Fables #30

writer: Bill Willingham
artist: Mark Buckingham
published by Vertigo Comics

A new day dawns in Fabletown. Election Day. The birth of Snow White and Bigby Wolf's children (yes, they have a litter).
Meanwhile, the rest of the Fables try to find normalcy after the march of the wooden soldiers. The neighborhood is still rebuilding and people are still recovering from their wounds.
The slice of life aspect of the book is one of the reasons it's still the best read on the market. The Fables call us mundane folk "Mundys", but they've succumbed to it just as much as we. They might be ageless and magical, but they're living in our world.
There are other things afoot, of course. King Cole, the mayor of Fabletown, isn't dealing well with the election. Prince Charming is finding that he'll never be able to deliver on his campaign promises. A reporter is digging into the secrets of Fabletown. And, the wicked witch is interrogating the traitorous Red Riding Hood.
The dense nature of the stories reminds me a lot of the best reasons why Vertigo exists. I enjoy picking up Fables on a monthly basis and discovering the new wrinkles on old characters, the new places Willingham is taking them. I'm captivated by the story and want more...each and every month.
While I'm on the subject of things I'm used to...even though they occasionally have a guest artist or two on board...I really like Mark Buckingham's art on the book. His renditions of Snow and Bigby are the ones by which all others are judged. Simple, classy and effective. (It doesn't hurt that he has a talented artist like Steve Leialoha inking his work.)
Fables is still my Can't Miss Book every month.