Fables, v. 11: War and Pieces

Collects: Fables #70-5 (2008)

Released: November 2008 (DC / Vertigo)

Format: 192 pages / color / $17.99 / ISBN: 9781401219130

What is this?: The battle for the Homelands begins as the Fables in exile take the fight to the Adversary

The culprits: Writer Bill Willingham, penciler Mark Buckingham, and artist Niko Henrichon

Anticipation, like fame, is a difficult beast. It’s hard to capture and harder to hold onto, and often it turns out to be a bit of a burden.

Writer Bill Willingham, penciler Mark Buckingham, and a host of other artists have been building the story of the exile Fables for the past six years, telling stories of the community of exiled storybook characters as they first resisted the Adversary who drove them from their homelands and then put themselves into a position to return the favor. Willingham has been building to this volume — Fables, v. 11: War and Pieces — which I’ve read was originally supposed to end the series. (I can’t find a primary source, so you’ll have to take my word for that.)

But ultimately, War and Pieces disappoints, for the same reason The Good Prince disappoints. The hints and mysteries have all come to an end, and there is not enough suspense to replace them. There seems little danger, little challenge for the Fables during their war. They have their plan, which involves a flying ship filled with mundy weapons, and it is nearly unassailable. It all works too well. Willingham tries to make it appear anyone can die — and there are casualties — but one or two small reversals can’t create that atmosphere. It may seem like a spoiler to say the outcome’s never in doubt, but it’s obvious from the beginning, and there aren’t enough red herrings in the actual story to deceive. The anticipation of a tale of love and glory, a case of do or die, is blunted; I don’t think War and Pieces will live up to whatever story the reader has built up in his mind.

More enjoyable is the two-part story that kicks off the action, “Skullduggery,” in which superspy Cinderella retrieves a “package” in Tierra del Fuego. There is the action, the suspense, that the main story lacks, that the larger story of Fables has only rarely lost. Willingham and Buckingham do an excellent job with these little caper stories, and this one is no exception.

Buckingham’s art, as always, is a joy to see. It’s pretty, obviously, but Buckingham gives the story his usual attention to detail, interesting panel layouts, and page borders. Niko Henrichon supplies the art for the first issue in War and Pieces; it’s hard for me to give it a fair shake. It isn’t to my taste — a bit scratchy and imprecise for me — and the polished, smooth work from Buckingham only emphasizes the qualities in Henrichon’s work that I dislike. Fortunately, the subject matter — it’s a story about relationships — is a better fit to his style than the action pieces that follow.

This is a definite finish to the storyline that started in 2002, and it’s all wrapped up tidily, despite the narration’s insistence that there’s still a wild ride ahead. (I don’t doubt that there is; it’s just it spoils the ending, the triumph, the creators have spent so long building toward when they add a discordant note that late in the story.) This story is not a flop, like Episodes II and III of Star Wars; it isn’t even the disappointment that surrounded Episode I. It just isn’t as good as the overall, 75-issue story Willingham and Buckingham have created.

Rating: (3 of 5)

Fables, v. 10: The Good Prince

Collects: Fables #60-9 (2007-8)

Released: June 2008 (DC / Vertigo)

Format: 240 pages / color / $17.99 / ISBN: 9781401216863

Fables, as I mentioned in my previous review, tells the story of characters and creatures out of legends and fairy tales who have made their way to our world as refugees from a world-devouring Adversary. In Fables, v. 10: The Good Prince, one of the Fables tries to reclaim a conquered kingdom for the first time as the rest of the Fables prepare and wait for war.

Writer Bill Willingham’s plot is essentially divided in two: the ramping up of tensions and revelations to what looks like an inevitable war and the story of bumbling janitor Fly, who becomes King Ambrose. The war preparations are more interesting; here, long-term hints are confirmed or denied, further threads are spun, and pieces are put in place for the final conflict. This is the path the series has been journeying down for six or so years, and it dominates the first half of the book.

Fly’s story, which occupies the second half, is a dead end, in which Fly goes to meet his destiny against the Adversary’s forces. After Fly arrives at his destination, his battles are seemingly effortless; he does what he wants, and the Empire’s troops are helpless to stop him. There’s little suspense here, even in whether Fly lives or dies, because either way, his story ends here. Mainly it seems an exercise in making the Adversary’s armies a more even match for the mobilizing free Fables.

Mark Buckingham does his usual great job on art, with an amazing amount of detail. As I said in my review of Fables, v. 7: Arabian Days (and Nights), I love his gorgeous art, with its smooth line and outstanding range. I still can’t help marveling over the page border art Buckingham designs for each setting in each issue, with the art occasionally taking over the border space if needed.

Also included is a one-issue story (#64) that focuses on Snow White and Bigby’s cubs learning the secret of their seventh sibling. It’s a nice change of pace in the middle of the book that doesn’t detract from the main plot. Aaron Alexovitch’s art is perfect for this more lighthearted tale; the art’s manga influences allow Alexovitch to show the exaggerated emotions of a pack of five-year-olds and Rose and Boy Blue’s awkward mutual crush.

Despite the unsatisfying chunks to the story, Prince keeps the story moving without derailing it. And until the big payoff, that’s really all we need, even if we hope for more.

Rating: (2.5 of 5)

Fables, v. 7: Arabian Days (and Nights)

Collects: Fables #42-7 (2005-6)

Released: June 2006 (DC)

Format: 144 pages / color / $14.99 / ISBN: 1401210007

Having revealed the identity of the mastermind villain in the sixth volume of Fables, writer Bill Willingham and artist Mark Buckingham take a step to the side in Fables, v. 7: Arabian Nights (and Days). Instead of dealing with the Adversary, the Fables have their first contact with the fables of another culture.

The Arabian Fables show up in the form of Sinbad and his retinue, and as one might expect, certain characteristics of the American / Iraqi relationship appear. And that’s where Arabian Nights falls down.

Sinbad’s retinue contains two sore spots for the Fables: slaves, for the obvious reasons, and a djinn, because it is an incredibly destructive weapon (and of course, the back cover of the TPB compares the djinn to a WMD). Both of these problems are dealt with ridiculously easily, and the resulting conflict is swept under the flying carpet much too easily. Imprisonment, torture, and nation building are shuffled off the stage as quickly as they occur. Perhaps it will be dealt with in future issues; Willingham has left the probability it will.

It doesn’t matter whether Willingham’s story is critical of the failures or supportive of the successes that have occurred in Iraq. It’s just that the story calls up these echoes of the present conflict, then dismisses them without saying anything.

The volume ends with a long story of Rodney and June, wooden soldiers who wish to become human to express their love. The wooden-creatures-wanting-to-be-human story doesn’t resonate with me, and although it is well done, there is no deep message or twist ending to redeem the story for me.

That aside, the established characters do continue to grow and change. Mayor Prince Charming shows his true colors and gets a pair of dressings down for it; Old King Cole gets to show why he was mayor for so long; Red Riding Hood begins to develop a personality; and Beauty and the Best start to slip out from under their predecessors’ shadows. Snow’s cubs continue to grow, and Frau Totenkinder shows why you don’t mess with Frau Totenkinder.

Something I take for granted is Buckingham’s art. Not only is the art pretty to look at, with a smooth line that can exaggerate when need be, but there are also small touches that make it enjoyable: small cartoons at the top of each page and background art along the margins. The art has life; it is vivid. The story of Rodney and June, on the other hand, is by Jim Fern, and although it’s competent, it just seems bland and stiff (appropriate, that latter characteristic) compared to Buckingham’s work.

This is probably my least favorite volume of Fables. If you’re reading the series already, though, you’re going to read Arabian Nights anyway. And if you’re not, you definitely are not going to start here.

Rating: (2.5 of 5)