149: Jack of Fables: The Bad Prince

The Bad Prince by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges. Art by Tony Akins (Canada) - (USA)
Jack of Fables, Vol. 3

Pages: 126 pages
Ages: 18+
Finished: July 29, 2010
First Published: Jul. 8, 2008
Publisher: Vertigo
Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy
Rating: 4.5/5

First sentence:

Yeah, I was a god once - or a demigod, or a semi-demigod, or who knows what the correct term is?

Acquired: Borrowed a copy through Inter-Library Loan.

Reason for Reading: next in the series.

This entire volume except for the last chapter is devoted to the title story arc "The Bad Prince". Jack has a run in with Excalibur and learns a shocking truth about his existence. All the regulars are here and it was great to see the return of Paul Bunyan and Babe from Vol. 1, though they've been shrunk down in size as punishment for their part in the Great Escape. A new character is introduced and an old character from Fabletown shows up. This is a minor character who pops up now and then, though he has caused trouble in Fabletown, and in this volume we learn his true identity, which is a bit of a shocker and questions are answered in this series "and" ones that have been posed in "Fables" are also being answered.

I really enjoyed this volume. The story arc is a lot of fun. Jack is not able to take advantage of anyone this time around as he is the one getting the short end of the stick through out. But in a twist of events, this time, he's the one who wins in the end. A bit of a turn around on Jack's usual plights. The volume ends with a single Hallowe'en issue where Jack reminisces about the past and tells the story of how he came back from the dead, bargained with the devil and got the name Jack o'Lantern. A fun story. Loved this volume and am on my way to place an order for Vol. 4.