Artwork: FAIREST #26 (Vertigo)

A very quick and simple artwork post, because I saw it and it caught my eye. And because I love the series it is a part of. This issue is the conclusion to the current storyline (I’m waiting, as always, for the collected edition to read and review). The piece is by Adam Hughes:

You can check out a preview of the issue on Comic Book Resources. Here’s the synopsis:

The epic conclusion is here! As all roads have led back to Fabletown, Cinderella leads the battle against the seemingly endless onslaught of mice/mundy hybrids! This one has it all: Blood! Guts! Romance! Swordplay! Magic! Mystery! Noble sacrifice! And… cheese? Read it before the clock strikes midnight!

Published by Vertigo Comics, the issue is written by Marc Andreyko, with art by Shawn McManus.

Fairest, Vol.2 – “Hidden Kingdom” (Vertigo)

Writer: Lauren Beukes (#8-13), Bill Willingham (#14) | Art: Inaki Miranda (#8-13, finishes #14), Barry Kitson (#14) | Colors: Eva de la Cruz (#8-13), Andrew Dalhouse (#14)

Rapunzel lives one of the most regimented lives in Fabletown, forced to maintain her rapidly growing hair lest her storybook origins be revealed. But when word of her long-lost children surface, she races across the sea to find them – and a former lover.

Collects: Fairest #8-14

Ever since I bought Fables Deluxe Vol.1, I have been in love with Willingham’s fantasy series (and everything connected to it). Then Fairest started in 2011, and I found a new comic addiction. This second collection collects award-winning-author Lauren Beukes’s run on the series handling writing duties. And it’s absolutely superb.

[NB: There are some slight spoilers in the review!]

Art: FAIREST #14 (Vertigo)

I just saw this on CBR, as part of an other-wise black-and-white preview for Fairest #14, and really wanted to share it. This excellent, atmospheric piece is Adam Hughes’s cover for the Bill Willingham-penned issue from the very good Fables spin-off series:

Fairest #14 is billed as a “special issue”, written by Willingham (who created Fairest and Fables) and features internal art by Barry Kitson. Here’s the synopsis:

Dating is hard for everyone in this standalone tale — but it’s especially tricky if you’re a gorgeous tree nymph from Fabletown. Princess Alder tells her tales of woe to Reynard the fox

Fairest #14 will be published April 3rd 2013.

Fairest, Vol.1 – “Wide Awake” (Vertigo)

Writer: Bill Willingham & Matthew Sturges | Artist: Phil Jimenez, Andy Lanning, Steve Sadowski, Mark Farmer, Andrew Pepoy & Shawn McManus | Colours: Andrew Dalhouse & Shawn McManus

Balancing horror, humor and adventure in the FABLES tradition, FAIREST explores the secret histories of Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Cinderella, The Snow Queen, Thumbelina, Snow White, Rose Red and others.

The first 6-issue tale follows the misadventures of Briar Rose immediately after the events of FABLES #107 (collected in FABLES VOL. 16: SUPER TEAM), in which she was stolen away by the goblin army.

The first issue of Fairest was the first comic I’d read written by Bill Willingham. Since then, I’ve read the first five Deluxe editions of Fables, his expansive re-interpretation of fairy tales transposed onto a contemporary setting (New York, for example). He has quickly become one of my favourite comics writers. With a bit more Fables under my belt, I was a little better informed about some of the content of Fairest. This is a superb series.

Recent Acquisitions (November/December)

A pre-Christmas selection of books that I’ve received or purchased over the last few weeks. A very nice selection, all told – only one book probably won’t be reviewed, and that’s because it’s the fifth book in a series I’ve never read. [See below – I’m offering it to a US/Canadian in return for a guest review.]

Comics Round-Up (Apr.4) the 2nd

This was going to be a short-and-sweet second round-up, but it turned out I had a fair bit to write about a couple of these issues. It’s a pleasantly varied selection in this post: the world’s greatest super-hero accepts his destiny; things finally kick off between the Avengers and the X-Men; young super-hero sidekicks find themselves as Earth’s last line of defence; fear runs through Gotham; and the zany super-science-heroes finally come to the end of their story!

Reviewed: Action Comics #8, Avengers vs. X-Men #1, Danger Club #1, Detective Comics #8, Fairest #2, Hell Yeah #2, X-Club #5

Comics Round-Up (Mar.14)

Bit of a slow pre-release week selection of comics (only one issue, to be exact), so I’ve included a few issues I picked up late last week – two were great, one good, and one mediocre at best.

Reviewed Herein: Action Comics #7, Fairest #1, Infestation 2: G.I.Joe #1, Wolverine & the X-Men #6,  X-Club #4

Upcoming: March 2012 Previews from Vertigo

If you’ve been in a comic store this past week, you may have either seen or received a new preview sampler issue that includes tastes of four new titles coming from Vertigo next month.

All four titles sound pretty cool, so I thought I’d just share some information on the blog to help generate some interest. I’m quite familiar with two of the series’ writers already, aware of a third, and one of them is an entirely new name to me.

So, read on for some information and quick thoughts on Dominique Laveau: Voodoo Child, Fairest, New Deadwardians and Saucer Country.