Jack of Fables #21

The cover by Zachary Baldus sets a delightfully theatrical tone, depicting a self-satisfied Jack leaning smugly over a ruffled-collar-wearing figure — the decidedly un-regal Gary — who holds a hand mirror and a makeup brush beside a skull while asking, "A little more rouge, sweet prince?" The Hamlet-flavored staging is perfectly in keeping with the story title "Gary Does Denmark," promising the kind of absurdist literary send-up that Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges do so well. This May 2008 Vertigo entry even cheekily dares you to read it "if you want to appear highbrow without trying" — and honestly, that's a pitch hard to resist.