With all-out war looming between the forces of the Adversary and the free Fables living in the mundane world, everything now depends on a humble janitor known as Flycatcher. Released from centuries of trauma-induced amnesia, Prince Ambrose (as he was known in happier times) faces a long and difficult road - one that will take him through the lands of the dead and into the heart of the enemy's realm. Once there, this unassuming and unlikely hero will face his greatest and most arduous test - and the future of both Fabletown and the Homelands will turn on the outcome...

The Good Prince collects issues #60 to 69 of the Fables comic book series. In this volume, Flycatcher is drawn into the spotlight as he discovers the startling truth about his own past as the Frog Prince. At the same time, he learns that the Adversary plans to destroy his foes once and for all. Flycatcher raises an army of the dead and sets up a haven in the Adversary's kingdom. Could this be the end of the war? Or a tragedy in the making?

The majority of this collection follows Flycatcher as he set about gathering his army - from the dead fables that perished at the bottom of the Witching Well. The characters he resurrects range from good, honest fables, to the evil Shere Khan and Bluebeard. In Flycatcher's new kingdom, his subjects come first. Everyone lives in comfort and is protected by Flycatcher's magic, and no blood is spilled during the numerous battles with the Adversary's various armies.

But the Adversary isn't about to stand by and allow such an invasion into his territory, and he tries every trick in the book until he has only one option remaining to him - a move that Flycatcher has spent all this time preparing for, and one that he doesn't expect to survive.

In amongst the Flycatcher storyline there's a standalone tale, The Birthday Secret, in which the Wolf Cubs discover they have another brother that's been kept hidden from them.

While I've long been a fan of the Fables series, The Good Prince has to be the best collection released to date.

10

Nick Smithson