[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]
Writers: Dave Justus & Matthew Sturges
Artist: Travis G. Moore
Colors: Michael Wiggam
Summary
At the end of last issue it looked pretty bad for Connor Wolf. As this issue opens, Peter is attempting to find out what happened to the boy. When he finds his body, and realizes it’s not Connor’s, he knows something is up. He goes back to headquarters to report his findings. Meanwhile, Feathertop assigns Bo Peep the mission of assassinating Jordan, the little girl responsible for all the mayhem in St. Louis. Additionally, Feathertop attempts to continue to use the reanimated remains of Hansel. However, there was a clause in his contract that was invoked upon his death the previous day. So in a tattoo parlor in Texas, a young woman drives a knife into a tattoo artist’s neck.
Back at headquarters, Peter gets a call from Connor. He’s impersonated one of the gang who broke into the museum and he’s getting in a bit deep. Additionally, Bo Peep is none too keen on assassinating a little girl. Feathertop takes her to another dimension to show her what happens when magic runs wild in an Everafter event in order to convince Bo of the necessity of his mission for her.
Positives
While I wasn’t 100% sure that Connor’s death was a ruse, I didn’t anticipate his shape shifting abilities to come into play this way. The mysterious bit about Hansel’s death clause was very interesting and it appears that it is about the business of creating new fables. And speaking of creating new fables, poor little Jordan! Two aspects of her story are extremely intriguing. She, too, appears to be creating new fables, but she is also able to conjure up local folklore. That is a unique concept. America is not known for its folklore like the fairy tales and myths of Europe.
One aspect that is slowly surfacing is the subtle shift in tone between this book and its parent, Fables. While still echoing the world created in Fables, Everafter as with the shift in the world within the story has also shifted slightly, whereas Fables maintained a heavy fairy tale aspect to the ambiance of the world, Everafter, despite having magic in the real world, communicates that real world difference. This is to say that Everafter is creating its own world and not relying solely on what has come before.
Negatives
Hard to find a negative in this issue. Things that seemed like negatives actually turned out to be complex characterization.
Verdict
This is the best issue so far of Everafter: From the Pages of Fables. After setting up things in the first two issues, this entry in the series does a little twisting to change the perspective and push forward with the promise of new characters and complex moral challenges.
