Fables #159 – Bill Willingham, Writer; Mark Buckingham, Penciller; Steve Leialoha, Inker; Lee Loughridge, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: We’re getting into the last act of this Vertigo revival, and one thing stands out—Pan might just be the most dangerous villain the Fablesverse has ever faced. Gepetto was a political villain, more fixated on keeping his power than anything. Mr. Dark was a force of nature, driven by little beyond petty cruelty. Pan, however, combines the ambition of one with the sadism of the other, and now has his sights set on the Wolf Clan. When we last left off, Bigby and Cubs faced off against the twisted Neverland figure and nearly killed him—but the near-death experience has only left him more enraged. He’s perpetrated a massacre of magical beings in the forest, which has set Bigby, Jack in the Green, and the mysterious forest god they freed at odds. It’s only thanks to the intervention of Sam that they’re able to forge a truce and start looking for the killer—but he’s looking for them as well.
One of the most interesting parts of this series is the role of Tinkerbell, who has been Pan’s loyal companion—or so it seems. This issue reveals that she’s actually more of an unwilling thrall to the criminal mastermind, as he’s essentially chained her to his influence and has repeatedly gone back on his promises to free her. This may be backfiring on Pan—as Tink has enough independence to seek out Cindy and warn her of a pressing threat to Earth—but when Pan calls, she has no choice but to answer, and Pan’s wrath claims its first casualty this issue in a way that may just endanger all life on Earth. There are a lot of interesting subplots running through this book, like a look into King Cole’s new magic school, but with these final three issues, it seems like the creative team is going to need all the time it has to wrap up the main threat it’s been brewing.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
