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Fables Vol 21: Happily Ever After Graphic Novel Review

Fables Vol 21: Happily Ever AfterErica gives this comic one star.Fables Vol 21: Happily Ever After by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges
Art: Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Andrew Pepoy, Dan Green, Eric Shanower, Tony Akins, Shawn McManus, Nimit Malavia, Jae Lee, Terry Moore, Russ Braun, and Chrissie Zullo

I thought this was going to be the final chapter of Fables. Nope, they are dragging it out. Issue #150, the final one, will be supersized and all its own trade. It’s great to already feel ripped off before I even buy it. Woohoo!

Currently, the biggest Fables mystery is how Brandish is still alive. I know there’s a magical spell and all that jazz. However, seems like he would be a prime target for everyone wanting to murder him. I know I do.

It’s hard for me not to cheer for Snow White and actually see a way that Rose Red will win this. I very much hate sexist plots that pit women against each other. I do not care if this legend around their mother Lauda has any credit in historical fables. It plays out as a bunch of sexist bullshit pitting women against each other and only having one women “win” in the end. And here we have Bigby being the prize.

Yep, the two sisters are fighting over a man.

(A man who Snow White married and had seven children with. But we can ignore the proceeding 100+ comic books.) Two women fighting over a man, it’s a misogynist dream come true! Continue reading “Fables Vol 21: Happily Ever After Graphic Novel Review”

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Fables (Vol 19): Snow White Graphic Novel Review

Fables Vol 19: Snow WhiteErica gives this comic two starsFables (Vol 19): Snow White by Bill Willingham
Art: Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Shawn McManus, and Andrew Pepoy

Let’s start with half this trade being taken up by the tale of Bufkin and the overthrow of the Gnome King that ruled Oz. Boring. There were no emotional connections. It felt like reading some kind of dry history textbook, not enjoying the story. And Lily felt like a fetishized woman who did everything for love. Her obsession with Bufkin started out as gross, and then the end where it shows the “three times they fell in love and she pumped out a bunch of babies” made Bufkin also gross. He could only love her if they were the same species. And all Lily wanted was love, babies, and to play house. They only did things when they were different species. Don’t even get me started on the weird note that when they were both Barelycorn, they had a boatload of children, but the children all died.

Then we meet Prince Brandish. Or more that we discover Werian Holt is actually Prince Brandish, who back-in-the-day was betrothed to Snow White after she and Rose Red broke a curse where he was turned into a bear. Frankly, after seeing more of him in action, he was much better off as a bear. Continue reading “Fables (Vol 19): Snow White Graphic Novel Review”

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Fairest Vol 1: Wide Awake Graphic Novel Review

Fairest Vol 1: Wide AwakeErica gives this comic three starsFairest Vol 1: Wide Awake by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges
Art: Phil Jimenez, Andy Lanning, Steve Sadowski, Mark Farmer, Andrew Pepoy, and Shawn McManus

I was super excited for Fairest. I’d really hoped for some great stories focused on the women of Fables, telling who they are and giving them great agency. However, I found myself somewhat disappointed by this book. Lots of mixed feelings here. As much as I’m happy to have Briar Rose and the Snow Queen back in circulation, it could’ve been better.

My biggest gripe with Briar Rose and the Snow Queen’s literal revival was that they told it through the eyes of Ali Baba. A man became the center of the first volume of Fairest. And to make it worst, the main conflict between the two women becomes Ali Baba’s love. Or at least some competition around it.

Jonah Panghammer wasn’t quite as amusing as Willingham thought he was, despite the funny Firefly moment. Though it was a nice irony for Ali. And for what readers were probably expecting by Jonah’s addition to the tales. Continue reading “Fairest Vol 1: Wide Awake Graphic Novel Review”

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Fables: Super Team (Vol 16) Graphic Novel Review

Fables: Super Team (Vol 16) Erica gives this comic three stars

Fables: Super Team (Vol 16) by Bill Willingham
Art: Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Eric Shanower, Terry Moore, Andrew Pepoy, and Richard Friend

This entire volume of Fables felt like a filler. And not in a good way. There wasn’t anything particularly bad about this volume; it just seemed to not really go anywhere.

It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of Bufkin. First, I don’t like monkeys. And second, I don’t like unnecessary male heroes who have the type of story that a woman character would never have. Now Bufkin is apparently going to take over pan-Oz from its evil rulers. I really hope this storyline is not cut-and-dry or evil-vs-good. (Good, of course, being whatever side Bufkin is on.)

I love the twist that Beast has lost his curse to his daughter, Bliss. I’m really curious at where this will go. Of course, with Bliss being a baby, it’s probably not going anywhere very quickly. Continue reading “Fables: Super Team (Vol 16) Graphic Novel Review”

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Fables (Vol 14): Witches Graphic Novel Review

Fables: Witches by Bill WillinghamErica gives this comic three stars

Fables (Vol 14): Witches by Bill Willingham

I felt somewhat disappointed by Witches. I’ve been long waiting for more stories about Frau Totenkinder and the spell-casters, and I felt that as soon as this story got going, it stopped. While the trade itself is not thin, the story felt thin. Plus, the beginning with Bigby ranting felt really Mary Sue-ish, and it started off the whole trade with a bad taste in my mouth.

Part of it was that I’m not very entranced with Bufkin’s story. While I totally understand how Willingham likes to tell the stories where the underdog wins, Bufkin verses Continue reading “Fables (Vol 14): Witches Graphic Novel Review”

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Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love Comic Book Review

Cinderella: From Fabletown with LoveErica gives this comic three starsI’ve always loved what Willingham did with Cinderella, so I was very excited to read Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love by Chris Roberson and Shawn McManus. And this miniseries doesn’t fail to disappoint when it comes to more kick ass Cinderella. She’s still a super spy and all that jazz.

Let me first say that I loved Chrissie Zullo’s covers. They are gorgeous. I want prints of them on my walls. I do think that their beauty helped make this series the success that it was. It’s always a draw.

In this tale, Beast sends Cindy on a mission after there’s a flood of magical objects into the Mundy world. She needs to figure who’s doing it and stop them. The auctions are happening in Dubai. (Which immediately sends me bad feelings about where this story is headed given the downright racism in other tales concerning Arabian fables. But I gave Roberson the benefit of the doubt until I read it.)

Before taking off, Cinderella must check on her shoe store, The Glass Slipper. Her employee Crispin is not pleased with all her globetrotting and how she never likes his designs. Of course, he has no idea that she’s a spy. In fact, he thinks that she’s having an affair with Beast, instead of getting debriefed on secret missions.

Cindy also visits Frau Totenkinder for a magical bracelet and ring. Continue reading “Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love Comic Book Review”

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Reviews Fables (Vol 13) The Great Fables Crossover

Fables Vol 13Erica gives this comic three starsFables (Vol 13): “The Great Fables Crossover” by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges

My first biggest problem with this storyline is my complete and utter dislike of Jack Horner. Jack isn’t written as a likable guy, and he’s definitely portrayed as a con-man who’d sell his own mother and sleep with his half-sisters. (Which he did the latter.) However, the text continually lets him walk away without any punishment or responsibility for his actions. Okay, Bigby beats him up; but what does that really teach him?

Usually characters like Jack follow some redemptive path, but Jack hasn’t changed since the first issue of Fables. Which is exactly why I don’t read his spin-off, and I was, in general, pretty happy for his departure from the main title. Of course, Jack wasn’t my only dislike with this story. Continue reading “Reviews Fables (Vol 13) The Great Fables Crossover”