Fairy Quest: Outlaws Review

Fairy Quest: Outlaws

writer- Paul Jenkins

artist- Humberto Ramos

Fairy Quest: Outlaws crossed my desk recently, and I was finally able to see for myself what all the buzz was about. It takes place in a land called Fablewood where nursery rhymes live out their lives playing and replaying the stories laid out for them. Peter Pan always torments Captain Hook, Sleeping Beauty always gets kissed by the Prince, and Red Riding Hood's grandma always gets eaten by the

wolf. This is a story about what would happen if Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf became friends.

When I first heard of this book, it was a kickstarter pitched by writer Paul Jenkins. I interviewed Jenkins for this site, and we talked about his work with Marvel and his recent work with DC, but we really got into talking about this incredible friendship between a little girl and her wolf, and how they must run for their lives to a land stranger than the one they know.

Jenkins and Ramos created a labour of love in this book, and it really shows. In the interview, which you can listen to here, I asked the writer how he decided to use Humberto Ramos as his artist. He explained that it was actually Ramos that came to him with the idea, saying that it was a book that just needed to be made. Thankfully, Jenkins agreed, because this book is superbly written and stunningly beautiful to look at.

Years ago, I was ignorant and critical of Ramos' artwork. Today, I look at the characters he creates and realize that it's just another style, or another way of telling the story with images. Of course now that I'm older and have learned a thing or two, I find myself loving everything by him and scooping it all up, whenever I can. One thing is for sure, there's nobody out there who could have pulled off what he did in Fairy Quest. How can I criticize something that comes off as pretty darned perfect? Let's take his character “Red” for instance. She has huge childlike eyes, big clumsy feet, legs that look like noodles, and a stern pouty look that says this little girl means business. That's his art and honestly, in real life, that's what every girl Red's age looks like anyway. So, no. I don't have any criticism of Humberto Ramos' artwork. His children look like children, his wolf looks large and robust, and his villains look as evil and as nasty as anything I've ever seen.

And what about the writing? It's brilliant. There's obviously a rapport here, between artist and writer, that most creative teams aspire to achieve. It's as if Jenkins and Ramos are finishing each other's sentences in the form of a beautiful fairytale.

I've always been a fan of Paul Jenkins because he's the guy who proves to publishers that instead of the holo-foil, glow-in-the-dark, gravy flavored, scratch and sniff covers the gimmick in the comic book can actually just be great writing. He makes us believe in Never Never Land because he makes us believe Fairy Quest really is a children's book, but it isn't. It's a story about change, and freedom, and standing up for what's right. Those are all great things for kids to learn about, but it's crucial that adults know about them too.

in Peter Pan. And he does it by telling the story as if it's being told to a child. Who'd lie to a child? It might sound like I'm saying that

Look up Fairy Quest: Outlaws. I promise you'll love it, and Jenkins and Ramos promise that the saga will continue.