Jack of Fables!

Horrors!

The original Aesop, Mother Goose and Grimm fairy tales we grew up reading have been redacted! Ad-mittedly, they were pretty nasty.

The new comic book, Jack of Fables, starts out mildly nasty and stays that way; its villain is quietly working behind the scenes in Fable-town. His name is Revise, and he wants to redact the home of all fairy tales, Fabletown, where Snow White, Paul Bunyon, and Jack Horner [aka Jack B. Nimble, Jack Frost, Jack the Giant-Killer] live with lots of fairy tale characters.

It's a lousy place.

Here's what's happening in Fabletown by the second issue: Jack Horner has been kidnapped, beaten, and taken to a prison camp, the Golden Boughs Retirement Village. A promotional blurb says he meets "the enigmatic author of his current dilemma: the mysterious Mr. Revise!"

Here's the look of Jack: its art is closer to reality than 'bigfoot' comics, and the visual storytelling is competent, crisp, and interesting.

Here's the flavor of Jack: "Sun shining brightly through the bedroom curtains [thinks Jack]. Birds merrily chirping, and all that other happy morning crap. Give me a break." This as Jack lies in bed next to a naked Goldilocks whom he doesn't even like.

Horrors!

Yep, sex, violence, selfishness, profanity, and the 'everything is crap' mentality once again equates adult literature (i.e. the real world).

Here's real reality: life is full of joy and crap, not just crap.

Jack of Fables is a well-written, well-drawn, and interesting comic book; it can be a great one with some balance. Let's hope the creators learn the balancing act in future issues. There is much potential for great storytelling in Fabletown. MV

Jack of Fables #2/22 pgs. & $2.99 from Vertigo/writers: Matthew Sturges, Bill Willingham; penciller: Tony Akins /available at on-line & storefront comics and book shops, or at www.vertigocomics.com. MV

Order Vance's history of the American Comics Group in Alter Ego #61 at www.twomorrows.com.

Interested in the exciting Oklahoma Cartoonists Collection and Toy and Action Figure Museum? Go to fourcolorcommentary.blogspot.com/

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