Fables #142 – Review

By: Bill Willingham (story), Mark Buckingham (pencils), Steve Leialoha & Andrew Pepoy (inks), Lee Loughridge (colors)

The Story: Sisters, sisters, never where there such destructive sisters.

The Review: Last issue, when Maddy came around Wolf Manor declaring that war between Snow and Rose was practically inevitable, I wondered idly how Maddy expected Snow to fight a war all by herself when Rose had an entire kingdom at her back. I had forgotten about Winter’s preparations for this very possibility back in #137, which goes to show just how involved and sprawling and foresighted Fables can be. [It also goes to show my memory is shot since bar prep began, but I digress.]

But what are Winter’s plans, anyway? There must be something more delicate going on than a meet-force-with-force strategy, otherwise she wouldn’t be so threatened by Maddy’s interference. Then again, considering the forces she’s gathered (which now includes all her wolfish uncles), the outcome can go either way: mutually assured destruction or stalemate by threat of the same.

Meanwhile, Snow and Rose are trying to avoid a war altogether, which seems wise considering their conflict is of a purely personal nature on a relatively narrow issue. Both agree that Brandish is horrible; their only point of contention is what to do with him. So kudos to Snow for telling Maddy that getting up in arms is not an appropriate first step, and to Rose for trying to get a quiet word with Snow before the situation escalates. Unfortunately for both, the fateful nature of their fabled existence may not give them much choice in the matter; the moment the two make contact, armor and swords of contrasting light and dark appear, begging for a fight.

This is a maddening distraction when they all have a real problem on their hands. Bigby’s rampage has attracted Mundy attention, which hasn’t been a threat to Fabletown in a long time, I presume, and he’s grown completely indiscriminate in his attacks, felling Mundy and Fable alike. On the plus side, their concern for Bigby has given the Fables an opportunity to unite behind a common goal, potentially their last. And perhaps Snow can put the arms and armor to good use against her husband rather than her sister.

There’s not much question why Bigby’s acting as he does, now that we’ve seen the ring Leigh’s forged from a shard of his body. The cover of the issue also prominently shows a hairless patch on Bigby’s scalp that’s heavily scarred, as if the surgeons didn’t do a very good job sewing him up after his lobotomy. But if he’s acting subject to Leigh’s control, what’s the purpose of targeting the Mundys? Luring out the Fables until she can seize control of the entire town herself?

I must confess that the back-up had little pull on me since it features Sinbad, a character of whom I have no familiarity whatsoever. He was before my time on the series, obviously. For true-blue fans, I’m sure you’ll get a kick to see his future exploits, but for the rest of us, his speak-softly-with-a-big-stick style to political negotiation yields limited pleasures. Eric Shanower, artist for the feature, is a find, though. Simultaneously cartoonish and sophisticated, he’s a perfect fit for the Fables sensibility.

Every single time I talk about Buckingham, I always go through the same formula of analysis: pleasant, straightforward, enjoyable, convincing, otherwise unremarkable. Blame me for my lack of artistic expertise, but I just can’t find new ways to describe it month after month. Perhaps it’s best if I just distill all that into a single word—like “Buckish”—and just lead off with that from now on: “It’s all very Buckish, which is a comfortingly reliable thing”; “Buckish, with a few missteps here and there”; “Buckish, with a superb twist in the middle.” How about it?

Conclusion: You always enjoy your time with a Fables issue, even if it doesn’t inspire the heady eagerness of its early days.

Grade: B

– Minhquan Nguyen

Some Musings: – I just find it hilarious that Santa Claus is part of Winter’s army. Is he gonna distract the opposition by throwing presents among them? Perhaps detonate a scatter of coals? Actually, I would love to see both of those scenarios.

– Off-page, Rose and Lance’s relationship has progressed to the point where she now refers to him as her “one true love,” which is almost ominously sappy for her.