Fables: Rose Red V15 (TPB)
Vertigo
Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, etc.
I always enjoy comic series that are long running and that have continuous sequential storylines. I know the continuous storylines bother some folks, because it makes it hard to pick it up in the middle of the series, but for me it just gives greater depth and variety to the universe. And that’s what I love so much about the Fables universe. Is that it has such depth to the series and such imagination and creativity. I love that Bill has taken characters that are familiar to us, such as the Big Bad Wolf and Snow White, and turned them on their heads so they’re something completely different and creative. Fables, in my opinion, is the most unique continuing series on the market right now. This series constantly leave me speechless, in a good way, at the twists and turns that you never see coming and this collection is no exception. This collection collects issues #94-100 plus its normal little extras like the covers for the series, we learn more about Rose Red, as the title would suggest.
After Mr. Dark, one of the Great Powers and the embodiment of shadows and darkness, invaded Fabletown all of the fables have been forced to live at the farm and different factions are arising and battling to rule. Geppetto has thrown his hat into the ring to lead, while Ozma–the newly elected head of the magic folks of the 13th floor, also has her own ideas about how to handle things. And where is Rose Red the director of the farm? Still in bed, depressed since the day Boy Blue passed away. But mysterious forces are on the move to rouse Rose from her depression, shed light on her past, and bring her back into the lead…and perhaps with a solution to the problems at hand. And before the end a ferocious battle Frau Totenkinder and Mr. Dark comes to a head.
My favorite part of Fables is the writing. As I mentioned earlier I love that Bill takes these familiar characters and gives them new and greater lives, lives that we could imagine in our wildest dreams. And that they become more than two dimensional characters, but living, breathing people (and creatures) that we care about. In this collection there’s a great buildup of tension and wonder at to what’s going to happen with the various plot points–the battle with Mister Dark, Rose Red, Gepetto, Beauty’s baby being born, and a promise that Mister Dark makes to one of the Fables characters at the end–all intertwined beautifully together. Rereading this collection I see the answers to so many different mysteries–one that were created in previous volumes, one created in this volume, and seeds being laid for mysteries in future volumes. The highlight of this collection of course is issue #100 where the great battle occurs (Sharayah did a great review of issue 100.) There are some surprising twists in the story and fans of the Fables series will not be disappointed.
The art work for each issues is always spectacular. The characters live and breathe on the page and there is such depth to the world around them that I always have to go back through and relook at the issue just to see what I might have missed. For example, I always seem to forget about the page edges but this time when I reread I noticed them. Instead of having the normal white gutter space the artists designed a border that fits with the story, roses climbing up the page in sections with Rose Red, skeletons in the section dealing with Mister Dark, and gold…in the battle section. The border don’t happen on every page, but it’s a nice added touch on the sections that they do.
I highly, highly recommend not only this collection, but the entire series. If you somehow haven’t read any of Fables before go and pick up the first volume and just keep reading. You’ll enjoy it. I look forward to the next collection to see where Bill and his cohorts take us.
