Fables: the Wolf Among Us #14 highlights the difference in approach and status between Bibgy and Bluebeard and deal further with the death of Snow White. Plus, a big reveal!
FABLES: THE WOLF AMONG US #14
Writers: Matthew Sturges and Dave Justus
Artist: Shawn McManus
Colourist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Sal Cipriano
Editor: Rowena Yow
Publisher: Vertigo
Cover Price: $0.99
Previously in Fables: the Wolf Among Us #13: Snow White died.
A SURPRISE REVEAL
Fables: the Wolf Among Us #14 follows the plot of the video game of the same name that was released in 2013. This issue by Matthew Sturges and Dave Justus follows one of the earlier arcs in the game and deals with the immediate aftermath of the death of Snow White. Bigby is the focal character for this series, which does keep with the style of the video game, but is a nice twist for readers of the regular Fables series where Snow White is largely the protagonist.
Sturges and Justus spend a lot of time in Fables: the Wolf Among Us #14 examining the dichotomy of formerly evil characters. Back in the homeland both characters did horrible things and past the absolution of their crimes, but in an interrogation readers get the chance to see that Bigby has truly changed and attempts to exercise controls, whilst Bluebeard is more than ready to rely on thumbscrews and old torture devices that he’s probably carried with him all the way from the homeland.
Fables: the Wolf Among Us #14 also does little to solve the mystery of Faith (and Snow White)’s killer. Tweedle Dee is the subject of the aforementioned tortue, but Sturges and Justus quickly reveal that he has nothing of substance to give up in the ongoing investigation. There is definitely something that goes higher up in this mystery that will unravel in the coming issues.
Easily the most compelling part of Fables: the Wolf Among Us #14 is the history that the writing team reveals about Bigby Wolf and Icabod Crane. There’s a neat tie back into an iconic part of American history and that particular time period would be a very dangerous place for the Fables characters to be inhabiting. It’s also a time period where Icabod Crane’s character would flourish and Bigby’s human development would grow into the strong moral codes and reserved nature that is showcased in this issue and the regular title. Sturges and Justus are also deft enough to plant the seed of resentment that is evident in Fables: the Wolf Among Us #14 and is certain to come to a head in later issues.
One mystery does get addressed by the writing team in Fables: the Wolf Among Us #14 and that is the permanence of Snow White’s murder. In the final pages of the issue Snow appears, breezing in and interrupting the interrogation of Tweedle Dee and, rather than clearing things up readers are left with an even bigger question to try and unravel than they began with.
Fables: the Wolf Among Us #14 is a very interesting story that takes place before the beginning of the Fables series proper, but if you’ve played through the game there isn’t much here that you haven’t seen before.
THE ART IS ALRIGHT
Shawn McManus has a lot to live up to in the pages of Fables: the Wolf Among Us #14 and he doesn’t quite live up to what Mark Buckingham has been doing for years now. The characters are recognizable, certainly, but they lack any real individual flare that shows them in a new light or provides a new point of view about who they are.
Lee Loughridge’s colouring brings the most dynamic qualities to Fables: the Wolf Among Us #14, in particular his use of shadows and highlights, that serve to feed the dungeon atmosphere where the entire issue is set.
The art of Fables: the Wolf Among Us #14 is fine, but it’s really nothing to write home about.
BOTTOM LINE: FOR THE FANS
Fables: the Wolf Among Us #14 tells a story that builds the world up and is very compelling, but it’s not much in the looks department. This series is for hardcore Fables readers.
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