Fables #100

Fables reaches its landmark 100th issue with a cover by Joao Ruas that sets a striking, otherworldly tone: a woman in a flowing red dress, dagger in hand, faces a towering, gaunt figure whose lower body seems to dissolve into gnarled roots and earth, while a skull-faced specter drifts ominously between them. The image of single combat between beauty and something ancient and death-touched perfectly captures the dark fairy-tale atmosphere that Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, and their collaborators have built across nearly a decade of storytelling. At $9.99, this oversized 2011 milestone from Vertigo is a fitting celebration of one of mature comics' most imaginative ongoing series.