As the first arc of Fables continues, we've got a big mystery and few suspects, which may be a little frustrating for amateur puzzle solvers but also definitely intriguing. The cast at this point is relatively small, but undeniably well-defined, and I've already become quite attached to the players like Bigby Wolf and Snow White, or even the relentlessly scummy Prince Charming. In addition, Medina and Leialoha continue to show us a detailed version of New York with fairy tale creatures living beneath it, combining reality with fantasy expertly.
Willingham uses the investigation of Rose Red's disappearance to give us a guided tour of sorts to the Fables community, and it's a clever storytelling trick. It seems less like Willingham leading his readers around by the nose and more like a "day in the life" type of story, but it's focused enough to show off some important aspects of the Fable community. For instance, the introduction of the Amnesty, freeing all the Fables from misdeeds in their pre-New York lives, is another tidbit to go with the Farm, the Adversary and other elements that shape the Fable community. It also makes for a hilarious scene, as Bigby puts up one of the surly three pigs who still holds a grudge.
Though the cast is small, the work that Willingham is doing on them makes them very interesting. Prince Charming's way with women is a lot of fun, because it seems almost innocent. While he is certainly a cad, it seems to be his nature, and it does come across as more charming and funny than malicious. This sort of subtle characterization, keeping characters from being definitive villains or heroes, is visible in Bluebeard as well. Bluebeard has a sinister air to him, but he also has a sincerity and class that Charming lacks. And Jack, though certainly a trouble-maker in past deeds, seems to be a genuinely caring and worried individual.
Driving this story is a mystery, and it's one that I'm pretty interested in. It's clear that, as with most good mysteries, more is going on than meets the eye, because the mentions of the Adversary and the Remembrance Day ceremony seem to indicate that Rose Red's disappearance may have to do with her discovery of something larger. It seems clear that Jack didn't do it, however, and Bluebeard, though possibly involved, doesn't seem like a great suspect at this point either, so it's hard for the reader to make sense of the mystery. While this certainly keeps surprises in store for the future, I do wish I had a bit of a better chance to piece it together with clues before the big reveal, which is part of the fun of mysteries for me.
Lan Medina and Steve Leialoha are providing Willingham's story with the gorgeous backdrop that it needs, as well as giving the characters the distinctive features that they need to maintain their defined characterization. I love that the Fable community really isn't all that different from mainstream New York, perhaps a bit more ostentatious and European in terms of decoration but generally fitting right into the Manhattan scene. And I'm impressed with any art team that can make a talking pig fit easily into such a realistic setting, seeming more like a quirk than something that just doesn't belong.
