- Title: Fables #138
- Comic Vine: link
- Writer: Bill Willingham
- Artist: Russ Braun
In a break before beginning the series next arc in Scotland, Fables #138 gives us a glimpse at the evil machinations of Gepetto who has grown tired of his recent position on the Farm and regain a bit of the power now lost to him. To that end he sends a small wooden soldier into the magic grove which he is barred from entering to retrieve the villain a bit of magic which may aid in his mischief somewhere down the line.
Presented mostly from the view of the noble and faithful knight Gepetto sends on a suicide mission (whose real purpose on the tinkerer truly knows), we see the wooden solider fight off a variety of obstacles (or to his view vicious monsters) before entering the heart of the grove and leaving with a tiny bit of magic which he returns to his master.
Slow simmering, the single issue lays the groundwork for Gepetto’s possible return to power sometime down the line while, as he notes, all eyes in Fabletown and the Farm are on threats elsewhere. Worth a look.
[Vertigo, $2.99]