Fables Vol. 14: Witches

DC/Vertigo

Written by Bill Willingham; Art by Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, David Lapham, Jim fern, Andrew Pepoy, and Craig Hamilton

Jan 31, 2011 Bill Willingham By Jeremy Nisen

On the home front, the mystery and threat of The Dark Man deepen, causing Frau Totenkinder to reveal some of her roots and Ozma to vie for leadership of the Fabletown gang’s magic folk. There’s further intrigue as the presence of Geppetto jumbles up politics up on the farm. Aside from the adorable and somewhat sinister Ozma, another character with Wizard of Oz roots takes center stage in the B story, as Bufkin the flying monkey attempts to lead his fellow refugees, stranded within a dimension-lost office suite, against the most powerful of djinn (or genie) and the equally threatening witch Baba Yaga.

Both of these storylines are tight and well-paced. The main narrative digs its hooks into the reader, shows that The Dark Man is truly terrifying, and promises payoff in a future volume. The Bufkin tale, at least in the short term, is resolved quite wonderfully and satisfyingly.

Perhaps the problem with a compelling overarching narrative is that one-off tales, such as the story within Flycatcher’s kingdom of Haven that concerns a baseball game and the unfortunate appetite of the goblin team’s star pitcher, feel like filler. It’s a fine story, but perhaps credit to the primary plot and protagonists that this one doesn’t quite measure up.

As ever, the art team lends atmosphere, good storytelling, and a storybook ambiance to the look of the book. (www.dccomics.com/vertigo)

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