GRAPHIC NOVEL
Jack of Fables
Volume 2 - Jack of Hearts

Authors: Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges
Artists: Tony Atkins, Steve Leialoha and Andrew Pepoy
Titan Books
RRP: £8.99, US $14.99
ISBN-13: 978 1 84576 628 8
ISBN-10: 1 84576 628 8
Available 21 December 2007


After successfully escaping from an inescapable prison, is there a better place to head for than the city that fickle fortune built? Not if you're Jack of Fables. Overflowing with his legendary self-regard, Jack is about to discover the key to winning back his lost riches and triumphantly returning to the top of the heap. All it will take is a little planning and some help from Lady Luck. Unfortunately Lady Luck turns out to be a bit more substantial than her reputation would suggest, as well as a whole lot crazier. Jack's going to have his hands full just keeping his head on straight in Sin City - something that his former jailers intend to take advantage of...

Jack of Hearts is the second Jack of Fables graphic novel, collecting issues #6-11 of the Jack of Fables comic book series. Jack of Fables is the name given to one man who has, at one time or another, been the Jack of all fairytales, nursery rhymes and legends. Whether it's from Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack and Jill or Jack Horner, Jack of Fables claims to be the man these tales are based on. However, as well as being a scoundrel and a womanised, Jack is also Fabletown's biggest teller of tall tales.

This collection kicks off with Jack Frost, in which Jack reveals how he was briefly Jack Frost after tricking his latest fancy, the Snow Queen. Oddly enough the Snow Queen wasn't the heartless woman of legends until she met Jack.

This is followed with Jack of Hearts, in which Jack and the Pathetic Fallacy (who now want to be known as Gary), head of to Las Vegas in order for Jack to win as much money as possible, to replace his assets which were frozen after he left Fabletown. Along the way he gets wed, attends a funeral and generally gets into more trouble than he knows how to deal with... oh, and Gary falls in love with a mannequin - mind you, she is quite hot!

The only slight moan is that this is one of the few times where I've found a change of artist mid-story to be quite distracting. While it was only the Pathetic Fallacy and his new girlfriend Noelle that really change, it was still noticeable enough to be a little annoying. Otherwise, this is a great volume which fans of the series will cherish.

Darren Rea

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