Good storytelling should engage, surprise and entertain. Great storytelling should lift your spirits, inspire you or break your heart. Fables #33 is an example of great storytelling. Oh, it does engage, surprise and entertain, but there is a sequence in this issue that just absolutely broke my heart, and it made so much in retrospect but I didn't see it coming at all. The story was so focused on Snow White, her babies and her father-in-law (sort of), that I didn't see the importance of the other story until the last moment. That story also ties nicely into the status quo changes, with Prince Charming planning what will probably be an ill-advised counterstrike on The Adversary. Lots going on in Fables, as always, but the heart of the book remains not just the plot goings-on but the ability of the reader to relate to the characters, despite their far from mundane origins.
The birth of Snow White and Bigby Wolf's children always seemed like it was going to be a big deal, but I couldn't guess at the extent to which things would change. New powers in charge of Fabletown, an entirely new and very interesting castmember in the personage of the North Wind and some pretty significant shake-ups for Snow and Bigby have all been elements of this storyline. There are signs in this issue that Willingham has a way to restore things back to their status quo, but in the meantime, the changes have shaken the book up in an interesting way.
Probably the heart of this story, however, really is in how Snow White is dealing with her new life as a mother. I found the North Wind to be a great character in this regard, a supportive if mildly arrogant father figure to help Snow when Bigby had left, and I also like the transition Rose Red has made from irresponsible party girl to loving aunt and caretaker of The Farm. No such transformation has taken place for Prince Charming, however, who continues to run Fabletown as he ran everything else in his life, using everything he could for his own means without much thought for the consequences. My guess is that his decisions are going to prove costly, and I'm curious to see how that aspect of the story plays out.
By far the best moment of the issue, though, comes in the revelation about the killer. Truthfully, with all the changes and focus on Snow, I had been distracted about the whole notion that killings were going on, but the revelation about who was behind it and why is just truly heart-breaking. I don't want to spoil anything, but suffice to say that I found that sequence to be very moving, a tragic turn in the story which fits in nicely with Willingham's attempts to echo the often-tragic style of tall tales and fables.
It wouldn't be a Fables review without mentioning the stellar artwork by Buckingham and Leialoha, either. The unusual panel borders continue to make the book stand out and to set the atmosphere on every page, and the unusual character designs, still based quite clearly on realistic human anatomy, are terrific. The artists bring a sense of wonder to the pages, and help to remind the reader that while the conflicts are generally relatable in terms of human experience and emotion, this story is very much about the fantastic and the unreal. 10/10
