FABLES #22 REVIEW

[Mike Gonzalez]

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/dc/0204/fables22cvr.jpg"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/dc/0204/fables22cvrt.jpg" align=left alt="Fables #21"></a>Reviewer: Michael C. Gonzalez, mike@animerebirth.com
Quick Rating: Good
Story Title: "Cinderella Libertine”
Suggested for Mature Readers


Who owns the glass slipper?


Written by: Bill Willingham
Cover by: James Jean
Pencils by: Tony Akins
Inks by: Jimmy Palmiotti
Colors by: Daniel Vozzo
Letters by: Todd Klein
Assistant Editor: Mariah Huehner
Editor: Shelly Bond



This thoroughly unfunny review has been done by Mike and Evil Mike and is brought to you by the letters A and 5-

"What a spectacular issue of Fables we have this month! Not only do we get to see a bit of the "Prince Charming Ex-Wives Club", but we're given a side story of sorts, involving murder and deception."

"Oh come on! This, if anything, is a perfect example of narrative fluff! The most that goes on in this story is a minor character from literary history biting the bullet!"

"It's not about that at all. This is like one of those slice-of-life stories that people seem to love so much. I don't understand how everything out there must be broken up into arcs. Not only that, but a certain character receives much-needed characterization to make people actually care about her."

"All right, I'll cede that we need a breather every once in a while."

"What did you think of the death? Wasn't it absolutely ghastly?"

"Not ghastly enough for my tastes, but I'm the devil, of course."

"You're evil."

"You know it. Anyways, I found the fill-in art to be a bit jolting. I wasn't really expecting a change in artists for this month, so the story felt disjointing all around. I don't know, man, this may have been a spectacularly EVIL month in the pages of Vertigo, what with Yorick being tied up and the world of Fables waiting for the inevitable chaos to begin, but I'm still not terribly satisfied this month."

"You're insane. You're just being negative because most issues under the Vertigo imprint are so deep in-story right now that reading one or two doesn't seem quite filling. What you must do, though, is take a step back and take a look at Fables as a whole. If you put this and the last couple issues together, Willingham has put together a strong streak of paceful issues leading up to the inevitable chaos that was foreseen an issue or two ago... and you love chaos."

"You bet your sweet ass I do."

"So look at Fables this month as a continuation of the events that have been slowly forming, and not as a culmination or a beginning. Put aside your need to constantly be entertained like the rest of this ADD riddled generation and read this like a classic fairy tale. Enjoy the subtle nuances that the author employs, and let yourself enter the world that Bigby and Snow live in. Forget about mutants and Reloads and Hereafters, and enter the Vertigo world, a decidedly more stable multi-verse with a more realistic-yet-more-varied set of characters. Tony Akins may be throwing in some disjointed art, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy it any less.”

“I will admit that Akins’ art is clear and expressive, yet a bit inconsistent where faces are concerned. Who cares about faces, though? Look at those curves on Cinderella!”

“Lecher.”

“You know it!”

“I somehow agree with you, though. I’m also a bit shocked that you have yet to call Mr. Crane your hero. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen an artist pull of a convincingly sleazy looking character. Bravo.”

“I see Ichabod becoming the new Wolverine. Just imagine... we can have Uncanny Ichabod Crane, Crane, various crossovers, Weapon C, tens of action figures...”

“I hate you”

“Now you’re seeing things my way!”

Mike is just filling in this month. The regular reviewer will be back to his normal duties after he comes back from a one-way trip to Hades to see evil gigantic cyborg Richard Nixon to look for his missing left sock. Evil Mike apologizes if any of the language he has used within has offended any of you. Not.

ART:
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STORY:
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OVERALL:
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Buy this issue online now from X-World Comics and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=121&cat=FABLES)

[Kizmet]

I really loved this issue and found it very relevant to the arc it interrupted, after all Red Riding Hood is suspected of treason. It seems the Fables, or at least Bigby, deal with someone who might possibly, under certain circumstances betray them fairly harshly... or maybe Bigby's reaction had something to Crane's thoughts about Snow

[Anthony Zisa]

As Kismet said, I liked that though this was a fill-in issue, it continued and advanced certain themes that had already been woven through "March of the Wooden Soldiers." It was a bit jarring, but I'm sure there were salient reasons for interrupting the flow of "March of the Wooden Soldiers."

I was completely taken in by Willingham's red herring this month, and came to the same conclusion as Ichabod at first when we discovered who was sitting in his hotel room. I was like, "Willingham wouldn't!" And, while he didn't, it was a delicious twist, nicely explained.

That being said, the issue did have one or two minor flaws. Firstly, I think Willingham cheated a few times with his red herrings. The entire "yes, you are my lord and I secretly serve only you" thing was a little heavy-handed, and made no sense in the context of the actual ending. Secondly, I think the final French dig was out of place. It didn't seem to flow from the character's voice, particularly in light of some of the history that's been outlined for this particular character. It wasn't enough to ruin my enjoyment of a pretty tight single-issue story, but it did end the issue on a sour note.

Overall, if the issue was to give Mark Buckingham some time to catch up to schedule, as it sort of seems from the stories not really being placed within the current storyline, it was well integrated thematically. In the collection, I sort of hope they put it after or before "March," because it is jarring, but a nicely told story with good, albeit drastically different, art.

--acz

[Zeb Aslam]

Ha! Great review...it was very amusing. I really enjoyed this issue. When I heard that it was going to be a fill-in I was incredibly po'ed as the story is just now entering it's exciting phase, but this was a welcome change of pace, especially if Cinderella shows up in 'March' and this issue was just an intro for her. I also enjoyed how Bigby is capable of going behind Snow's back and accomplishing missions on his own...this shows a side of the character that we've only recieved hints of before and it was nice to see it brought to the fore. And considering how easy it was to off Ichabod I guess he doesn't have as many fans as Snow White, huh? Guess Sleepy Hollow didn't help...;)

[Dan Porter]

Hey, Mike, thanks a WHOLE LOT for the fill in review! I've been busy, as stated in my lengthy War Room post. I'll be back on the job this week, though. Just wanted to say thanks for the fill-in.

-DPorter

[NicholasRogue]

Personally I loved it, so it was a fill in issue, who cares! I'm just glad that Cinderella got a chance to shine, I thought the plot was great and the fill in art by Tony Akins was fine. I really love how Willingham writes Cinderella, I hope she appears more often and not just thrust into the background, now we just need some spotlight time on Beauty and the Beast.

[Matt Lazorwitz]

What this reminded me of was one of those issues of The Sandman that appeared mid-arc, like "Men of Good Fortune" or the Dead Boys story, that are more about theme then forwarding the arc. Mike, I agree that this was a nice breather, kind of giving us the chance to put the first half of the arc in perspective before the next part hits full stride.