A murder mystery, a political struggle, a caper and now a conspiracy/revenge story continues to show off Willingham's versatility of writing in Fables. It also shows off the interesting cast he's developed, because while there are new characters introduced in this issue, the big movers are characters we're familiar with, interacting in unfamiliar ways. Willingham serves up more than a few surprises, but more importantly, he offers a mix of humor, imagination and strong characterization, with artwork by Buckingham and Leialoha making the whole thing look great.
One of the running subplots of Fables so far has been the Grant-Hepburn style romance building between Bigby and Snow White. I'm not entirely sure that their interest in one another is mutual, or if Snow's denials are in fact exactly as sincere as she means them to be. That uncertainty doesn't hurt the fun and flirtatious nature of their relationship, though, and more importantly, it doesn't really matter if they're involved romantically; they're the real important parts of the Fables community from the point-of-view of the readers, and their paths seem destined to cross continually.
However, as much as I like Bigby and Snow, it's the bad guys who get to shine in this issue. Willingham brings together a couple of familiar faces that I did not expect to see together, and the result is a sense that Bigby and Snow could be in real trouble. Leaving aside that these two villains are fairly smart, and reasonably depraved, the fact that Bigby and Snow can't see them coming makes them even more dangerous. Willingham even plays with the readers' expectations a little, setting up the villains to be discovered through use of a fun Fable concept (miniature mounted police) and then dashes the hopes in a brutal and effective scene.
Half the fun of seeing these characters interact is the way that Buckingham and Leialoha draw them. Much of the interaction that takes place is fairly subtle, as characters try to conceal their emotions from one another while the artist tries to make their true feelings clear. Buckingham does a terrific job on this kind of thing, as Snow's verbal weariness in regard to Bigby betrays her when she has a bit of a smile, or her blase attitude about Prince Charming seems slightly at odds with her annoyed expression. Then there's Bluebeard, whose demeanor is a mixture of smugness and sinister intent, but somehow comes off as charm at the same time.
I was quite surprised by the first chapter of "Storybook Love," as it moves a few things forward a lot faster than I expected. A building resentment and a missing danger come together to create a promising menace for the storyline, and I expect that the story will focus on Bigby and Snow and move their relationship along as well. I look forward to seeing the rest of the story.
