Everafter vol. 2: The Unsentimental Education

Does the second volume of this “Fables” spin-off make me sad that we’re not going to see any more of it?  Not really.  Most of this volume is the same kind of fine approximation of the original series that the first one managed, with a weird but serious detour into examining how hope can emerge from a warped power fantasy.  It starts when three bullied nerds get their hands on some magical artifacts and take an entire school hostage.  How did they get these artifacts?  One of them is the son of Inola Tanner, the operative of the shadowy organization known as Acquisitions seen in the previous chapter, and they came from the secret collection she’s been keeping from her bosses.  Not wanting to turn to them because of that, she contacts Feathertop who brings in the Shadow Players to try and set everything right.

The best part about this volume is the prologue chapter which introduces us to budding warlock Robert Speckland and, like the one-off story from the previous chapter, comes the closest to capturing the spirit of the original series. That’s due partly to the outlandishness of the story itself, which at one point has a magically powered car chasing Baba Yaga’s house up a beanstalk, but is mainly the result of being illustrated by regular “Fables” artist Mark Buckingham.  His work is a reminder of the good old days and that counts for a lot here.

As for the main arc of “The Unsentimental Education,” it’s perfectly fine when it sticks to what’s going on outside of the school with the hostage situation.  There’s lots of madcap action, some clever uses of powers, and an ending that wraps things up about as well as could be expected in this situation.  Where it goes wrong is in the issue that spotlights what’s going on inside the school after a magical mistake causes time to pass much faster inside than outside.  The kind of civilization that emerges from the kind of power-trip scenario that birthed it is as disturbing as you’d expect.  This is the part of the volume that will stick with you the most, which is too bad that writers Dave Justus and Lilah Sturges mostly fail to develop it further after its spotlight issue.  So while vol. 2 isn’t completely without merit it solidly marks the whole “Everafter” endeavor as one for the completists.