Fables: Wolves, Vol. 8 (DC Vertigo) [collects #48-51]
w. Bill Willingham; a. Mark Buckingham, Shawn McManus
| Writing |  | New reader? |  |
| Art |  | Non-comics reader? | |
Witty, imaginative, gripping — Fables is simply one of the best comics on the market. Imagine if the fairy tales and fables of fiction — from Snow White to the Pinnochio to the Gingerbread House Witch — all existed, living undercover in our “mundane” world, having fled their native lands before the onslaught of the Adversary, who still seeks to conquer all things. Willingham (whose work I’ve enjoyed for years, and I’m tickled he’s finally found his “niche”) has taken archetypes and fairy tale cut-outs and made them delightfully real. Delightfully twisted, but not just for the sake of being provocative, Willingham blends politics with heroism with some interesting commentary on the role of myth in the world.This book, which has won seven Eisners, is always at the bottom (“save the best for last”) of my weekly stack.
This volume concludes Mowgli’s assignment to find where the Big Bad Wolf has gone, so that the latter can be sent on a commando mission to the Homelands to find out who the Adversary really is, and the source of his power. Oh, and there’s a big wedding, too (the script for that issue, #50, is in the back of the book), and a diplomatic trip by a decidedly non-princess-like Cinderella to the giants who may control the key to taking the fight back to the Adversary..
Great, great stuff. Highly recommended to pretty much anyone.
Fables: Sons of Empire (DC Vertigo) [collects #52-59]
w. Bill Willingham; a. Mark Buckingham, Mike Allred, et al.
| Writing | | New reader? | |
| Art | | Non-comics reader? | |
Two small story arcs — the Adversary plans his retribution against the Fables, while the Big Bad Wolf grudgingly takes his family to visit his father, the North Wind — interspersed with some charming one-shots and mini-tales (including a delightful “our readers ask” contest) — makes for a slightly complex change of pace. There’s even a Christmas tale that both stands alone and launches another half-dozen storylines. The art is uneven (I’m not fan of Allred’s), but it’s still all triffic fun.
Essential Fantastic Four, Vol. 5 (DC) [collects #84-110]
w. Stan Lee; a. Jack Kirby, John Buscema, John Romita Sr.
| Writing | | New reader? | |
| Art | | Non-comics reader? |  |
Essential Fantastic Four, Vol. 6 (DC) [collects #111-137]
w. Lee, Thomas, Goodwin, Conway; a. John Buscema
| Writing | | New reader? | |
| Art | | Non-comics reader? | |
Marvel’s Essential series has been fabulous for getting inexpensive reprints of some of the seminal comics of the Silver Age. For $17 you get an inch-and-a-half tome, in black and white, containing literally hours of comics to plow through.
These two volumes mark the transition in FF from being Lee & Kirby to the next generation (Thomas and Buscema, mostly). They are, at their best, incredibly imaginative, melodramatic, and fun, and serve as the foundation for much of what comics remains today.
Don’t get me wrong — I think some of the best comics ever are being published now … but watching Lee and Kirby cranking out new characters and plots on a monthly basis, some of them duds but others of them still around in this modern era — is breathtaking. Anyone who’s interested in comics history, or who just wants some fun times and a book that you don’t breeze through in five minutes, should consider picking up these or others in the series.
(listening to: Sinatra, Nancy & John Barry, “You Only Live Twice – Title Song” from You Only Live Twice)
(listening to: Eurythmics, “17 Again” from Peace)
(listening to: Battlefield Band, “Sauchiehall Street Salsa” from Anthem for the Common Man)
(listening to: Cannon, Freddy, “Palisades Park” from Billboard Top Rock ‘n’ Roll Hits – 1962)
(listening to: Franke, Christopher, “Chrysalis (3)” from Babylon 5)
Got a question for you to ponder, if you get around to it. Think of the biggest, most iconic superheroes you can think of. Superman — Hulk — Spiderman — Batman — and so on. In your opinion, have there been any similarly-iconic superheroes in the last 25 years or so? (Lee and I are having this discussion. He reminded me that even the Sandman has his roots in years gone by. His best ones were Alan Moore characters, but personally, I don’t think the Watchmen characters count — they’re parodies, and they haven’t been taken up by anybody else. So I think we’re down to Hellboy and Constantine at this point. Spawn, IMO, does NOT count.)
A good topic — I’ll save it up. I have a couple of thoughts, but the answer is probably going to be “No, but …”