It may be a bit of a bait and switch to some when you have a book with such a great cover featuring the lovely ladies of the franchise overall and then to have only a couple of panels worth of them here, but that's just a minor quibble as Willingham has started down the road to a larger storyline here that goes beyond just that. By kicking it off with Ali Baba, pairing him up with Jonah the bottle imp and giving us a look at how the city is after the destruction, it's a good starting point with a fair bit of history to be had there to build off of. It's not an out of the park hit here, but what we get is enticing and certainly beautifully drawn as Phil Jimenez has a great eye for pacing the fights, dealing with the beauty of the female characters that do appear here and having fun with Jonah. What sells this is what Willingham has done with this particular world for years now and that alone is worth the price of admission. Read Full Review

In closing, one of the most welcome things about the book is its new-reader-friendliness. You don't need to have read a single issue of "Fables" before this book to understand what's going on. Anything you absolutely need to know is explained on the page. It was a wise choice on the part of Willingham, and one that will help him in the long run. People love their princesses after all. Read Full Review

Fans of the Fables series should enjoy themselves here. The writing is quick-witted and Jimenez's art looks terrific. Worth a look. Read Full Review

I give Fairest a recommend and thumbs up for the subscription pile with four-out-of-five stars. Read Full Review

Phil Jimenez lends a much different aesthetic to the Fables universe with his art. It's certainly much more detailed and intricate than readers have come to expect from the various books. And though I'm rarely fond of Jimenez's pencils when inked by Andy Lanning, the colors smooth out the thick, black lines enough to balance out the combination. However, while detail is all fine and well, this issue lacks that whimsical storybook quality that defines Fables. Mark Buckingham's art succeeds not because of minute detail, but because it captures the look and fell of these popular fairy tales while dragging them kicking and screaming into the modern world. It would be nice to see a little more of that quality from the visuals in future issues. Read Full Review

This issue didn't feel like a mere spin off story but more like one that could have actually taken place within the regular series. We're off to a great start and it should be interesting to see what happens next. Read Full Review

All in all, Fairest #1 is an amazingly enjoyable book that even non-followers of Fables should consider picking up. Read Full Review

It's always tough grading and reviewing a debut, because you really never know how a story will turn out from its beginning. To be perfectly safe, all I can guarantee is lovely art and a lively, if a bit bland plot. Read Full Review

In fact, perhaps you're looking at that Adam Hughes cover (or maybe you've already got the wraparound version as your computer desktop), and you're wondering" uh, dude, where the women? A fair question. On the one hand, Ali Baba and Jonah are an amusing, if largely predictable, pairing. On t'other hand, this is a series which was being sold in advance as a bit of a showcase for several of Fables‘ strong female characters; in fact, there's exactly one (full-page, I'll grant you) panel in this issue that even features a woman who's not unconscious. Here's hoping that Willingham can do his women proper justice without slighting the story he's begun telling, and without making either feel like a distraction from the other; my rating is largely based on future confidence that he'll deliver the goods. Read Full Review

Those criticisms aside, I have to admit I enjoyed the three characters at the heart of this opening episode. Despite his destructive, murderous nature, there's something noble and admirable about Oakheart, and the interplay between Ali Baba and Jonah is a lot of fun. Jonah's modern vernacular plays a vitally important role here, as it brings the purple prose of the dialogue and fantasy elements in the plot down to earth. The script is fun and brisk, but it never feels too light or fleeting either. I'm curious enough to check out the second issue but not yet completely won over either. Read Full Review

Perhaps knowing what Willingham is capable of as a writer is part of what stands in the way of enjoying this first issue as much as I'd like. I've read amazing stories by Willingham and so far this just doesn't feel like his best effort. The visuals are stunning and Willingham can easily turn this series around, but for now I'm not as impressed as I'd like to be. Read Full Review

The issue never truly revs up, but it certainly works as an interesting opening to a story which has yet to be properly revealed to us. It would far better suit if it were the start of a graphic novel, which tells the complete story in one go, but it does a nice job developing the two primary characters, and the ending could lead us somewhere unexpected and fun. As a whole, however, Fairest #1 doesn't feel like much of a story quite yet. Read Full Review

It all comes down to expectations I suppose. I had heard so many positive things about the title book that I was probably expecting something that couldn't match those heights. However, I don't doubt that a fan of the Fables books won't absolutely love this book. I'm going to have to see where this goes but I found the opening issue to be just above average. Read Full Review

Fairest #1 is not a brilliant start for this new series, and hopefully future issues will bring us something more unique. Read Full Review

It may be a pretty book, but first impressions are more than skin deep " and in that regard, Fairest doesn't quite live up to its name. Read Full Review