Got some actual, honest to god novels coming soon, but schedule is pretty busy for the next few weeks, so more graphics novels for now: Today we learn about the lives of our side characters in the Fables world, and then move the main plot along just a bit.
Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love
What's cooler than James Bond? Cinderlla, that's who. To almost everyone in Fabletown, she's a ditsy jet-setter who can't even be bothered to run her shoe store between 5 star vacations. Only a select few know that for the passed 200 years she's perfected the art of being a kick ass spy. In this story, she is searching for the source of illegal magical goods being sold in the mundy (Nerd translation: Mundy=Muggle) world. On the way she teams up with Aladdin as they defeat death traps, beat up the goons, and have the requisite fling in the sack. It's great!
Cinderella: Fables Are Forever
What would a Bond homage be without a Fable version of the cold war? In this edition, Cindy has to track down an infamous assassin known as "the Silver Slipper" in the Shadow Fabletown in Russia. Have you figured out who the assassin is yet? No? I recently wrote all about her? That's right! It's Dorothy. From Oz. Naturally, there's lots of girl fights, and awesome spy vs. spy stuff. And a really awkward one night stand. All in all, this is a great twist on the spy genre and I look forward to future adventures.
Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland
Bigby Wolf on a solo adventure in Iowa! Ok, so maybe not worthy of an exclamation point, but if your looking for lots and lots of gore, this is a tale for you. In the search for the new Fabletown, Bigby stumbles across Storyville, IA which just happens to be populated solely with werewolves that he accidentally created. This is a slim story, but that actions scenes are pretty great so It's not a total waste of time.
Fairest: Vol. 1, Wide Awake
In a promising new side series, we get to learn the hidden stories of some of our other famous princesses. Up first, Aurora. The tale picks up as Sleeping Beauty is finally awakened after being used as a WMD in the war against the Adversary. Ali Baba has the honors of waking her with true love's kiss. But is it her that he was in love with??? We also get the Fables version of Sleeping Beauty's origin story, which includes much more terrifying fairies, and a bottle imp who ranks high as one of the most obnoxious characters ever. Don't worry though, because things are gonna get AWESOME in....
Fairest: Vol. 2, The Hidden Kingdom
This is a super dark story about one of the more tragic characters in the Fables universe: Repunzel. First off, her magic hair grows 4" per hour, meaning she needs 3 haircuts per day and can't be out in public for more than 45 minutes by herself. Then we learn that she has had two children stolen away from her at birth. Her Search for her long lost children leads her to the Hidden Kingdom of Japanese Fables. Lot's of messed up stuff happens and we learn how this one time, Repunzel turned into a Japanese hair demon a la The Ring and killed all of the stuff everywhere. It's awesome! Oh, and in the coda, they drop a bombshell about Beast's wife Beauty that I won't reveal here. Just check it out.
Fables Vol. 17: Inherit the Wind
Lastly, we get a new volume in the main plotline. The events of the previous book have necessitated choosing a new North Wind, and Bigby and Snow's children are the prime candidates. Also, the 3 other winds have arrived and are plotting to set up a puppet King of the North that they can control. Meanwhile, a revolution is brewing in Oz, the Fables are returning to the Farm, Rose Red is lining up a new job, and a new threat is lying in wait for the Fables when they return to New York. There is a lot of great setup here, and by now, I trust Bill Willingham to pay things off in spades.
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