Fables Vol 15: Rose Red

Fables Vol 15: Rose Red (2011) Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Inaki Miranda, Andrew Pepoy, Dan Green

Last we saw Rose Red she was slowly destroying herself after losing Boy Blue. Her lack of presence on The Farm means that things with Geppetto are spiraling out of control, while the Fables from Fabletown fight amongst themselves while trying to figure out how to fight Mister Dark, who has taken over Fabletown and destroying those who accidentally wander there.

Plus, Beauty is about ready to have her baby, and Bigby and Beast are having trouble controlling their tempers, so Bigby and Snow send the cubs off to spend time with his father, to keep them safe.

The main part of the story is about Rose Red, and her history and how she came to be the party/problem girl she’s been. It also ties in the stories of Snow White & Rose Red with the Snow White and the Seven Dwarves tale. (Mind you, these seven dwarves [Why is dwarves no in the spell check? That’s wrong.] are NOT nice and disneyfied.)

But the threat of Mister Dark is also continued, as Bellflower (Frau Totenkinder) searches for a way to defeat him (and uses her wiles to get Dunster to assist her).

First, although initially unsure about it, I decided I liked the way they tied together the pasts of Snow White and Rose Red. Though there remain mysteries, it did a good job of explaining how Rose Red became the person she was (especially at the start of this series), and I was delighted to see her finally pull herself together (even if it took a long lecture from her mother to do it).

If you have no been following along, I’m not sure this is the best place to jump into the series, as it concludes Rose’s orgy of self-pity, and events come to a head with Mister Dark. But if you have been reading along–wonderful, as always.
Rating: 8/10

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