Fairest #18 Review: Regroup and Rebuild

by Daren Taveras
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Prince Charming is falling fatally ill as the Dhole approach Nalayani’s home, but will she be able to save the Prince as well as her loved ones?

Fairest #18

Fairest #18 Cover Art

Positive:

A few days have passed since the actions of Fairest #17 have taken place. Prince Charming appears to be getting worse as his sickness begins to spread from his fingertips to the rest of his hand and forearm. Nalayani explores and hunts for their survival as the Prince attempts to recover. The issue is reminiscent of its predecessor in going into a back story to pass the time. Although the last issue focused squarely on this, the storytelling device was only used in a few pages in Fairest #18 and it did not hamper the tale.

Fairest #18

Fairest #18

The story sees both character growth as well as plot development in a much better fashion than before. The tangent side stories are more immersive and they are beginning to meld into a possible connection to the foreshadowing of a vile end. Prince Charming delves a bit further into his past and it is a nod towards Fables and his history in the series. Nalayani also delves into her past that has been walled off from the start of the arc. Both characters are becoming more likeable as the story progresses and the outcome of the events of Fairest #18 may be surprising, but only time will tell.

The artwork maintains the same level of skill and creativity and exceeds in the representation of Nalayani.

Fairest #18

Fairest #18

At first her expressions were uneven and not really defined but Stephen Sadowski really strikes the hammer hard on Nalayani now and it is easy to see that he became more comfortable drawing her. There are a few scenes that are a bit out of context, but they may serve a purpose further down the line. Each of these scenes are treated with the same level of creativity and art style that make this arc of Fairest currently stand out on the shelf.

Negative:

The cover art to Fairest #18 is absolutely haunting. Whatever the arc is supposed to have that looks that menacing is still up in the air, as it wasn’t in this issue. It may serve as a precursor to what continues in the story but you may be bothered to find nothing in this issue about it.

Fairest #18

Fairest #18

At first glance, the cover seems reminiscent of the Rapunzel story arc, and if the cover art has nothing to do with the story, it may be a tease to get more readers to pick up Fairest, and it is shallow. There are moments of gore in this comic but they are very small and tasteful, readers seeking the level of horror that was in the Rapunzel arc will be disappointed that they aren’t as fleshed out, but it is done in a way that gives the comic more intrigue and mystery without being blatantly obvious.

Verdict: Rating44/5

Fairest #18 is a step up in nearly every level of its past issue and the story is getting stronger moving forward. The reader will be excited to see how these events unfold and fit into the arc as a whole. The cover art may be misleading but good things come to comic readers that wait.

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