Fables Vol. 15: Rose Red [Paperback]

Bill Willingham (Author), Mark Buckingham (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: April 12, 2011

The next collection in the New York Times best selling series.

Rose Red, sister of Snow White, has finally hit rock bottom. Does she stay there, or is it time to start the long, tortuous climb back up? The Farm is in chaos, as many factions compete to fill the void of her missing leadership. And there’s a big magical fight brewing down in the town square, right under her window.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Vertigo; First Edition edition (April 12, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401230008
• ISBN-13: 978-1401230005
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.7 x 10.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,499 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #49 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Mythology & Folk Tales > Fairy Tales
  • #98 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Graphic Novels > Fantasy

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb. April 12, 2011

By Sean Curley

Format:Paperback

"Fables" hits its fifteenth trade paperback collection, and another individual-issue milestone with the release of the mammoth issue #100 (which was originally released in a format much more akin to a trade paperback than a single issue of a comic). Bill Willingham's series has now been running for nearly a decade, and has been for quite a while the centrepiece of the Vertigo imprint's output. This is one of the strongest volumes in a while, benefiting tremendously from a strong sense of drama and story momentum that some fans felt the series had lost a bit following the major changes to the series in issue #75. The full trade collects issues 94-100 of the ongoing series. Some spoilers follow.

The bulk of the collection consists of the "Rose Red" story arc that gives the volume its name. As you might divine from the name, it focusses on Rose Red, Snow White's oft-overlooked sister, who has been despondent since the death of Boy Blue nearly 25 episodes earlier. Finally, Willingham gets around to addressing her situation and the role she must play in Fabletown. This story is intercut with a fairly lengthy depiction of Rose and Snow's backstory, told in the Fables-verse for the first time. Willingham shows how the "Snow-White and Rose-Red" and "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" stories are made to fit together, despite seemingly contradictory elements (also incorporating parts of Snow's backstory previously revealed in "1001 Days of Snowfall").

That aside, arguably the centrepiece of the collection is issue #100 and its leadup, as the struggle between the Fables and the evil Mr. Dark (the avatar of darkness, essentially) comes to a head. Frau Totenkinder, the witch in a thousand different fairytales (including "Hansel and Gretel"), prepares to unleash the full force of her power to defeat a being that has previously vanquished whole armies of the Empire's mages. The resulting story takes a number of twists and turns, but I will say that Totenkinder's fate, if this is indeed the last we see of her in the series, I found rather surprising. It's not how I would ever have pictured her ending up, but based on her origin (also in "1001 Days"), it seems oddly fitting.

Highly recommended.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "So now, let's end this properly! With the brutal mathematics of knife and claw!" April 17, 2011

By H. Bala TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

For my money, Vertigo is the most prestigious, most rewarding label in DC Comics' stable, and FABLES, still the best comic book currently going. FABLES Vol. 15: ROSE RED collects issues #94-100, darkly stirs up the pot, furthers Mr. Dark's incursion into the Mundy world (that's our world, yo!). Where last we left things: In the ruins of Fabletown strides Mr. Dark, one of the Great Powers and the embodiment of shadow and fear and all things creepy crawly. From Fabletown Mr. Dark is systematically expanding his influence, corrupting New York City, amassing (and consuming) precious, tasty teeth ripped from his victims' jaws. The surviving human Fables have fled to the hidden Farm in upstate New York, abode of the beastly Fables who cannot pass for humans. And in the course of things, several factions engage in a power struggle. Geppetto, manipulative old despot that he is, throws his hat in the game. Sly gambits are pitched by Ozma, newly elected head of them witchcrafty folks what used to dwell on the 13th Floor of the old Woodland building. Meanwhile, Brock Blueheart, the newly renamed badger (formerly "Stinky"), pushes on with his newly launched religion promoting Boy Blue as an Arthurian figure.

That insurrection is nigh is due primarily to the inaction of the Farm's director. Red Rose simply won't stir out of bed. Still grieving and remorseful over Boy Blue's death, she languishes in dirt and despondency. And if pep talk from a pig's head affixed on a pole can't rouse you, then it's a truly sad state in which you wallow.

I've pretty much used up all the superlatives in reviewing Willingham's past Fables trades. There are no more words to describe how so very good this guy is writing this comic book. And I'd be remiss if I didn't rave about Mark Buckingham and Steve Leialoha's clean, evocative art, again the perfect visual complement to Willingham's storytelling. Willingham is a master of pacing, is so expert at constructing a deep sense of anticipation. Several issues in this trade commit to chronicling Snow White and Rose Red's childhoods, and so we get to peek behind-the-scenes of that familiar fairy tale. We learn that Snow White's past is marked with bloody bleak moments, and that those pleasant Disneyfied seven dwarves were actually the vilest of mothereffers. We learn the details behind the falling out of these two previously inseparable sisters.

This volume is titled "Rose Red," so maybe we should talk her up some. This run of issues tells of how Snow White's sister shakes off her malaise and again shoulders her responsibilities. Rose doesn't quite receive the same epic treatment that Willingham graced on Boy Blue and Flycatcher and even on the blue flying monkey, Bufkin. But it's a delight watching Rose so confidently dispense with one crisis after another. Still, I expected her to have a larger role in this arc than she actually did.

But if anyone, it's Frau Totenkinder who is elevated into a character of grander consequence. Not that she needed a boost in street cred. Willingham commemorates the fabulous landmark 100th issue, tracking at one hundred pages, by showcasing the much anticipated duel between Mr. Dark and Frau Totenkinder. I'll say the showdown lived up to my expectations. And I admit that Frau Totenkinder is easier on the eyes now that she's assumed her original form. Other highlights in this issue include the birth of Beauty and the Beast's baby and Snow White's exquisite dressing down of the mean-spirited Mrs. Spratt. And, oh, but this arc has plenty of swerves.

The bonus stuff from the 100th issue is compiled here. I liked the switcheroo piece, "Pinocchio's Army," in which Buckingham writes the prose and writer (and sometime artist) Bill Willingham provides the occasional illustrations. "Pinocchio's Army" follows Pinocchio's attempts to cheer up Geppetto. In the aftermath of the epic duel between Mr. Dark and Totenkinder, we get two short stories: "A Thing With Those Mice" (with art by cover artist Joao Ruas) and "The Perils of Thumbelina." The illustrated Q & A segment features FABLES characters responding to questions by celebrities like Phil LaMarrl, Eddie Cahill, and sexy Cobie Smulders (from HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER). The Fables Paper Puppet Theater allows you to cut out FABLES characters (cut outs of established Fables locations also included). There's the "Escape to Wolf Manor" board game. And, lastly, you can marvel at Buckingham's fine detail work in his eleven-paged sketchbook.

If you're anticipating a resolution to the Mr. Dark dilemma, well, Willingham is stingy on that front. What happens in this "Rose Red" arc closes several doors but opens other avenues. We say goodbye to one of my favorite characters whose parting vow is: "But you'll not see me again." (We'll see.) As our Fables characters endure and move on, Bigby Wolf is deployed on another mission. The threat is very far from ended. Willingham keeps the FABLES engine running, hopefully keeps it running for another few hundred issues.

One question is nagging the hell out of me: Who was that creature, really, that got Rose out of her funk, and got such a reaction from Rose when she found out who it really was?

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Volume 15 is One of the Highlights of the Series August 1, 2011

By Nicola Manning TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

Reason for Reading: next in the series.

First, this is a satisfyingly huge volume coming in at over 250 pages; this is because it includes the celebratory 100th issue in which they included lots of extras. I loved this volume! The main story is carried along nicely, plenty of characters have resolutions in their lives, we see the departure of a character that's been in from the beginning and then the start of new story threads are briefly introduced.

The book starts off with the title story "Rose Red" which consists of 5 chapters and takes a deep look at Red's character and the mess she is currently in. We are taken back into her past when she was a little girl with "Fables" retellings of "Snow White & Rose Red" and "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". This is the real focus of the volume and takes up over 100 pages. A very satisfying story; I've been unhappy with the direction of Red's character lately and this is a rewarding read. Of special note is that Red is exposed to a stunning reveal but, we the reader, are not made privy to what she sees. I have an idea as to what it is though, so we'll see if I'm right in future volumes.

Next we're taken into the Dark City for a single chapter to spend some time with the Dark Man and see what he is up to and planning for the future of the world. Then onto a long single chapter in which all things come to a head when there is an ultimate battle (well, duel, really) between the Dark Man and one character who has long planned to take him on.

At this point we are treated to the bonus material with two short stories, one featuring Thumbelina and the other the Three Blind Mice. Then a longer short story which is written in text about Pinocchio and Geppetto. Finally finishing off with some fun stuff, a few graphic shorts, a Fables Puppet Theatre (which can be photocopied and actually built and played with), a Board Game and finally a sketchbook of Mark Buckingham's work.

All the little extras are a lot of fun, but the two main plot developments of Rose Red and the Dark Man carry the story along wonderfully and leave us poised for the next volume. All the other characters do appear also and everybody gets a little character development or move forward in their plot. Beauty finally has her baby and it isn't what she was expecting at all! A highlight in the series!