In the world of Fables, Cinderella is secretly a high-action, kick-ass spy in the service of Fabletown’s community of storybook outcasts. This book, written by Chris Roberson and illustrated by Shawn McManus, vaults Cindy into an adventure that’s part James Bond, part The Devil Wears Prada, and all Fables.

House of Mystery is an ongoing series by DC/Vertigo that’s half an anthology as it is. As Kyle Lemmon recapped in his review of the second trade collection, HoM is about “a group of five strangers trapped within a supernatural tavern where strange patrons pass the time regaling each other in outlandish yarns.”

The quick and dirty critique for DC’s very seasonal paperback, Batman: Monsters, is that it’s an underwhelming string of fright fiction. The trade collects Legends of the Dark Knight #71-73, 83, 84, 89, and 90 and finds Batman investigating murders that seem to have been perpetrated by a werewolf, fighting bio-engineered soldiers (with a gun!?) and being caught up in a tragic retelling of archfiend Clayface’s origin.

While some of the appeal of comic books lies in following the soap opera-like developments in the lives of favorite characters over years, or even decades, it’s surely a welcome relief to read stories that aren’t tied into a long, complex continuity.

The trade paperback of Paul Pope’s Heavy Liquid collects the five-issue series originally published back when most of us were fretting about the inevitable Y2K meltdown. Since then, the writer/artist has earned wide acclaim for other comics work, such as 100%, and, most recently, his Adam Strange strips in DC’s groundbreaking Wednesday Comics series.

Air, written by journalist G. Willow Wilson and illustrated by M.K. Parker, is very quotable. There are many, many cool lines. Example: “Maps speak to maps… signposts to signposts.”

I don’t want to dance around my main irritation with this book: It’s being presented as a collaboration between noted writer Robert Kirkman (Walking Dead, Invincible, Astounding Wolf-Man) and artist Todd McFarlane.

Scribe Jeph Loeb (Batman: The Long Halloween, Superman: For All Seasons) and artist Ed McGuinness’ (Deadpool, Vampirella) debut six-issue storyline for Superman/Batman stands above the rest of the monthly series, even four years later. This “New Edition” doesn’t change much besides the cover, a sketch book addendum and a tacked-on prologue.

The debut issue of Spider-Woman is an OK, albeit belated first step. Marvel delayed Jessica Drew’s rebooted run to give time for the motion comic adaption to be finished. Originally this comic was meant to be a direct follow-up to the maxiseries Secret Invasion. Instead, we get hazy references to the Skrull Queen inhabiting Drew’s body/mind, thus severing her ties with New Avengers. Her “woe is me” drama doesn’t come off quite as compelling as five-time Eiser recipient Brian Michael Bendis (House of M, New Avengers) probably intended.