COMICS: Fables, Volume Ten

Fables: The Good Prince
By Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Aaron Alexovich & Andrew Pepoy
Color, 238pp (Softcover)
Published by Vertigo, $17.99

Simply put, this volume (the tenth in this ongoing series), demonstrates why Bill Willingham is one of the most consistently creative and entertaining writers working in comics today. No matter how many half-baked superhero crossovers DC ropes him into, he always brings his "A" game to Fables, and this volume is as good as any in the series. Following up a volume that consisted of a number of shorter stories (Sons of Empire), Willingham continues to tease the inevitable battle royal while creating a minor epic (nine issues plus a one-issue interlude) starring a formerly-obscure character. The story offers lots for long-time readers to chew on, and succeeds well enough on its own merits to serve as an entertaining standalone tale for new readers who don't mind having five years' worth of spoilers revealed.

THE COMIC
For the first several years of Fables' run, The character of Flycatcher seemed to exist mostly for comic relief. The former Frog Prince worked as a laid-back janitor and comfortably filled the role of Friendly Neighborhood Stoner. But the standalone volume 1000 Nights of Snowfall revealed his gruesome backstory, his memory of that tragedy was restored in Sons of Empire, and in this installment, Flycatcher – the titular Prince Ambrose – is bent on revenge, and launches an extremely unconventional invasion of the Homelands that brings back a number of gone-but-not-forgotten Fables and points the way to the future of the series.

It starts when he naïvely asks Boy Blue to give him the terrible Vorpal Blade to launch a one-man assault on the Homelands. This necessitates a quick but firm lecture on the realities of war (and magic) by Blue, and serves as an ironic introduction to the magical quest and battle that is to follow. Instead of turning Ambrose into a one-man killing machine, Willingham sends Ambrose on a different kind of invasion, one that is passionately non-violent but completely unstoppable. As the now-King Ambrose vanquishes army after army without shedding a drop of blood, Willingham keeps the magic consistent and believable, and the military tactics are, as always, realistically depicted. The story is complex and satisfying, right down to the wonderfully-drawn moment where Flycatcher momentarily imagines himself abandoning non-violence to become a new Emperor. Along the way, Willingham drops a few hints about how the actual war is going to play out, and uses a subtle visual trick to remind us that there is always more going on than is apparent on the surface. It’s a virtuoso piece of writing from a writer who’s already produced some of the best comic books of the decade.

The art, mostly by Mark Buckingham and Steve Leialoha, is up to the series’ typically high standards. Buckingham is not a self-consciously flashy artist, but he’s a flawless storyteller and his full- and double-page splashes have a genuine grandeur. Leialoha’s inks are, as always, exquisite. One sequence, involving a troll, took my breath away the first time I read it, even though it had already been spoiled on that issue’s front cover.

But, as always with Fables, the greatest joy comes from the writing. Willingham brings a wealth of ideas together with his characteristic blend of military knowledge, believable magic and recognizably human characterization to spin a tale that impresses not only for its sheer entertainment value but for the deceptive ease with which it all holds together. It’s a rarity in any medium to find a writer who consistently combines creatively original ideas with believable characterization and quality of execution, but comics, in particular, have almost always seemed to cut one corner or another. With this volume, Willingham sets himself apart from the crowd once again as the series hits another high point.

THE COLLECTION
The volume itself is in Vertigo’s standard reprint format. One thing I love about this series (and others from Vertigo) is that both the original issues and the reprints are published on matte-finish paper instead of the glossy paper used for the “higher-end” titles like Batman and Superman. The matte finish provides a much better reading experience by virtually eliminating glare, and it’s a mystery to me why it’s reserved for lower-selling titles instead of being an industry standard. This volume is typically excellent both in content and packaging and, like the rest of Fables, is worth a look by anyone who enjoys comics.