When a savage creature known only as the Adversary conquered the fabled lands of legends and fairy tales, all of the infamous inhabitants of folklore were forced into exile. Disguised among the normal citizens of modern-day New York, these magical characters have created their own peaceful and secret society within an exclusive luxury apartment building called Fabletown. But when Snow White's party-girl sister, Rose Red, is apparently murdered, it is up to Fabletown's sheriff, a reformed and pardoned Big Bad Wolf, to determine if the killer is Bluebeard, Rose's ex-lover and notorious wife killer, or Jack, her current live-in boyfriend and former beanstalk-climber. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

This elaborate fantasy series begins as a whodunit, but quickly unfurls into a much larger story about Fabletown, a place where fairy tale legends live alongside regular New Yorkers. Years ago, fables and fairy tales like Jack and the Beanstalk and Cinderella "were a thousand separate kingdoms spread over a hundred magic worlds," until they were invaded and driven into hiding and, eventually, into modern-day Gotham. And so, on the city streets we find Beauty and the Beast in trouble with the law and Prince Charming reduced to a broke cad auctioning off his royal title, while his ex-wife, Snow White, rules over the de facto kingdom the fables created. When Snow White's sister, Rose Red, disappears from a blood-soaked apartment, the Wolf, reformed and now the kingdom's house detective, is assigned to the case. Willingham uses the Wolf's investigation to introduce readers to Fabletown's dissolute, hard-luck inhabitants, and he is at his best here, relishing one-liners and spinning funky background information of a world where fairy tale characters spend their time fretting about money and thinking up get-rich schemes. The mystery seems mostly an excuse to delineate Willingham's world, as the caper is easily resolved-in true fairy tale fashion-during a massive ballroom celebration. Willingham's dialogue is humorous, his characterizations are sharp and his plot encompasses a tremendous amount of information with no strain at all. The art, mostly by Medina and Leialoha, is well drawn and serviceable, if somewhat unremarkable, with occasional flares of decorative invention. But it's Willingham's script that carries the tale. (June) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Long ago, the Adversary conquered all of the various lands of Fable, and the survivors escaped to exile on Earth. With all past grudges forgiven, the Fables formed their own community in the United States. Some live on a remote farm, but those who can pass as human live in New York City, hiding their extraordinary nature from the world. King Cole is the mayor of Fabletown, but the real work is done by his no-nonsense deputy, Snow White (whatever you do, never mention the dwarves!). When Snow's estranged sister Rose Red goes missing, detective B. Wolf (Bigby for short) is called in to investigate the crime. The suspects include Rose's boyfriend Jack the giant-killer; Bluebeard the pirate, with whom Rose had had an affair; and Snow's ex-husband, Prince Charming. Writer Willingham ties everything up in style, and the realistic full-color art by Lan Medina and others fits the tale well. Fans of urban prose fantasies should find this highly entertaining. Part of DC's Vertigo line for "mature readers," this is strongly recommended for all adult collections. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Once upon a time--recently--Jack, not that much older looking than when he climbed the beanstalk, rushes breathlessly into the office of Woodland Luxury Apartments security chief Bigby Wolf to report that his girlfriend Red Rose's Village pad is awash with blood and she is missing. That gives Wolf a case to investigate--a rare occurrence during the centuries that he and other refugees from Fableland have lived in their Manhattan colony since being harried from their world. Of course, Wolf has to put up with his boss, Snow White, long divorced from Prince Charming, dogging his heels because, after all, Rose is her sister. The mystery is solved in a classic Agatha Christie^-ish parlor-room confab, displaced to King Cole's penthouse, but not before milking gallons of good entertainment from the conceit of fairy-tale characters as fully human and full of human weaknesses, prominently including lust. Willingham caps the dashingly drawn mainstream-comics-style graphic novel with a prose-only story that accounts for how Wolf got his job. Great fun. --Ray Olson From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.