(Both Stories)“The Burning Times: Part Three of Sons of Empire”/”A Thorn in Their Side?”
Writer: Bill Willingham/Bill Willingham
Artists: Mark Buckingham (p), Steve Leialoha and Andrew Pepoy (i), Lee Loughridge (colors); Michael Allred, Laura Allred (colors)
Publisher: DC Comics/Vertigo
Plot: The new ambassador for the Emperor, Hansel of Hansel and Gretel fame, introduces himself to Prince Charming, Beast, Beauty and the ranking officials of Fabletown. Charming immediately begins making plans with Beast and Beauty regarding Hansel’s presence and learns the history of the new ambassador and why he was banished from the Fabletown Compact hundreds of years before.
Commentary: Wow. Hansel’s a bit of a bastard, isn’t he?
I’m not talking the super-villain "I’m going to try to kill the hero and his family" kind of bastard either. This is Fables after all, and if Bill Willingham has proven anything over the past fifty some odd issues it's that he can put a lot of thought into the fairy tales of old, which is why the revelation that Geppetto was the mysterious Adversary worked so well. Willingham took the original motivation and twisted it ever so slightly and made convincing the concept that a man who carved a wooden boy could become an evil, if not unassuming looking, tyrant.
The bulk of this story involved Hansel’s back story, and as a reader, I love that type of thing. Willingham mixed the fairy tale world with some real world history and made it work. More than that, Willingham made Hansel a truly evil character, one that poses a real threat to the protagonists of this series. Even when the character was a child, Willingham showed that Hansel was a very driven character. It may have been a reaction to his parents sending him and his sister out to die, but the religious fervor was there from the start. It was a good example how something as noble as faith in God (or gods depending on your views) can be twisted into violence.
Hansel’s belief that God had created Fabletown as a sanctuary for those who live in his righteousness (or Hansel’s view of that righteousness at any rate) reflected the beliefs that many Puritans had of the New World. At least that is how the History Channel made it seem. This was another little wrinkle that gave Hansel depth because even though he is a Fable, he also represents a viewpoint that actually existed. This is why he couldn’t stay in Fabletown. The fact that the Witch who not only tried to kill him and his sister was living there but also had immunity was too much for him. His leaving could almost be looked at as noble if not for his later actions.
Like, you know, killing his sister.
Hansel’s introduction to the series also deepens the conflict between the Geppetto and the exiled Fables. I am enjoying this latest turn of events more than any other since the series began and watching both sides plan and conspire has been a real kick. I’m also digging on how Willingham has taken Prince Charming, Beast and Beauty and made them into truly engaging characters. Frankly, I didn’t care much for any of them before, but in the past ten issues I like and respond to them every bit as much as I did to Snow White and Bigby.
I would be truly remiss if I didn’t mention Mark Buckingham’s art (inked by Steve Leialoha and Andrew Pepoy). The attention to detail in the flashback sequences combined with the writing gave them real depth. This is the first time where I have responded to the art that Buckingham frames every page with, especially in the scene where Hansel is securing his place of residence. The images of him standing in front of a roaring fire while women burn behind him made the rather pedestrian task of moving into a new home truly sinister. Actually, Buckingham’s art has been fantastic throughout his run, and I feel that his talents are best suited to this type of story though his run on the Batman characters wasn’t all that bad either.
The back-up story was interesting as well. Willingham tied the character of Kevin Thorne (was this his first appearance because he sure feels familiar?) from the role of the superintendent of the building Hansel lives in to someone investigating the Fables. It was a brief story, but it was enough to make Kevin an interesting character. The fact that he has no clue as to what is going on makes it funny in a way, like his misunderstanding of what the Farm really is.
In The End: I enjoyed this issue on a number of levels. It introduced what I hope will be an ongoing villain to the mix and added to the recent escalation between the Fables and Geppetto. The addition of the back-up stories to the title has been a lot of fun and the off beat tales seem to give Willingham a little more room to play with certain concepts from the main story. This title continues to be a welcome departure from what I normally buy, and issues like this are a good example of exactly why that is.
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