Fables #144 Review

What will happen when Bigby and Beast square off against one another? Read on to find out.

The official description from Vertigo:

This is our solicitation,
Going out to every nation,
For a new issue of FABLES taking wing.

We thought we would this time,
Do the entire blurb in rhyme,
Just to see if anyone actually reads this thing.

In this issue, Bigby resurrected,
Quite more monstrous than expected,
Is challenged by a golden-armored knight.

They throw down in the city,
And won’t it be a pity,
If lives are lost during the bloody fight.

As our special gift to you,
We make this promise true,
That the actual issue won’t be all a-rhyming.

‘Twill be done in the best prose we know,
About Bigby and his Fabled foe,
And their vicious battle fought with expert timing.

Well that’s certainly a different way of soliciting an issue. Though being Fables, a poem style solicit is very appropriate, with the rhyming verses befitting the fairy tale characters. The events of this issue however prove the exact opposite of poetic, with the brutal fight between Bigby and Beast acting as a reminder of how shockingly good Fables can be.

Bill Willingham continues to bring Fables closer to it’s Happily Ever After, with the Bigby developments in this issue teasing that the series will end on a bang. At least I hope it does, as following the exciting events of this issue, it has a lot to live up to. Returning to the issue at hand, Willingham also does a wonderful job of spilling the magic of Fabletown into the Mundy world, with the concept of the Mundy’s finally learning about the Fables really having me excited.

Mark Buckingham as ever does a fantastic job on the artwork, with his fun charming style as ever bringing warmth to this fairy tale setting. After what I just said about the story, do you really believe this? Well it’s not a lie, as there are charming moments throughout, but it’s the brutality that really catches my eye. Being both gory, and to a certain degree tasteful, Buckingham manages to deliver a shockingly intense fight that made my jaw hit the floor. Enhancing this tone, we got striking inks from Steve Leialoha and Andrew Pepoy, and punchy colours from Lee Loughridge.

Fables #144 reminds us what it can do when the moment presents itself, with the Bigby/Beast fight being shockingly graphic. Highly recommended.