Some SPOILERS for those who haven't yet read prior FABLES TPBs.
The man crush continues. I'm a late comer to FABLES, but I've been down with Bill Willingham for some time now. I've long held the notion that Willingham's ELEMENTALS was the utter shiznit, but, now, while I still have love for that 1980s series, it's clear that FABLES has surpassed that earlier work. In the multi-award winning FABLES Willingham juggles with dexterity a large cast of characters and continues to develop rich, complex story arcs.
Willingham takes characters from classic fairy tales, from mythology and folklore, and even from literature, and plants them collectively in a residential Manhattan neighborhood (referred to by those in the know as Fabletown). Even as these exiled fables strive to hide their magical nature from the unsuspecting human (or "mundy") population, they exist in constant dread of the terrible Adversary, who drove them out of their Homelands so, so long ago.
Alarming events have shaped the recent years. After centuries of indifference, the Adversary had finally set his eyes on Fabletown. When his attempted invasion failed (see
Fables Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers), Fabletown took retaliatory measures against the Adversary's Empire and struck a devastating blow. The Adversary - whose true identity is none other than Pinocchio's erstwhile kindly woodcarver, Gepetto - means to exact serious friggin' revenge. So it's war now, on the horizon.
By the All-seeing Eye of Agamotto, this series is crazy good, and so enthralling. Bill Willingham has done a wonder with his world-building, and one can sense his love of mythology and folklore by the care he puts into his storytelling. As ever, he lends a gritty believability to his fairy tale cast, invests them with real emotions and fleshed-out histories. And, hurrahs and huzzahs for me, brother, because, after several weeks of catching up, I'm finally to this most recent trade paperback. FABLES Vol. 11: WAR AND PIECES collects issues #70-75, and arrives at that thing Willingham had been working up to from issue one. Fabletown goes to war against the Adversary.
But, before the main event, issue #70 presents "Kingdom Come," which is basically a calm-before-the-storm sort of tale, noteworthy for the last-minute war council among the leaders of Fabletown and also for Boy Blue's confession of love to Rose Red. Niko Henrichon provides cool guest artwork and colors.
Next is the two-part "Skullduggery" as Cinderella, Fabletown's intrepid super spy, takes on a deadly mission to recover an invaluable package but runs into enemy agents. Cinderella, Cinderella - can stomp on any fella. Cindy demonstrates why she's the world's greatest secret agent, and there's also a further development with Rodney and June, spies for the evil Empire.
Even as Cindy is doing her covert thing, the war is already in progress. Narrated in three issues, "War and Pieces" brings to a climax what has been the overriding storyline for this series' entire run thus far. In depicting this all out war between Fabletown and the Empire, Willingham manages to tell a compelling story. The core characters are deeply involved, including Bigby Wolf, my favorite dude. With the Fabletown refugees so outmanned by the Adversary's minions, they have to resort to unconventional war tactics (unconventional in the fairy tale sense). As such, they make good use not only of magic but also of modern mundy technology (guns, explosives, and, yes, bungee cords). The battle plan hinges on three main deployments: a flying wooden ship - manned by European and Arabian fables alike, and powered by many, many magic carpets - out to target the Empire's interdimensional gateways; a secret camp in the Imperial Homeworld, established to serve as Fabletown's last getaway resort and supervised by Bigby Wolf; and the infiltration in the heart of the enemy's capital of a classic fairy tale character, armed with a needle (some points for originality taken away on this one, as this ploy had already been used by Bigby; however, as a military course of action, it really is brilliant).
It starts out well for the good guys as Gepetto's puppet Emperor is befuddled by this unfamiliar brand of warfare. But, then again, he's got the advantage of overwhelming forces, and he employs that. Willingham goes into good detail about the minutiae of running a war, of presenting both sides' military tactics and strategies. And it's nice to see that, with things on the line, there's no one more efficient or reliable than Snow White in running the home office. Most of the story is told thru Boy Blue's perspective, and that's cool, as I've cottoned to this unassuming guy. He and the Witching Cloak are pivotal in Fabletown's schemes.
"War and Pieces" is a rousing story, but not perfect. Firstly, it should've extended past its mere three issues. For an event which took 75 issues to build, this should've been as long as the magnificent nine-part epic "The Good Prince," which came just before. As it is, "War and Pieces" doesn't resonate quite as richly as "The Good Prince." Also, the war felt a bit too one-sided, therefore shedding a bit of that sense of jeopardy. However, having read the ominous issues which follow "War and Pieces," the exiles of Fabletown may soon regret this war even more. Without the Empire's rigid control, old powers again roam the Homelands. There may be worse things than the Adversary, after all. If I read it right, the next FABLES volume will be titled "The Dark Ages," and it should be another excellent entry into the trade collection. It's gratifying to see that Willingham isn't yet parched for plot ideas.
Mark Buckingham and Steve Leialoha are the workhorse artists, and they bring a consistent visual look. As ever, James Jean's covers are marvelous stuff. FABLES: Vol. 11: WAR AND PIECES also features a Willingham afterword and a Buckingham sketchbook. FABLES is very much for mature readers (the content - and, definitely, the language - can get a little raw). Anyway, few can match the richness and complexity of this series. Throw in the occasional snarky humor and Willingham's always diverting fairy tale twists, and what you have is, for my money, the best comic book currently going. I have no doubt that those normally not into comic books will still become rapidly hooked with Bill Willingham's terrific storytelling. And, so, the man crush continues.
