Fairest #14
It’s the start of a new tale with a new Princess, and so the latest issue of Fairest brings us Princess Alder, half tree-half woman, dryad and former bodyguard of Gepetto.
Writer: Bill Willingham | Artists: Barry Kitson, Andrew Dalhouse & Inaki Miranda
Cover: Adam Hughes | Publisher: Vertigo
Fairest obviously carries over a lot of characters from their big sister series Fables, while focusing primarily on the princesses, appealing to any reader fond of fairy-tales and princesses in particular. What’s lacking in this small bit is that there is a lack of disconnect to the princesses that everyone’s familiar with and loves (albeit with a twist). The previous princess story between arcs was based around Beauty and the Beast and written with a fantastic noir twist. Princess Alder in this case comes from the Fables world and while nymphs alone have fascinating mythology behind them, it’s not on a level that brings out the fairy tale lover that’s drawn to the series in the first place.
Sadly the story doesn’t fully hold up either. It might have been acceptable were the story charming/intriguing enough to make up for the princess of a lower profile but the only charm from this story comes from Reynard the Fox who pretty much becomes the definition of charm (what do you expect from a fox), but does break the fourth wall which can break the rhythm of reading or add to his charm.
The issue focuses on Alder and her inability to find a suitable lover for a dryad. For stories like that, one could simply just watch a rom-com instead—I want my princesses to have grand adventures with action, not pining over dates going wrong.
Our charming fox thinks he has the solution in which he’ll take the lovely Princess Alder out on a date and as expected it doesn’t go smoothly at all. No love story here, guys. There’s a lot of talk about the moral of this story at the end, but honestly it comes across more as, love is going to be difficult if you’re half tree because it makes you difficult to get along with and you’re best and probably only chance is to grow your own lover. (Weird, man.)
At the very least there’s the aesthetics of it all to hold it together. Hughes as always has a gorgeous cover and almost worth it alone, but the interiors are almost as nice so it won’t feel as a waste of an issue (entirely). Kitson of course draws incredibly attractive characters (Bo Peep and Reynard especially) that it’s hard to complain. And maybe I’m a little odd, but the texture of the pages, feels reminiscent of an old school storybook, so it was nice just to hold the issue and turn the pages.
At any consolation, I was worried that the bar had been set high by the Rapunzel arc, but this little issue brought the bar back down again, so the next adventure is bound to look good.
Writer: Bill Willingham | Artists: Barry Kitson, Andrew Dalhouse & Inaki Miranda
Cover: Adam Hughes | Publisher: Vertigo
Fairest obviously carries over a lot of characters from their big sister series Fables, while focusing primarily on the princesses, appealing to any reader fond of fairy-tales and princesses in particular. What’s lacking in this small bit is that there is a lack of disconnect to the princesses that everyone’s familiar with and loves (albeit with a twist). The previous princess story between arcs was based around Beauty and the Beast and written with a fantastic noir twist. Princess Alder in this case comes from the Fables world and while nymphs alone have fascinating mythology behind them, it’s not on a level that brings out the fairy tale lover that’s drawn to the series in the first place.
Sadly the story doesn’t fully hold up either. It might have been acceptable were the story charming/intriguing enough to make up for the princess of a lower profile but the only charm from this story comes from Reynard the Fox who pretty much becomes the definition of charm (what do you expect from a fox), but does break the fourth wall which can break the rhythm of reading or add to his charm.
The issue focuses on Alder and her inability to find a suitable lover for a dryad. For stories like that, one could simply just watch a rom-com instead—I want my princesses to have grand adventures with action, not pining over dates going wrong.
Our charming fox thinks he has the solution in which he’ll take the lovely Princess Alder out on a date and as expected it doesn’t go smoothly at all. No love story here, guys. There’s a lot of talk about the moral of this story at the end, but honestly it comes across more as, love is going to be difficult if you’re half tree because it makes you difficult to get along with and you’re best and probably only chance is to grow your own lover. (Weird, man.)
At the very least there’s the aesthetics of it all to hold it together. Hughes as always has a gorgeous cover and almost worth it alone, but the interiors are almost as nice so it won’t feel as a waste of an issue (entirely). Kitson of course draws incredibly attractive characters (Bo Peep and Reynard especially) that it’s hard to complain. And maybe I’m a little odd, but the texture of the pages, feels reminiscent of an old school storybook, so it was nice just to hold the issue and turn the pages.
At any consolation, I was worried that the bar had been set high by the Rapunzel arc, but this little issue brought the bar back down again, so the next adventure is bound to look good.
A Look Inside
Comments
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