Or – “Life In The Fast Lane? No, Life In The ONCOMING Lane.”
Waaay back before Fables, Bill Willingham was part of the independent comics boom of the 1980s with The Elementals, a seminal comic that presaged nearly all of the trends of modern comic book storytelling. The concept of superhuman-as-celebrity is one that gets a lot of play these days, but Willingham was one of the first to examine it. Your Major Spoilers Retro Review awaits!
Or – “It’s Either Irony, Or Poetic Justice, I Can’t Remember Which…”
There’s great irony in the fact that I, who kind of hate spoilers in practice, work at a site with a name like this. It’s not really as weird as you might think, though, in that I find that most works are not affected by spoilering their endings. There are a few notable exceptions (The Usual Suspects, Citizen Kane, and a few others) to that rule, though, including the book we’re about to discuss. What Kevin Matchstick discovers due to the tragic events of this issue constitutes one of the few real thunderbolt revelations in my history of reading comics, and I have gone out of my way in the years since I first read this book to maintain as much of the mystery as possible. As my Major Spoilers Anniversary week continues, we all must ask that musical question: Can we discuss a book that had such a profound impact on me without actually talking specifically about a major plot point?
Oughtta be fun to find out…
Or – “Named For The Roman God Martius, God Of War…”
Not to be confused with famed Martian general Marvin, whose computers are so complex and naughty… Traditionally, this month has signaled the beginning of the season of military campaigns, and also the time when college basketball generals lead their troops unto the field of battle. For me, working in small-market TV for as long as I did, it’s a month which signals mighty pains in the butt, which explains why this is technically the FEBRUARY edition of RFR. We apologize for the inconvenience… Better to just press on.
