Fairest: Hidden Kingdom

Fairest Vol. 2: Hidden Kingdom Lauren Beukes, Bill Willingham, Inaki Miranda

This is a bit of a jump-back in time from where the main series is. With the “present day” happening in 2002, so the action is pretty firmly at the beginning of the series, with lots of flashback to Rapunzel’s back story.

So, like most fairy tales, Rapunzel has a dark edge that we tend not to retell. In the original, the witch discovers the prince because Rapunzel is pregnant. She casts Rapunzel into the desert where she gives birth to twins. The prince gets tangled in brambles trying to climb the tower, is blinded by the thorns and is also cast into the desert. They all wander around for like 20 years before they find each other, Rapunzel’s tears of joy cure his eyesight and only then do they all live happily-ever-after.

In the Fables world, Frau Tottenkinder is the witch that imprisoned Rapunzel. She casts her out, Rapunzel gives birth, and she’s told her children die during childbirth. She’s always known that they survived and has spent centuries searching for them. At one point, she tries to drown herself but washes up on the shores of a Japanese fable kingdom (named the Hidden Kingdom).

In the present day, she gets a message via attacking crane origami that there is news of her children. She meets up with friends and enemies from her old adopted homeland, and Tokyo’s version of Fabletown where the present is tied with the fall of the Hidden Kingdom to the adversary's forces.

I loved this one. I loved the look at Japanese mythology and fables, how they played in their homeland and how they survive in the modern Mundy world. I liked the old school “present day” with Jack running his schemes, Snow and Bigby in the business office and Frau Tottenkinder doing her thing on the 13th floor of the original building. It was a nice return to the beginning. But more than that, I loved Rapunzel’s story and her strength. We don’t see a lot of her, as she’s not allowed to leave Fabletown because of her hair and she’s been kinda shoved to the side in this series.

There’s also a tantalizing clue about the truth about her daughters, that I don’t believe we’ve seen the answer to yet. (I’m trying to rack my brain, as this happens so far in the past to see if we’ve seen them and not known it, or if they have yet to come up.)

This is my favorite volume in the Fairest spin-off series.

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Graphic Novel Monday

It rained all day yesterday and all day today. So, I'm starting with one of my favorite Beatles songs, which I think is very under appreciated:



It's off Let It Be.

Anyway, completely unrelated, let's talk about some Graphic Novels. Yes, I know it's Nonfiction Monday, but I don't have an unblogged nonfiction, so you know... yeah.

Laika Nick Abadzis

Laika was the first living creature we sent into space, if by "we" you mean "The Russians."

Such a cute little doggy, that looks something like a mini-Sassy, he was found as a stray and given to the Soviet Space Program. After the success of Sputnik, Khrushchev wanted to continue to ride the PR wave and do something amazing in time for the Revolution anniversary.

Because of the speed, the program cut a lot of corners, including figuring out how to bring Laika home. We've always been told he was euthanized while up there. The truth is, some systems failed, and do to extreme cabin heat and stress on the animal, Laika died within 4 hours.

This is the story, meticulously researched and beautifully told of the Soviet system, of the scientists, technicians, and politicians involved, and how one dog touched their lives and the effect he had.

Beautifully moving. I especially liked the panels that reflected Laika's thoughts, a dog looking for love who knew when the humans around him were happy or sad, without knowing why.

Good dog.

Water Baby Ross Campbell

This is Minx's March installment.

First off, Minx has a crappy, crappy website. This book isn't even listed! (update: this book isn't out yet, even though that's no excuse for it not to be on the website-- they really should have a list of upcoming titles) And ARCs are out for unpublished books, and sample pages are out, so why aren't they on the website, let alone have the sample pages up?! I thought we were marketing here people!

Chasing Ray had a fascinating and very insightful (especially if you read the comments) post about the problems with the Minx line last month.

I think there's a very good point made that one of the reasons Minx isn't a runaway hit is because it hasn't figured out it's target audience. Specifically, these are graphic novels NOT for current comic readers, but for YA book readers. These are stories that appeal more to fans of straight up books rather than graphic novel fans.

I'm frustrated because I'm a big fan. I love the concept and I've really enjoyed most of the titles so far. I want to see it succeed, but DC Comics keeps dropping the ball. Librarians, start your handselling!

Anyway...

Brody's a major surfer girl whose leg gets eaten by a shark. A few months after the accident, her loser ex-boyfriend moves in on her couch. Ick. Eventually she decides, with her best friend, to drive his lame butt back up to New York where he's from...

For a volume in imprint aimed at teen girls, the characters all have big boobs and skimpy outfits. Yes, I realize surfers hang out in bathing suits, but string bikinis seem not-practical for surfing. But, I'm not a surfer, so what do I know? Well, I do know that I was worried about these poor girls falling out of their top when they were just hanging around the top. I can't imagine what a little surf would do to them.

Overall, I was a little underwhelmed. I thought it could have been so much more than it was... eh.

update: Look for it July 8

Burnout Rebecca Donner and Inaki Miranda

Danni's mom moved them to the Pacific Northwest after Danni's dad disappeared. Her mom's taken up with a lodge owner with some anger issues. Hank's son, Haskell, is mysterious, and kinda hott.

Here is a great book about families, boys, and balancing friends with boys. It's also about logging vs. not logging-- environmental concerns vs. economic ones. Donner does a great job of presenting both sides of the issue without it seeming crammed in or over-crowding the actual story. The book leans towards environmentalism but recogizes the murkiness of the waters. You're also not sure if Danni continues to be a minor eco-terrorist because she believes in the cause, or if it's because she believes in Haskell's hotness.

A strong title for the imprint. Look for it June 17.