Cinderella: Fables Are Forever #6

Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Shawn McManus

After five issues of beating around the bush, and building up suspense through the use of flashbacks that established their enmity, Cinderella and Dorothy finally have a go at each other (differently from how they did last issue, of course).  It's a pretty good fight too, as Cinderella's ingenuity is tested against Dorothy's stronger position and greater ruthlessness.

While I enjoyed the fight scenes, what I found most interesting in this issue is the way in which Dorothy reconciled her portrayal in this series with the way she was shown at the Golden Boughs during the earlier issues of Jack of Fables.  I'd wondered how those two things matched up, and it was presented in a manner that was logical and consistent.

I've enjoyed this series (especially McManus's art in it), but have thought that it felt a little stretched out and expanded for the sake of the trade.  A solid four-issue series probably would have worked better.  These Cinderella titles are nice additions to the Fables-verse, but I think they should wait a while before starting another one; she's kind of a limited character and shouldn't be over-used.

Cinderella: Fables Are Forever #5

Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Shawn McManus

Reading this issue, I couldn't help but think that, for someone who has had centuries to perfect her skills in the art of spycraft, Cindy is not doing such a good job in this series.  The flashback sequence set in 1986 has her failing her objective, and not capture Dorothy Gale, while things in the present day go even worse.  Perhaps this is all part of a grander scheme, but given some of the events of this issue, that really does not seem likely.

Cinderella has been hunting Dorothy, at the request of Ivan Durak (Ivan the Fool), one of the Russian Fables that we only learned about at the start of this series.  When the issue begins, Cindy and Ivan are prisoners of Dorothy's minions - a bunch of spoons and a see-through glass cat.  They're in an airship flying over the Deadly Desert of Oz, although they do make good their escape.

This Cinderella series has been a lot of fun.  I've been enjoying the flashbacks and McManus's artwork a great deal, although I kind of think that perhaps five issues, and a little more density of plotting, would have been better.

Cinderella: Fables Are Forever #4

Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Shawn McManus

This is another fun issue, as a captive Cinderella gets taken to meet Dorothy Gale, and reflects on her previous run-ins with one of the few fables as popular, and therefore as powerful, as she is.

I especially liked the flashback that had Cindy using Snow White as bait on a ski trip back in 1986.  Her plan was to use the well-known citizen of Fabletown to try to draw Dorothy out, although she is instead subjected to days of Snow complaining about Bigby.  The reference to those two as pulling a 'Sam and Diane' got a laugh out of me.  I also like that we are starting to get a sense of why Dorothy became the hard-core killer that she is.  I am waiting to see how Roberson is going to reconcile this take on Dorothy with her appearances in the Golden Boughs Retirement Home in early issues of Jack of Fables.

McManus is doing some great work on this book; perhaps the best I've seen from him.

Cinderella: Fables Are Forever #3

Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Shawn McManus

I get the feeling that a lot of writers really miss the Cold War.  It must have made writing thrillers and suspense stories much easier than the nebulous "War on Terror", in that it allowed for a serious matching of resources, as well as wits.  That Fabletown participated in its own Cold War, with the Shadow Fabletown, for so many years is an interesting concept.

Roberson is using this volume of Cinderella to explore the scheming of the other Fabletown, made up of mostly Fables from Soviet Bloc countries, and to find many reasons to pit Cinderella (our Fabletown's answer to James Bond) against Dorothy Gale.

This issue advances the plot by bringing in the character of Anansi, the infamous spider of African myth and legend, and by raising the question of just who is being caught in whose web.  There are plenty of good moments in this enjoyable story.

Cinderella: Fables Are Forever #2

Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Shawn McManus

Roberson and McManus's second Cinderella series is a lot of fun.  Cindy is helping an old acquaintance, Ivan, escape from the crosshairs of Dorothy Gale, an assassin that has been sent by the leader of the Russian fables to kill him.  Their quest to take out Dorothy before she can kill Ivan takes them to Thailand, where one of the heads of the 'Shadow Fabletown' lives.

What makes this book work so well are the numerous flashbacks to previous missions where Cindy ran in to Dorothy.  The story of the Russian castle that began last issue is resolved, and an adventure from the 80s in Thailand is started.  As well, we get a glimpse of Dorothy's only visit to Fabletown in the 40s.

Roberson has a good handle on Cinderella, and writes her much as Bill Willingham does in the mothership title.  McManus's art is always great, and works very well on this book.

Cinderella: Fables Are Forever #1

Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Shawn McManus

The first Cinderella mini-series by Roberson and McManus was a lot of fun (even if I passed it over at first), so I didn't have to think twice before adding this new offering to my pull-list.

Cinderella has been working for centuries as a spy for the powers that be in Fabletown.  Previously, she was answerable only to Bigby, but after Beast took over the role of sheriff, he has been sending her on missions.  None of this is known by the rest of the Fables, who think that she is more or less a flighty socialite.

This new series opens with a flashback to early-80s Russia, where Cindy, in nothing more than a bikini, is tracking down some powerful Russian Fables, and looking to find out the secret of their own Fabletown.  She is interrupted in her mission by a Fable only referred to as Codename: Silverslippers (we later find out who she is, but I'm not going to tell).  It seems that the two become something of nemeses to each other.

In the modern day, during the evacuation of the farm (seen in Fables #100), evidence shows up that suggests that Silverslippers is back and causing some problems, so Cindy heads back into town to get ready to deal with her.

It's interesting that this book is more tied in to current Fables continuity than the last one; I wonder if there will be some kind of connection later on.  Roberson is a good writer.  I only tried out the first Cinderella book on the strength of his work on I, Zombie, and I have yet to be disappointed.  McManus is always a great artist, and this is the type of story where his somewhat exaggerated style works best.

Cinderella: From Fabletown With Love #1-6

Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Shawn McManus

I foolishly passed on this mini-series when it came out recently because I was trying to cut back on my comics purchasing, and was unfamiliar with Chris Roberson's writing.  Now that he's writing I, Zombie, which is becoming one of my favourite Vertigo titles, I figured it was time to check this out.

In this series, which has been collected recently, Cinderella sets off on one of her usual spy missions.  For this one, she's to track down the source of new magic showing up in the Mundy.  While it's a solo mission, she soon finds herself working alongside Aladdin, who has the same mission for his masters in the One, True Baghdad.

Cinderella and Aladdin have good chemistry, as they Mr. and Mrs. Smith their way through Dubai, the North Atlantic, and one of the Homeworlds, chasing down a trio of familiar Arabian Fables, and another Fable who had a huge impact on Cindy's life.  While all this goes on, there is also a subplot involving Cinderella's shoe store back in Fabletown.

This title restores some of the madcap fun that I got used to in the main Fables title, and the earlier Jack of Fables issues, which has been sadly absent of late.  Roberson's writing is witty and sharp, and Shawn McManus is always a fantastic choice for this type of book.  I'm glad to see that there is a new Cinderella series on the way, and this time I'll be sure to pick it up as it comes out.