by Elisabeth@TFAW

Fables TPB Vol. 8: WolvesI’m a little late with this week’s Graphic Content “book club” meeting, so let’s get right to it! We’re at Fables TPB Vol. 8: Wolves, which–I’m starting to sounds like a broken record–is my favorite Fables trade paperback so far! As usual: since this is a book club, we assume you’ve done the required reading, so SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

Fables TPB Vol. 8: Wolves signals the triumphant return of Snow and Bigby from the backburner to a major story development: they reunite and get married! But let’s back up. The story starts with Mowgli combing through a frozen Russian fishing village, searching for Bigby, who left Fabletown and Snow when it turned out he would be separated from her and their cubs. Turns out their children don’t look quite human, so they were required to move to the Farm–the one place Bigby is not allowed. So after leading Mowgli on a fruitless chase, Bigby finally lets himself be discovered, in a remote cabin in Alaska. Where he is not alone. Hello! Turns out he’s been numbing the pain with booze and a hot chick named Sarah Tanaraq.

Meanwhile, it turns out that Snow has been busy playing mother and father–literally–as she has been sending her children presents from “Daddy” every holiday, taking family photos to “send” him, and answering their letters in his stead. The children are growing up quickly, and are hilarious as they struggle to maintain their human forms. Once they can do this for a month, they’ll be allowed into the Mundy world, but Aunt Rose isn’t making things easy for them, testing them at every turn!

So Mowgli convinces Bigby to come back with him, as Prince Charming has a job Bigby can’t refuse: travel up to the Cloud Kingdom and drop down into the Homelands to send the Adversary a very important message: don’t f$%& with Fabletown! To get his point across, Bigby blows up the Magic Grove and makes his getaway via giant beanstalk. Awesome. In return, he and Snow are awarded property adjacent to the Farm, where they can raise their family in peace. And in return for bringing back Bigby, Mowgli earns the freedom of his friend Bagheera. More awesome!

The extra story shows us a day in the life of Cinderella, special agent of F.A.B.L.E., as she tries to get the momentary king of the Cloud Kingdom to sign a treaty with Fabletown. Reading all the twists and turns and witnessing Cinderella’s ingenuity and plain, old-fashioned cussedness was delightful–I hope we see more of her in the future.

On to the questions:

Were you surprised that Bigby as shacking up with another woman?

EF: I was surprised, just because we never saw him with women before Snow, so I kind of thought he didn’t bother with that unless he was really in love. However, the rebound fling is a classic, and I guess no one is immune. At the end of Sarah’s part of the tale I wondered if they were setting her up for another story–it would be interesting if she pops up again in the future.

What did you think of Snow’s decision to pretend that Bigby was writing letters and sending presents to the children?

EF: My respect for Snow grew by leaps and bounds–especially when she presented all of her careful documentation to Bigby and demanded that he memorize it before meeting the children. I understand why Bigby felt he had to leave, but he put Snow in a tough position. That she handled it with grace, charity, and the best interests of her children–and Bigby–showed what a wonderful mother she is.

Do you think Snow and Bigby will live “happily ever after”?

EF: It was heartening that Colin showed up near the beginning to tell Snow that things were about to get better for her, but Snow and Bigby aren’t the prince and princess of a fairytale–they’re not supposed to be. I’m interested to see them adjusting to married life, living together, and raising their children. After all, Snow is used to being in charge–or as much as she can be with those hooligans!

Do you think the Adversary will retaliate against Fabletown for destroying his Magic Grove?

EF: I was really surprised by how easy it was for Bigby to drop down there, get to the Adversary, cause mass destruction, and get out. Is it because the Adversary has been unchallenged for so long, he’s gone soft? Or is it that he’s no match for modern technology? Something didn’t quite sit right there. If anything, I’m worried that the more he knows about modern technology, the more he’ll try to use it against Fabletown. And we know he has spies there!

Join the conversation! Post a comment below, and we’ll email you a $5 gift certificate! And make sure to meet back here this Friday for Fables TPB Vol. 9: Sons of Empire.