I really have to kick myself for reading these out of
order. Nevertheless, it’s a testament to
their excellence that I can still conclude that volumes 10, 14, and 15 are
truly superb pieces of writing. The
introduction of Dunster Happ, drawn beautifully by Jim Fern and Craig Hamilton,
makes a lot more sense of what happened in vol. 15. The machinations of Ozma, Totenkinder, Maddy,
and Geppetto are fascinating and exceedingly well-drawn by the high-flying,
practically perfect Mark Buckingham.
One thing in which Fables
excels is incredible turnarounds from underdogs. Certainly, Willingham is not afraid to kill
off good and likeable characters. By the
same token, he did masterful things with Flycatcher (aka Prince Ambrose) in The Good Prince, making it probably,
still, my favorite Fables volume to
date. Furthermore, just when we thought
Rose Red was stewing, she hit back in a big way in vol. 15 (though strictly
speaking that’s in the future, but given I’ve already read it . . .). Totenkinder/Bellflower has perhaps one of the
best “yee-haw” fist-punching moments in vol. 15, as well, but that should in no
way diminish the crazy and utterly delectable heights the Bufkin story reaches
in vol. 14. Poor old sidelined
Bufkin. No longer. Ambrose triumphed in spite of his moral
ideals. Bufkin triumphs due to his
book-smarts. It’s great and inspiring
stuff.
No comments:
Post a Comment