This new Marvel mini-series is an adaptation of the classic L. Frank Baum Wizard of Oz novel.  Eric Shanower is the writer adapting the novel, originally published in 1900, to comic mini-series format, with Scottie Young providing the art and Jean-Francois Beaulieu adding the coloring.

We all know the famous story from the 1939 classic movie starring Judy Garland, so I don't have to recount the basic plot, here.  Issue #1 covers the first part of the tale, from the initial tornado carrying Dorothy and her little dog Toto away from the plains of Kansas to the Land of Oz, through her initial encounter with the brainless Scarecrow, the first of her three well-known traveling companions along the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City and the Wizard of Oz.

This is a beautiful adaptation of a well-known and oft-told tale.  What makes it really enjoyable is the creative team's basing of their version on the story elements from the original novel, as opposed to the movie version that's overshadowed the novel and completely imprinted itself on our collective popular culture.  It's almost as if one is reading in this comic an alternate-reality version of the well-known story.  Here, Dorothy isn't the Judy Garland-based teenager, but just a little kid, adorably crafted by artist Skottie Young. 

Following the novel's plotline excludes major details of Dorothy's famous initial encounter with the Munchkins, instead taking us into a few days of Dorothy spending a leisurely time with a Munchkin family and learning from them the ways of the Land of Oz, the mysterious Wizard and the Yellow Brick Road.  No ruby slippers here, but a pair of silver shoes that literally "Ting-Ting"� in song as Dorothy begins her fabled long walk along the storied route.  Even the Emerald City feels different here, as many folk refer to it as "the City of Emeralds."�

I very much enjoyed the L. Frank Baum flavor and atmosphere that Shanower and Young bring to their interpretation of this classic American tale.  It's ironic that more than a century after its famous initial entrance into American popular culture, the once well-known details of the original story are completely lost behind the 1939 movie version.  However, that just makes it more fun and fresh to rediscover the story's origins  in this new version.  So an enthusiastic thumbs-up to issue #1 and high expectations for the remaining issues of this mini-series tribute to our most quintessential of American fables.

Fables #79
Publisher:  DC Vertigo
Bill Willingham: Writer/Creator
Mark Buckingham: Penciller
Andrew Pepoy: Inker
Lee Loughridge: Colors

DC Vertigo's popular Fables comic line began in 2002 and is currently up to issue #79.  The series was created by writer Bill Willingham, and deals with the wide cast of traditional European folk tale and fairy tales characters that we all grew-up with. 

Willington's premise from the start has been that the characters, calling themselves "Fables,"� have all fled death at the hands of invaders known as "Adversarys"� to the "Homelands."�  They've all escaped to New York City and have set-up a clandestine society-in-exile known as "Fabletown,"� nestled in New York with its own Fabletown  secret town government.  Those Fables in human form live in the City, while the non-human ones, (i.e., the Three Little Pigs), live in a secret farm in Upstate New York known as "the Farm."�

I enjoyed reading my brother David's first 20 issues of this series back when they were published.  Willingham very cleverly wove-into his characters modern social issues, such as Deputy Fabletown Mayor Snow White being divorced from Prince Charming.  The series was very fresh and provided an energetic reinterpretation of traditional folklore characters in the DC Vertigo comic line.

Issue #79 is Chapter Three in an ongoing storyline entitled "The Dark Ages."�  The issue opens with an elaborate funeral for the supposedly deceased Prince Charming (I doubt that he is permanently dead), then flits back and forth for the remainder of the issue between brief scenes of various key Fables characters evacuating Fabletown buildings due to an evil enchantment threat.  The entire episode is similar to our real-world bomb/terrorist threats to city buildings, and is clearly intended to address the issue of real-world terrorism.

While issue #79 is well-presented regarding art quality and plotting, it is difficult to follow as a stand-alone issue.  It's a much slower, plodding story compared to those early issues of Fables that I read.  While I give it a thumbs-up, given the current format and story approach, my advice is to read Fables only if you're planning to commit to a regular read of the ongoing issues, and as such enjoy the story and action in this lengthier, multi-issue approach that the creative team is currently taking in this series.