tales from FABLES #34-45, Boy Blue undertakes a mission of revenge as he uncovers the Adversary’s true identity! Plus, Jack’s adventures in Hollywood and Mowgli's return to Fabletown!

This is another very strong addition to the series, and I really enjoyed “Homelands” and “Arabian Nights & Days”. “Jack Be Nimble” was also very good, but as the seed of a new spin-off series, and despite featuring one of my favourite characters, it didn’t have quite as much punch. Of course, “not as much punch” when talking about Bill Willingham is still very high quality, so this is nevertheless probably one of my favourite collections.

“Fables” Deluxe Vol.4 (Vertigo)

Another superb collection

Writer: Bill Willingham | Artist: Mark Buckingham, Steve Leioloha, Tony Akins, Jimmy Palmiotti, John Bolton, Charles Vess, Michael Wm. Kaluta, Jill Thompson, Esao Andrews, Tara McPherson, Mark Wheatley, James Jean, Derek Kirk Kim & Brian Bolland | Colours: Daniel Vozzo

Bill Willingham’s hit series FABLES continues here, as issues #28-33 are collected for the first time in hardcover, along with the original graphic novel FABLES: 1001 NIGHTS OF SNOWFALL.

As Fables moves into its fourth deluxe hardcover collection, it just keeps going from strength-to-strength. While the book didn’t quite have as much impact on me as books one to three did, it nevertheless continues the story of these characters in very fine form, and maintains a quality way above that of many other comics – of the same genre and otherwise. This is easily one of my favourite comic series, and this book further confirms why it has been so successful and popular.

“Fables” Deluxe Volume 3 (Vertigo)

Writer: Bill Willingham | Artists: Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Tony Atkins & Jimmy Palmiotti | Colours: Daniel Vozzo

When Little Red Riding Hood suddenly reappears, she’s welcomed as a miraculous survivor by nearly everyone except her old nemesis, Bigby Wolf, who smells espionage and subversion. But will he be able to prove his case before disaster strikes?

Coming back for a third Deluxe collection of Willingham’s Fables, and I am once again impressed, entertained and hooked throughout. The book wasn’t quite as good as the first or second collection, but it was still very strong. This series goes from strength to strength, and I really love the world Willingham et al have created. Another great addition to the series.

“Fables” Deluxe Volume 2 (Vertigo)

Writer: Bill Willingham | Artists: Mark Buckingham, Lan Medina, Craig Hamilton, P.Craig Russell, Bryan Talbot, Linda Medley & Steve Leialoha | Colours: Daniel Vozzo & Lovern Kindzierski

Collecting Issues #11-18 and more. As Snow White recovers from a bullet to the brain, she and Bigby spend a lot of time in each other's company. But when they announce that they’ll be vacationing together, all of Fabletown is shocked. The twosome are about to leave New York City and cross paths with a ruthless enemy lurking in the woods.

In the second deluxe edition of Fables, readers will find six stories – all loosely connected, and all with very different, yet equally inspired, premises. The synopsis above is actually for the third story in the book. I read this book in one sitting and, except for the first story, I think it builds brilliantly on what has come before and reinforces my belief that Fables is an essential graphic novel series for any fan of the medium and also for fans of innovative storytelling as a whole.

“Fables” Deluxe Volume 1 (Vertigo)

The first two arcs of the superb, award-winning series

Writer: Bill Willingham | Artist: Lan Medina, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha & Craig Hamilton | Colours: Sherilyn van Valkenburgh & Daniel Vozzo

When a savage creature known only as the Adversary conquered the fabled lands of legends and fairy tales, all of the infamous inhabitants of folklore were forced into exile. Disguised among the normal citizens of modern-day New York, these magical characters have created their own peaceful and secret society within an exclusive luxury apartment building called Fabletown. When Snow White’s party-girl sister, Rose Red, is apparently murdered, it’s up to Fabletown’s sheriff, the reformed and pardoned Big Bad Wolf, to find the killer. Meanwhile, trouble of a different sort brews at the Fables’ upstate farm where non-human inhabitants are preaching revolution – and threatening Fabletown’s carefully nurtured secrecy.

I’d been on the fence about trying this series for a while – I’d heard great things, but couldn’t decide on whether or not to buy the normal trade paperback collections or the deluxe editions. Alyssa made the decision for me, and got me this book for my birthday. And I am so happy that she did – this is a superb series, and the two story arcs in here are perfect introductions to Willingham’s engaging, inspired and subversive world.

Comics Round-Up (Apr.4) the 2nd

This was going to be a short-and-sweet second round-up, but it turned out I had a fair bit to write about a couple of these issues. It’s a pleasantly varied selection in this post: the world’s greatest super-hero accepts his destiny; things finally kick off between the Avengers and the X-Men; young super-hero sidekicks find themselves as Earth’s last line of defence; fear runs through Gotham; and the zany super-science-heroes finally come to the end of their story!

Reviewed: Action Comics #8, Avengers vs. X-Men #1, Danger Club #1, Detective Comics #8, Fairest #2, Hell Yeah #2, X-Club #5

Comics Round-Up (Mar.14)

Bit of a slow pre-release week selection of comics (only one issue, to be exact), so I’ve included a few issues I picked up late last week – two were great, one good, and one mediocre at best.

Reviewed Herein: Action Comics #7, Fairest #1, Infestation 2: G.I.Joe #1, Wolverine & the X-Men #6,  X-Club #4

Upcoming: March 2012 Previews from Vertigo

If you’ve been in a comic store this past week, you may have either seen or received a new preview sampler issue that includes tastes of four new titles coming from Vertigo next month.

All four titles sound pretty cool, so I thought I’d just share some information on the blog to help generate some interest. I’m quite familiar with two of the series’ writers already, aware of a third, and one of them is an entirely new name to me.

So, read on for some information and quick thoughts on Dominique Laveau: Voodoo Child, Fairest, New Deadwardians and Saucer Country.