From the pages of Fables, one of my all-time
favorite non-superhero comics, and the mind of Bill Willingham, comes Fairest. Where Fables is about a group of
exiled characters from Fairytaleland (men, women, animals, and animated and
enchanted objects) who try to survive in the real world, this series focuses primarily
on the women and their many loves.
The volume has two tales. The first has
Sleeping Beauty being rescued by true love’s kiss. But when her prince ends up
having eyes for another, it seems that true love can awaken Sleeping Beauty, it
just doesn’t mean that that devotion is directed towards her.
The second tale
is a noir themed piece that has Beast (from Beauty and the Beast) on the trail
of an ancient evil that makes the rounds in 5-inch heels. Can he stop her
before she kills again?
I like both stories
very much. The Sleeping Beauty tale has Ali Baba and a certain blue imp that’s
confined to a shiny bottle tied in with
it. It definitely takes many liberties with the stories of Sleeping Beauty and
Aladdin. That’s totally forgivable as it makes for an exciting story that is
very familiar but since it doesn’t quite follow the stories we’ve heard since
the cradle, there’s room for plenty of surprises.
But, I like the
Beast tale the best. The art reminds me of Batman: The Animated Series and it’s
classic and clean. The story is straight from Sam Spade and Mickey Spillane.
I’m not a huge fan of noir, but I do enjoy those type of tales from time to
time. It’s an excellent capper to a very good spin-off. This is no After MASH or
Joey! I can’t wait for to read more!
Worth Consuming.
Rating 9 out of
10 stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment