Broken Frontier

Bill Willingham finally returns to the Wolf family in Chapter One of "Inherit the Wind."

Throughout the first chapter of Inherit the Wind, Willingham and Co. are able to skillfully juggle four major plot-threads, each complete with a robust cast of characters.  While some may be brief in duration, each is quite necessary to catch us up on the happenings of our favorite Fables characters, including Rose Red’s well-armed return to the farm, Mrs. Spratt’s sword dueling and scheme plotting in Castle Dark, or Bufkin’s continued struggle to liberate Oz. 

Certainly the most exciting and important thread, however, is the fallout that surrounds the Wolf family and the imperative search to find a new North Wind.  Snow and her cubs’ presence have sorely been missed as of late, with the focus being shone on “Auntie Rose,” and then the Super Team over the past two arcs.  The cubs are especially a delight to see as they bicker and argue over who should be the next to wear the mantle of the North Wind.  Willingham writes the six children with such unique and identifiable voices that their presences, and more importantly, their differing opinions, never become confusing or unclear.  One lucky cub even gets ever-so-close to sharing a softer moment with his always gruff and tough pack-leader of a father.

Long-time and fan favorite artist Mark Buckingham returns to the main stage as well with the beginning of the Inherit the Wind.  It may surprise fans, however, when they see the new digital shading technique Buckingham employs to varying degrees of success.  While in the Land of Oz or when portraying large background images, the new shading adds many layers of depth and texture to the pages.  When used on human faces, however, it becomes distracting and takes away from the familiar appearance of the characters; perhaps it borders on the edge of nitpicking, but the original, more simplistic, and color heavy designs were preferable. 

With the numerous story threads being woven and the return of the Wolf family to the focus of Fables, Inherit the Wind feels like the beginning of a spectacular arc.  In comparison to the merely satisfactory previous story, Super Team, Inherit the Wind is poised to rejuvenate the Fables world.