Bill Willingham – Fables Vol. 17: Inherit the Wind
104. Inherit the Wind by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Shawn McManus (2012)
Fables, Volume 17
Length: 144 pages
Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy
Started / Finished: 18 September 2012
Where did it come from? The library.
Why do I have it? New Fables!
Filling grandpa’s shoes
is even harder when he
was a nature god.
Summary: Now that the North Wind has sacrificed himself to save the Fables, there is a vacancy. The new North Wind must come from his bloodline, and Bigby’s much more wolf than wind, so trials begin amongst the cubs to see who will inherit the title. Meanwhile, the rest of the Fables slowly begin to reinhabit the Farm, Bufkin and his gang of escaped prisoners wander around Oz getting into trouble, and the former Mrs. Spratt continues her training to take over where Mr. Dark left off.
Review: While I liked this volume well enough, I never really got into it as much as I wanted to. I think that’s down mostly to the fact that I was very, very confused by one aspect of the plot, and that confusion was always on my mind, keeping me from being totally engaged by everything else that was happening. I won’t post the specifics, for fear of spoilers, but it points – yet again – to the fact that I really shouldn’t read on-going comic series. Essentially, I can’t remember where a certain plot point was left however many volumes – and years – ago, so I couldn’t remember if the characters’ actions represented a continuation of that plot point, or a gaffe by the writers. I’m sure it’s the former, but it was confusing enough that it kept pulling me out of the story.
Likewise, Willingham’s ability to keep multiple plotlines in the air simultaneously, which so impressed me when I was reading a the next volume once every few weeks, is mostly serving to confuse me now that installments are eight months apart. Me and my terrible memory can’t remember why or how Bufkin is in Oz, so that whole storyline seemed out of nowhere, and the other two threads stuck in my memory better, but were pretty thin to carry a story on their own.
So, all of this is my fault; this volume itself is fine. The art’s as good as ever, there’s cleverness throughout, and one or two lines actually made me laugh out loud. Basically, the upshot of this review is that I should either knock off reading series until they’re completed, or else start buying and re-reading the trades more frequently. Or, y’know, keep on going as I have been and continue complaining about how nothing makes any sense due to my terrible memory. 4 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: Fables fans only; I don’t know if this represents the close of another major story arc, but somehow I don’t think so – it feels more like a pause before the storm.
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I opt for option two. Just keep going and complaining :) Maybe eventually there will be some good “previously on…” available!
Bookwyrme – Option two it is!
I was also confused with Bufkin’s plotline. I had to re-read previous volumes to refresh my memory. But that’s fine because I just love this series.
shieram – Oh, that’s good that I’m not the only one, so at least it’s not *entirely* due to my terrible memory (probably still mostly due to my terrible memory, but I’ll take what I can get.)