The heroic last stand is a staple of fiction, no matter what the genre. It's probably best recognized in westerns, which draw on the tradition of the Alamo, but running a close second is fantasy, wherein a heroic force gathers inside a castle to hold off the evil hordes for as long as they can. The Last Castle is something of a departure for Fables in some ways, since it takes place almost entirely in the homeland of the Fables, with few references to the mundane world into which they escaped, and it is more of a fantasy comic than a modern take on the concept. However, it has the most important things in common with the monthly Fables series, which are great artwork, compelling characters and fun, believable dialogue, and it's something no Fables fan should miss.
Willingham has a flair for the fairy tale style, which has been clear even though his fairy tales are set in the modern world. He's spiced up the old favorites with modern technology, more complex modern politics and a touch of realism that comes from trying to fit all these characters together into a shared universe, but I doubt that he'd argue that Fables is really about telling modern fairy tales. So he's really all set when it comes to telling a story that reads like a lost fairy tale, explaining why some Fables didn't make it to Fabletown and giving us more of a glimpse of the horrors that the Adversary perpetrated. The Adversary's actions have an upside for the reader, since they're the reason that Fables even exists, and it's easy to forget that his actions basically destroyed the homes of all the lead characters and many of their friends as well.
The narrator for this tale is Little Boy Blue, who shows a surprisingly depth with his role in this story. We learn a bit more about what he did at the last stand of the Fables, and see that his seeming innocence and youth is a facade, that he experienced more horror than his visage would suggest. Willingham introduces an intriguing romance for Blue, one of those "fated" romances that you see in fairy tales, and then shows us how it went wrong, and it's a heart-wrenching element of the story that really makes me feel for Blue. The moment shared between Blue and Snow in this issue is a small part of the story, but it's important, and it adds to the dimension of both of their characters.
For all that this is a tragic tale, however, Willingham does not make it dour. There's plenty of humor, largely from the good-natured Robin Hood and his newest friendly rival, and there's some fantastic nobility and heroism. There's the courage and kindness of Colonel Bearskin, who confronts his foe without fear and shows caring for Boy Blue despite his stern demeanor. There are the noble sacrifices of the Crow Brothers, doing the impossible to give the last few Fables a chance to escape. There's the heroic last stand of the Redcross Knight or Britomart's final small but important victory. Despite the outcome of the battle, Willingham gets across the heroic and uplifting nature of the tale, that so many were willing to sacrifice themselves in the name of helping others.
The artwork was something of a surprise to me, because I remembered that P. Craig Russell was to be involved, but had forgotten Craig Hamilton's name. Their collaboration gives the book an interesting look, with an almost cartoonish style in some ways that is grounded in realistic faces and detailed castles, armor and other trappings. It's beautiful artwork, and they really capture the bloody final battle as well as the more quiet moments between characters. Perhaps most importantly, they make the innocent beauty of Little Red Riding Hood and the baby-faced nobility of Little Boy Blue ring true, and so the really central elements of the story are reinforced in both writing and artwork.
