By: Bill Willingham (story), Mark Buckingham (pencils), Steve Leialoha & Andrew Pepoy (inks), Lee Loughridge (colors)
The Story: The big, bad wolf gets even badder.
The Review: In a rarity for Fables, this issue is mostly a long fight scene, with reactions before and after for padding. That doesn’t give me much to talk about—which is sometimes a relief, as this gig can be quite a load—since the only thing you can really say about such things is: the fight was epic/okay/lame or a character you liked died. If you’re interested in just the bottom line, the Bigby’s battle with Ozma and Beast was pretty lame and two characters you liked (well, I liked) died. Can you guess who?
[Spoiler alert!] I wasn’t surprised that Ozma and Beast bit it in the end, although that did deprive me of the F-Men reunion I was hoping for. I was, however, shocked, grieved, even a little disgusted at the utterly pathetic way the two were brought down. At least Beast got one good hit in before falling on his face and getting massacred inside his armor. Ozma just stands there, regressing to sad, little-girl pleading: “Please wait! I’m not ready to die! Please. I’m not ready.” At no point does she fire off a single actual spell, much less any of the best ones Beast advises her to.*
I understand this is all to emphasize Bigby’s power as the “god of monsters,” but it’s sorry treatment for two longstanding, beloved (I assume) characters. It’s unfortunate, too, that Beast never gets a chance to remind us why he’s an important member of the cast, despite landing the only punch in the battle. At least Ozma delivers one last delightfully condescending blurb for the road. To the NYPD cops watching anxiously on the sidelines, she says:
“Truth is, Commander, you and your men aren’t needed here. In fact, you’d be a liability. This is a big magic situation and you’re all too Mundy to be of help. You’ve all got a bold new age of spells and monsters and miracles to deal with. Whether you want it or not, it’s all about to come crashing down around you. Hope you can adjust.”
When Beast chides her for her bluntness, she sniffs, “American cops learn all of their communication from watching cop shows. Glib and dismissive is fancy erudition to them.” Oh, Ozma, you will be missed.
The worst part is knowing Beast and Ozma won’t be the last victims of Beast’s possessed rampage. Snow prepares to face him herself and even the return of Bellflower (who resumes the name of Totenkinder) gives you a feeling less like hope and more like she may be coming just in time to be bumped off, too, all in an effort to show what an unstoppable force Bigby is for Leigh. This is what I get for underestimating the former nurse’s ability to make any difference all this time.
The art is Buckish. Battle sequences aren’t Buckingham’s forte, but neither do they give him any trouble. Even Ozma’s death, pitiful as it is, doesn’t move him to give much more drama to the scene than usual.
And as for our back-up, we get to see the return of the Three Blind Mice to their Homeland, or, more accurately, the Homeland of their choice. Shawn McManus’ art is fun, highlighting the whimsical nature of the Mice’s outlandish, self-serving logic, but like a lot of these back-ups, your enjoyment will depend on how much you liked the characters to begin with.
Conclusion: Battle scenes have little to do except be as spectacular as possible, and this one falls very short by being mostly underwhelming.
Grade: C+
– Minhquan Nguyen
Some Musings: * Is it too much to hope that maybe her very death is a spell of some kind? It really does seem like the most pathetic fadeout ever for a character that powerful.
Grade
Conclusion