Review: Cinderella: From Fabletown With Love #2
I must shamefully admit that up until I read Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love #1, I had never ventured into Vertigo's Fables mythology. With a series into its eightieth-plus issue, there's this irrational but arresting fear of the extensive continuity that may be required. This gave the spin-off series that much more appeal for me. In reading From Fabletown, one can see it's intended for the uninitiated; Yet it totally did its job with a lot more kick-ass than I saw coming. Impressed by the clean artwork and enchanted by the metafictional backdrop, I picked up issue two expecting more from the seductive spy.
Cindy's character gets an update here, with a socialite snark that moves the plot along and keeps things interesting. Her tenuous partnership with Aladdin gives the story a romantic fairytale charm, but swaps their classic garb for cocktail party couture. The mundane world and the fantastic plane mix freely in the exoticism of the Dubai setting, giving us beautiful, well-researched renderings of Aladdin's fortress/hotel. Shawn McManus doesn't disappoint on the art, serving the story as it moves from 7-star hotel room banter to elven business dealings back home at the Glass Slipper Shoe Shop. The secondary storyline works well within the pacing with an ominous overtone to match the war abroad.
Equal parts mystery and action, this tale reassesses your favorite myths while injecting the rooftop fight scenes that Disney clearly missed out on. When you've got an Aladdin who has seedy intentions for his genie and a back-sassing Cinderella, you've already found a recipe for success, yet it only gets better, like everything else in the issue, when you take those disparate elements and make them work together. A completely fantastic issue that has me hooked despite its dismissible cliffhanger, Cinderlla: FFWL readily deserves its 4.5/5 rating.
Rubber Justice
Posted to on 7 December 2009
· Comments (1)
Other stuff like this: cinderella, Fables, vertigo
You have absolutely sold me on this now. I've read the first 50 issues of Fables and decided to hold off until it was done and collected before reading any more but I've had more of a meh reaction to the Jack of Fables spin-off so I was wary of this one. I do highly recommend that you work through the main book if you get a chance and this spin-off sounds too fab.