DC Vertigo
Bill Willingham, writer
Phil Jimenez, artist
I've read a number of underwhelming books in the past week. I'm not going to name-drop them here as that would serve no constructive purpose and there's more than enough animosity in our little hobby on the "Internets" anyway. I won't even say that any of these books were bad, as I did finish them all instead of dropping them unfinished in disgust. They just weren't as good as I'd hoped when, in some cases, I specifically sought out these particular story arcs and bought titles or issues I might not have otherwise purchased.
That wasn't the case for this newest offshoot from the Fables title by Willingham et al. In fact, although some time has passed, this story begins directly from events in the main Fables title.
The title, Fairest, refers to the beautifully illustrated women who populate the Fables stories from Snow White to Rose Red to Cinderella to Rapunzel to Belle to Briar Rose, to name just a few. In fact, Briar Rose -- Sleeping Beauty, if you don't already know -- is the central character in this first arc, but the story actually begins with a young man named Ali Baba, prince of thieves.
Ali finds himself in the middle of the charred ruins of the Adversary's former Imperial City, looking to loot anything of value left behind. What he finds is a bejeweled bottle that holds not a genie but a "lowly little bottle imp." The imp, it seems, doesn't possess a great deal of magic for granting wishes, but rather has the ability to secure knowledge: he "knows" things. The imp/comedy relief sidekick tells Ali that he only needs to awaken a sleeping princess to get the untold riches and wealth he craves.
For anyone not familiar with the main Fables book, a long-running story theme dealt with these Fable-folk being driven from their native magical lands by an Adversary who seized control of everything and created a vast empire. In a large war between the denizens of Fabletown and the Adversary, the true power behind the Emperor was captured and most of his minions were defeated. The plan included taking out much of the Imperial City with a sneak attack making use of Briar Rose's unique curse: She was smuggled into the city and put to sleep. As anyone who knows the story of Sleeping Beauty knows, once Briar Rose was put to sleep, everyone within the sphere of her curse's influence also fell asleep. Thus were many of the Adversary's most powerful lieutenants caught off-guard and removed from the battle.
So naturally, once Ali Baba finds the sleeping Briar Rose and awakens her with a kiss, she isn't the only one to wake up, and the trio (don't forget the bottle imp) must contend with some mighty annoyed villains, not least of which is the Ice Queen.
This book, like the main Fables title, is a fun read filled with exotic locales, high adventure, smart writing and let's don't forget gorgeous art. Rumor has it that this title will feature different art teams for each of its different story arcs. Who better to kick the series off than with two artists known for drawing beautiful women: Phil Jimenez on interiors and Adam Hughes on covers.
Kudos, gentlemen!
No comments:
Post a Comment