Marc Andreyko

Even though the Cinderella spin-off series was a flop I'm glad to see Cinderella's James Bond style antics and fashionable spygirl style back on center stage in the Fairest series. This time around her adventures are given a more integrated role in the larger Fables storyline as she goes up against a bunch of half-human-half-rat hybrid assassins, who are the offspring of one of her original mice-coachmen and under the control of Brandish - or so everyone thinks. It's actually Leigh Duglas show more (the former Mrs. Jack Spratt) who's behind the attempts on various leading Fables as we discover in the final pages. I'm not sure how she managed to get so much influence (she's now allied with the Huntsman, the mice assassins, and Cinderella's evil stepsister), but she sure does seem to have some nastiness planned for the Fable community. Whether it's long term jealousy against all the Fables for not valuing her service, a personal vendetta against Snow White, or revenge for the defeat of her lover Mister Dark, she seems to have plenty of motive and the brains to carry out her plans. Whether this will be a short-lived rebellion like we saw earlier with the "Animal Farm" storyarc or a prolongued seige of small battles fought in the shadows which culminate in a big showdown the results are sure to be dramatic as the Fables series is drawing to a close. show less

Such good storytelling I am so sad this was the last of the series - I am anxious to see what Marc Andreyko will do next though. I found his writing so enriching for characters that generally just get superficial treatment - showing relationships in all their flaws and perfection. Gay couples were just another inclusive detail that made these books really sing. His willingness to tackle timely and socially significant issues like immigration and racism, along with very powerful family show more turmoil - and to do it all with a strong sense of human compassion and understanding. I will miss Manhunter very much. show less

It took Volume 5 to get over the transition away from Williams III, and now Volume 6's wacky, time-traveling, space-faring, ragtag-assembly anti-team is kind of charming. I was immensely pleased to see the issues of consent and Kate/Maggie's relationship addressed in ways that I think acquitted earlier perceptions of destroying the narrative. Keep giving us Kate Kane adventures, or at least building on this persona of Clayface.

Access a version of the below that includes illustrations on my blog.

Kate Spencer is a divorced district attorney in Los Angeles, who becomes tired of the fact that that supervillains always break out of jail and kill again after she's put them away. So she decides to take the law into her own hands and track down escaped villains... and kill them. She steals superpowered equipment from the evidence locker and bullies a former henchman in witness protection into providing her with technical show more support. In the meantime, she has to balance her superheroics with being a mother.

Street Justice feels like a lot of set-up. I like Manhunter so far, but I would argue that not much has been done with the premise. There are the ingredients for a compelling story, but that story has not yet been told. On their surface, the stories here are pretty simple: Kate decides to become Manhunter and battles Copperhead, Kate tangles with the Shadow Thief while her son is in hospital, Kate tries to avoid the Justice League while they track down the murderer of Firestorm. Each of the stories is pretty simple in and of itself.

It's impossible not to see the influence of Alias on this book: both are about women in law-enforcement professions, and both women are depicted as more "real" than your average superheroine, with various foibles like drugs (Jessica drank a lot, while Kate smokes) and attitude problems and being embroiled in things like bad relationships. Writer Marc Andreyko stated in his introduction that he wanted a "fully-clothed, average-busted woman," though artist Jesus Saiz seems to have compensated for this by making her outfit improbably skintight and including a lot of ass shots. (Though, Jesus Saiz is a pretty solid artist in general whose work I feel is usually confined to miniseries, so I'm happy to see him get an ongoing here.)

What makes Manhunter work so far is the small things: Kate wondering how does Black Canary "do this in fishnets and heels" when she struggles in a supersuit, the Shadow Thief leaving a tip for his waitress, there being witness protection for supervillain henchmen (and the flashback panels showing ex-henchman Rich in different outfits as he transfers from Two-Face to Killer Frost to Black Manta), and Kate's gay assistant hitting on Aquaman when the Justice League comes to LA. Kate is definitely not an unflawed character (seriously, she is an awful mother, but then again, Batman is an awful father), but she is a "relatable" one and I look forward to seeing what Andreyko and company do with her now that the basic setup has been established.

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