Fables: Legends in Exile
Fables: Legends in Exile, by Bill Willingham, Lan Medina, Steve Leialoha & Craig Hamilton, DC Comics/Vertigo
THE VERTIGO success story of the last decade, this is a retelling of folk from fairyland and story-ville come to life and living among us in secret. Snow White is deputy mayor to Old King Cole, and the Big Bad Wolf runs round playing detective. There are guessing games about who other characters might be, and it’s all produced with affection and to good effect.
Rose Red is dead; there’s blood plastered all over her room. Some people think it’s Jack from the Beanstalk story who did the deed, others that it is the work of Bluebeard, some even think that it could be her sister Snow White for cheating on her with her former husband, Prince Charming. Jack, the Wolf, is there to sniff out the truth.
It’s a detective story whose plot you may well have come across before, but it’s smartly done and there’s always a degree of humour and sexual attraction brought to bear upon characters when Willingham scripts, and the art by Medina while looking decidedly old school and quite non-school of Vertigo has fine storytelling and charisma.
Sponsored by Target Media.
