Fables Vol. 17: Inherit the Wind [Paperback]

**This review contains spoilers**

I found the seventeenth volume of the Fables series to be a fascinating entry to the series. I loved all of the new plot lines that have come up in the trade. The cubs inheriting the North Wind's Kingship was an interesting storyline, as is the prophecy Ozma told little Ambrose. One thing that bothered me was not hearing anything about Ghost regarding the prophecy or the contest for the heir to the North Wind's title. I know he's a secret to everyone but Snow, Bigby, and his siblings but surely THEY would have mentioned him, and how does he feel about all of this? We know what all of his siblings think but not Ghost yet. I'm not naive enough to think that it won't come up later in this storyline BUT it'd be nice to hear him get acknowledged in this Cub-centric arc.

The storyline with Bufkin in Oz is also really fun, he and his crew of friends grew on me fast. I was afraid at first that I'd think of Bufkin's adventures as the B-plot but it actually managed to keep my attention just as much as the other stories.

I'm really enjoying the parts with Mrs. Spratt shedding her old image (and a lot of weight) and wanting revenge on the Fables she grew to resent is an inspired idea. I cannot say how much I love that new plotline! I always just thought of Mrs. Spratt as being a background character who was only as hateful as she was because she was just a miserable person (or the fact that she was a widow after Ghost accidentally killed her husband) but seeing what she had to go through being one of the few unattractive fable women among plenty of gorgeous ones who are more well known and regarded highly for their beauty in the stories they hail from, yeah, I see why she treated people the way she did in the past. It had to have been rough on her. I was really looking forward to reading more about what she plans to do after the last TPB, but here there was really not much of anything advanced in regards to her story, just a little bait to keep us all intrigued. It's good but I'd have liked to have learned more.

One of my favorite parts in this TPB would have to be Rose Red becoming a paladin of hope. I really loved how Willingham used the stories of The Little Match Girl, the Goose Girl (The False Bride), and Santa Claus. I'm really impressed that he picked such good characters for the agents of hope. I guess I should point out that it does bug me a little that The False Bride made it sound as if in her story that her punishment (being put in a barrel with iron nails in it and then having the barrel rolled down the cobbles, killing her) was done just as a regular punishment... but in the actual story she was asked what punishment was deserving for what she did to the true bride. She said that such a person deserved nothing less than being killed in that manner. So she set HER OWN punishment. I thought if Bill Willingham had her say that part it would have added a greater level to her being the Spirit of Hope for Revenge.

Other than that plotline, we get a bit more side stories involving the lustful Porky Pine the porcupine who is horny for human women. I'm pretty sure he showed up in some other arc but it's interesting to see how he gained the unusual fetish he has. Also an interesting side story involving a powerful sorcerer Abra Kadabara who has been the unspoken reason the Adversary's forces hadn't struck in Fabletown (until he is killed by Dorothy in a tie-in to the 2nd Cinderella miniseries). Fascinating stuff! Also there's a pretty fantastic backstory of the turtle with the cup on its shell from the background of the Rose Red trade.

Suspense seems to be the theme with this volume. As other reviewers have pointed out Bill Willingham has really been setting many new and interesting twists in the Fables universe. Like a lot of the other reviewers on here, I do also wish that he would give some stories proper resolution before doing so many, but having been a Fables fan since I was 13 (way back when the first trades came out) I can already tell that when he resolves each of these, he's going to make them amaze his readers.

The art is fantastic in this trade by the way. As always Mark Buckingham is phenomenal. He just keeps getting better and better, I adore the way he draws his characters and the expressiveness in his drawings has been even more pronounced now. The guest artists do a fantastic job as well. I always love when P. Craig Russell lens his art to a Fables story.

All together I'd highly recommend this trade. It's a great continuation of current story arcs and has a lot of crucial suspense building moments that will leave the reader begging for more.

Since its inception back in 2002, Bill Willingham's Fables has captivated readers with its sharp, imaginative writing, implausible but believable plots (if that makes any sense), and truly multifaceted, fascinating characters. The basic premise, of course, is brilliant--take the famous fairy tale and fable figures of yore and set them inside the "real" world, where they live, roam, and otherwise behave like regular human beings, unless, of course, circumstances dictate otherwise. And with outside dangers and peril always afoot, circumstances often do.

This latest volume, Inherit the Wind, continues Willingham's complicated yarn, with the focus now set on which of Snow White and Bigby's seven cubs will become the new North Wind. Bufkin's ongoing adventures in Oz also continue to unfold, as does Miss Sprat's evil plan to exact revenge on the Fable community. Unfortunately, each tale crawls at lethargic speed, and almost smacks of being filler in parts. Only a foreboding prophesy involving the cubs, and the North Wind's eventual selection, redeem the rather uneventful plot.

Surprisingly, the final two chapters fare better, despite having only a cursory connection to the other storylines. The first follows Rose Red on Christmas Eve as she learns the true meaning of hope, providing a quintessential Fables tale full of philosophical musings, tantalizing questions, and heartfelt sentimentality. The second is a collection of whimsical short stories of varying quality, but each is entertaining in its own right and one even provides a hint or two of what awaits the Fable people in the future.

As for the art, Mark Buckingham's pencil work is merely adequate here, feeling uncharacteristically rushed in parts. A notable exception is Rose Red's story in chapter five, which features the sharp, lush illustrations for which he's famous. The final chapter also features solid work by a number of guest artists, but the final piece by Adam Hughes is easily the most striking, with his depictions of Bellflower (and a voluptuous farm girl) being absolutely stunning.

Ultimately, Inherit the Wind feels more like a middling prelude to what one hopes will be a weightier story in the next installment. Readers will probably enjoy what's here, but like eating an appetizer, will still hunger for the main course. Let's hope the next one delivers.

First things first, if you haven't read the previous volumes then this one isn't a good place to start. It's not impossible to catch up with what you might have missed, but if you aren't aware of certain recent happenings then you'll be left a little lost at times.

That said, this was a decent enough volume. It just wasn't great. The artwork is the obvious strong point of the volume and is why I awarded it 4 stars instead of 3. A good many authors contributed in this volume and as such, you get a wide variety of styles, particularly in the last few chapters. The short with the porcupine had to be my favorite and I keep flipping back to it in order to view the gorgeous artwork and colors. Everything in the porcupine short was pretty much perfectly done. Artwork-wise, this is a five.

Story-wise, this was just OK. We do get a little progression with the discovery of the new North Wind and more foreshadowing of the other aspects of Ozma's prediction, but much of this is spent treading water and building up to the next big arc. Since this is Willingham the read is still a good one, but it sort of reminded me how long this series has been and that it's still far from over. The story here is solidly a three.

Collectors of the series will snap this up regardless, but if you're one of those people who sort of slowly lost interest in the series as a whole (great artwork or no) then this probably won't be the volume that brings you back.