Written by Bill Willingham.
Art by Chrissie Zullo; Karl Kerschl; Renae De Liz; Ray Dillon; Fiona Meng; Mark Buckingham; Phil Noto; Meghan Hetrick; Eva De la Cruz; Russ Braun; Tony Akins; Gene Ha; Tula Lotay; Marley Zarcone; Ming Doyle; Chris Sprouse; Karl Story; Nimit Malavia; Deon Ormston; Kurt Huggins; Adam Hughes; Al Davison; Shawn McManus; Inaki Miranda; & Kevin Maguire.
Cover Art by Adam Hughes.
SUMMARY:
Released by DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint in 2013, this 160-page original graphic novel integrates characters from both of Bill Willingham’s ongoing interrelated titles: Fairest and Fables. In somewhat satirical fashion, the mythical Magic Mirror provides both the prologue and epilogue of a serial murder mystery targeting Fabletown.
With the reliable Bigby Wolf no longer available, Mayor King Cole calls upon a glamorous spy, Cinderella (aka “Cindy”), to sleuth a series of grisly double-murders, including Rose Red, Morgan Le Fey, and even Snow White. Accessing an ominous list of future victims, it’s up to Cinderella, over the course of one ugly week, to save Fabletown’s greatest female legends from being slain by an vengeful predator.
Notes: This title is also available as a paperback format. Aside from the illustrated prose for the prologue and epilogue, the stories are broken down under days of the week. Specifically, these stories comprise a total of thirty chapters, each with different artists.
REVIEW:
Given so many different visual looks, this book’s artistic stylishness is consistently intriguing and at times rockets off-the-charts. Somewhat reminiscent of Honey West, Bill Willingham’s depiction of Cinderella as a tenacious rookie detective works most of the time. Still, the shock value of occasional profanities and unrepentant gore risks negating much of Fairest’s demented charm. If readers are previously acquainted with either Fables or Fairest, then In All the Land (i.e. necessary twists in the last few sequences) won’t likely disappoint them.
For others first discovering Willingham’s darkly clever re-imagining of familiar fairy tale characters, Fairest: In All the Land may come off as just too macabre for its own good.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
A table-of-contents is provided. There’s also a two-page section acknowledging this book’s creative talents — after Bill Willingham, these credits appear in alphabetical order.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 6½ Stars
Notes: Also exploring a murder-mystery, another title worth considering is Willingham’s Fables, Volume 1: Legends in Exile. More so, to better grasp In All the Land’s intricacies, reading Legends in Exile first makes sense.
