Living Up to Expectations: Jack of Fables

"First there were heroes, then there were superheroes, then there was... JACK OF FABLES" issue #28

Writers -Matthew Sturges & Bill Willingham

Pencils –Tony Akins

*** I kept this pretty vague sose not to ruin it for my partners or my gal.


(That's Jack in his Fruit of the Waterlooms.)

Jack of Fables is a book that us Dorks do not talk about all that much. That’s mainly because some people in this operation are not caught up on it. Right now Scotty is making a mental list of all the books I should read but don’t. To him I say, whateva. Jack of Fables is one of the funest (is that a word?) books on the shelves these days. By now we all should be familiar with a little book called Fables… right? And we all know how great of a book Fables is… right? Well guess what! Fables has a little brother, whom is a perfect counterpart to the prior, and it is just as good as its elder. Okay, maybe in a different way but a great book nonetheless. You saw the team behind it and I dare you to question their quality… I dare you!

Jack is one of my favorite kinds of characters. You know the type, one of those people that are talented in the art of douchebaggery. He’s the kind of guy that you laugh at when bad things happen to him. Let’s just say I love to hate Jack of the Tales. Now, Jack was banished from Fable Town some time ago and thrown into a world that he very much creates for himself. He happens to be his own worst enemy… on a long list of enemies. This series takes us on the journey with Jack as he slinks from town to town always leaving a pretty little mess in his wake. Along his side we get a great supporting cast, not to say they all support Jack. From the Bookburner and Mr. Revise to the Page sisters, each character has their very own defining personality that sets them apart from one another. Each character is lovable (sort of) in their own way. I feel that it is necessary to add that very few of the characters in Jack of Fables are also in Fables. (the comic not the classics)

Now, on to the staff. Sturges and Willingham no longer have to prove themselves to anyone. Separate they are both excellent wordsmiths but together they might be wordmasters. This book feels like a place for them to have a little fun; like a breath of fresh air (if you will) for them and that only results in a breath of fresh air for us. Not to mention that their words are placed in Tony Akins' panels that, in my opinion, are penciled very well and surely fitting to the overall tone of the stories. An excellent team indeed.

Okay, here it is my one gripe about this book. I will back pedal before I lay my complaint on you. I love Blue. (and blues… in every sense) Therefore, I would hate to see Blue ran into the ground. Those of you who have been reading this book have noticed that we have been getting a Blue page in every issue for a while now. I am scared that if this continues my love for Blue may wane and I would hate for that to happen. Yes, I realize that I may be the only one who feels this way but this is America and you should think exactly what I think. Blue is random right? So, then why should we see him every issue? To me Blue should pop up sparsely, tell his story and vanish only to reappear sometime later on an undisclosed date. Not... every... issue. Everything else about this book is absolutely faultless.

All you folks out there not hip to this title need to look into it. All you folks out there that read Fables but not Jack of Fables I have one question. Why? You obviously enjoy these types of characters so why not laugh at them a bit? One word people… One word in all caps. TRIFECTA!!! Do yourself a favor get into to Jack of Fables. There are three trades out right now with one coming next month and another slated for March 2009. If you like good comics you have no excuse. No excuse at all! –Rob