Reading Jack of Fables vol. 2

Spring has sprung, so really, it's just the perfect time to put on your running shoes, and --

read trade paperbacks. Today's is

Jack of Fables vol. 2: Jack of Hearts

by Matt Sturges, Steve Leiahola and Tony Akins

WHAT IT'S ABOUT: Jack's adventures continue! Surprisingly, there isn't just one arc in this paperback, but three. Holy Crap. The first is a delving of Jack's past, when he was Jack Frost. It also helps flesh out the Snow Queen in Fables. The second is Jack "falling in love" in Las Vegas, and the third is Jack's further adventures thereafter.

WHAT I LIKED: Okay, get this, but -- there's this lady right? And she takes people's luck, see? And the way she does it is, she slices their skulls and eats the luck right out of their brain see?

It's totally gross, and even with this, the entire trade is just so fun to read! This is a perfect mesh of romance, whimsy, humor and adventure. Anyone could enjoy this.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: Nothing. I'd love to reread it and get lost in the adventures again.

EXTRAS?: Ehhhhh none. Not an introduction or sketches or anything, although for 15 bucks and 3 storyarcs, that kinda compensates.

I hope the blog doesn't get too many hits from Belgium.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Jack of Hearts capitalizes on a lot of secondary stuff, and there are a couple references to continuity that new readers may not be familiar with. The Snow Queen, for example, first appeared in Fables as a cold-hearted ally of the Adversary. Here, she becomes more dimensional as we see her past. New readers may not have been aware of the Snow Queen's current personality.

There's a new character introduced, in a reference to the first volume too, which makes the entire thing feel like a coherent story. Although I think that anyone could still pick this up and like it, they'd like it more if they read volume 1 first.