Fables #88

This November 2009 Vertigo issue of Fables poses a tantalizing question right on its cover — "Pregnant?" — as a red-haired woman holds what appears to be a pregnancy test while a dark-haired man cradles her closely, their expressions caught in a moment of stunned intimacy. Lurking in the background is an elderly, wizened figure — suggestive of the witch Totenkinder herself — knitting with an unsettling calm, tying the image to the issue's story arc, "Totenkinder, Chapter Two of Witches." Cover artist Joao Ruas brings a painterly, storybook elegance to the scene that perfectly suits this Vertigo series' blend of fairy-tale wonder and very grown-up drama.