Rereading Fables: Vol 5, The Mean Seasons
Now things have to catch up to real time. Thats one of the interesting things about this series. It endeavors to stay in present time, which either requires substantial time jumps between arcs, a month’s worth of time to be covered in one issue, or a fast forwarding arc. The Mean Seasons is the latter.
Fables: Vol 5, The Mean Seasons
Writer: Bill Willingham
Pencillers: Mark Buckingham and Tony Akins
Inkers: Steve Leialoha and Jimmy Palmiotti
Colorist: Daniel Vozzo
Letterer: Todd Klein
Covers: James Jean
Issues: 22, 28-23
Price: $14.99
This volume constitutes three arcs, so they will be discussed individually.
“Cinderella Libertine”
This one-shot finally gives us a good look at the last of Prince Charming’s wives: Cinderella. It does a good job of summing up the character in two actions. The first is the meeting of her, Briar, and Snow. This shows the differences in each one, both by social circle and by general attitude. Cinderella is the more uncouth of the three. She curses a lot, talks sex in a blunt manner, and exaggerates her position in life. However, her deception of Ichabod Crane shows her guile and inteligence. It also finally introduces us to the first of Bigby’s tourists.
Ichabod’s death does raise a question, however. With the corpses that were dumped into the well, we knew they were contained if the got better. With Ichabod, he was left for the mundy’s. He could very well survive because of his popularity, if the fable theory on that is right. While he is still alive, his talk of ealy life in Fabletown gives an interesting history to it. I like that the politics have not been static, they have evolved gradually with certain people coming and going.
The art is a good choice for the issue. It’s light style compliments Cinderella’s personality nicely. The only issue I have with it is the way Bigby is drawn. There is something odd about his face.
Other than that, the only issue I had with the story is its inclusion in this collection. It takes place before the battle with the wooden soldiers and would have served as a good introduction to the concept of traitor fables (as it did in single issues). This would have made the threat of Pinocchio changing sides a little more present. And it is jarring when considering the end of the last trade. Bigby and Snow White are talking and Snow’s water breaks an then… Bigby’s in France?
“War Stories”
This has the same effect for me, timing wise. Snow is in labor and Bigby is talking to a war buddy. It works in the timeline, so it isn’t as much of an issue.
Anyway, tis two issue arc serves to fill in the story of Bigby in WWII. In it, we find out that Bigby lied about revealing himself and we get introduced to Frankenstein’s monster.
This is a fairly simple war/ espionage story. What it does best is add to Bigby as a character and explain how he could be involved in the war. After all, he couldn’t have really signed up with the Army. Medical tests would have probably shown him to be odd even if he had a valid American identity. It is nice to see that the Sheriff will break the rules of Fabletown for the good of a few Mundy’s. The soldiers he saved are not people he necessarily got to know well, but they needed help and he broke the rules to give it to them. It will be interesting to see if the book that his friend wrote will come to light down the line. Or if some old German will have told tales of that battle.
The arc also makes me wonder if Frankenstein and his Monster are Fables or if they are Mundy’s. It would make sense that the Monster would live while Frankenstein would die. The Monster’s popularity is, after all, stronger.
It is interesting to note the storage method for the Monster. His head is detached and he lives in the office. It is an interesting parallel to the wooden soldiers. At the same time, it shows the dangers of Fables being involved in Mundy conflicts. They can be caught on different sides of the battle and inadvertently reveal the existence of the community. After all, the German’s knew of Frankenstein and there were whispers of the American Wolf Man.
“The Mean Seasons”
This four part arc is our fast forward. Each issue is a season. In it, we see the birth of the six(seven) cubs and the results of the election. We also get introduced to Bigby’s father. The arc’s story centers around Prince Charming’s team struggling to run Fabletown and Snow dealing with kids. It also sees both Snow and Bigby leave Fabletown.
Bigby takes off into the unknown. However, he does so with a warning. Eventually, he will want to see his children and once he decides to come see them, nothing will stop him. The children have to live on the farm, as they do not look human and Bigby is not allowed there. Of course, an out is given at the end of the arc. Bigby’s father will teach the children to shapeshift. Bugby never learned in order to spite his father. This advancement of Bigby’s character is interesting. We’ve seen that he will break the rules for the good of others. Now we see that he will also break them for his family.
Snow, meanwhile, goes to the farm. She raises the kids and the most defining moment for her comes in the final two scenes. Throughout the ac something has been killing Fables by suffocating them. Bigby’s father says it is a zephyr. It turns out that it is Snow’s seventh child. There is a powerful moment when she sends it away, telling it to find Bigby. It is made all the more touching when she sets out an extra cake for it on the children’s birthday. The fact that she is willing to break the rules of punishment as well as not disclosing what she knows says a lot about her.
King Cole gets a lot of characterization as he leaves office. He is struck dumb by the fact that he lost. After all, he wasn’t a bad leader. Throughout the rest of the arc, he is in a state of shock. He had believed himself to be running things smoothly, even though it was his staff taking care of things.
Prince Charming takes a different approach. He wants to be more active in government. He realizes, quickly, that the job is more than he thought it would be. As does the rest of his staff. The crowning moment for this being Frau Totenkinder telling him that she could not keep his promise. However, Beast seems to be coming into his own as sheriff. He makes his mistakes, but he is starting to ease into the job a bit more than Beauty or Prince by the end.
One of the most interesting developments is learning about FLycatcher. He is duty-bound to be the janitor in Fabletown for minor infractions. When he is let go, he is duty bound to go find his wife and child. This adds to the dynamic of the group of three that had formed (Him, Blue, and Pinocchio). They all have a deep sorrow that they hide, it is an interesting bond in the way they hide it.
This arc sets up quite a few later arcs. Prince Charming starts contemplating war. Bigby has to return at some point. Boy Blue leaves with the Witching Cloak and Pinocchio’s body. Fly has his duty. Somebody has stolen a bunch of money from Bluebeard’s stores. This arc effectively sets a new status quo and seeds future arcs.
I have to make a comment on one area of artwork. When the children start floating, it seems as though Buckingham is channeling Terry Moore in the way he draws Snow. It is a beautiful page.
Thats all for now.
