Jack in the Wild West. Because of course he is. It's an interesting look at the life of a fable further back in time, Jack in particular. And it's nice to see the contrast between Bigby and Jack. Jack may be a fool, but at least he's a passionate one.

Then we get some more scenes back in the future where it looks like war is coming to the Jack of the Fables universe as well as the Fables series. Of course they're both more or less at once. I still do wonder if/when the Literals are going to start crossing over to the main series. Perhaps in [b:Fables, Vol. 13: The Great Fables Crossover|6503780|Fables, Vol. 13 The Great Fables Crossover|Bill Willingham|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388376832l/6503780._SY75_.jpg|6695339]?

Also, this scene was particularly amusing to me:



I grew up a stones' throw from Jasper/Huntingburg, Indiana. You don't often hear about them in fiction though. They're small midwestern towns.

Spoilers and more pretty/awesome/pretty awesome pictures:



It's funny because he's a talking horse.



That horse isn't so bright, is he?



The Lessons of War. From one to another who have both lived through a small pile of them. Reminds me a bit of Wolverine (of X-Men fame).



Super strong and kind of hilarious.



Now we're back in the present and... it turns out they did put Humpty Dumpty together again... As a Deviled Egg. I love it.



Yolks on you, he's full of puns. Truely evil then.

Also, calling the Pathetic Fallacy a Pathetic Fuckwad is both a major language warning and kind of hilarious.



Another Literal! I don't really understand them, but it works. Incoming DEUS EX MACHINA! ( )

I think that this is the last Jack graphic novel that I'm going to bother reading. The plots just keep getting worse and worse, and Jack is still so obnoxious that I can't take it anymore. Maybe I'll come back to it someday, but I highly doubt it since I have about a million other books to read. ( )

This was my least favorite of the series so far. Maybe it was the setting, I don't know. I just didn't like it. :/ ( )

This is my least favorite issue of the Jack of Fables to date. We are told about Jack’s days as a desperado in the West and how Bigby put a stop to his evil ways. And speaking of evil ways, I think this is why I wasn’t so fond of this issue. Jack is usually a cad and a rogue but in this story he was truly an evil, bad man.

Finally the story gets back to the trouble at Golden Boughs and has the Literals lining up for a battle. Most of the Fables don’t seem to understand what is happening and are looking at this as another opportunity to escape. This story does give us a little more information on the Page sisters, and thankfully, Baby the Blue Oxen is along for comic relief , although I didn’t find him as funny in this issue as in the last. ( )

Summary: Turning Pages consists of two three-issue story arcs. First is "1883", in which Jack is posing as Smilin' Jack Candle, leader of a notorious gang of outlaws in the Wild West, and in which we finally learn why Bigby Wolf really dislikes Jack so much. The second arc is "Turning Pages", in which the Page sisters' cousin (who is herself a Literal) tells us a little about each sister in turn, about their history, and their role in the aftermath of the events we've seen in previous Jack of Fables volumes.

Review: Not one of the better Jack of Fables volumes. I'm okay with installments where not a lot happens, plot-wise, as long as we learn something new about the characters or the history... and in this one, we just... didn't. I mean, I like Westerns well enough, andas happy as I was to see Bigby show up, I didn't realize that the animosity between him and Jack really needed explaining. I'd always assumed that Bigby hated Jack because Jack is an insufferable, obnoxious nuisance... and it turns out I'm right. And while the background on the Page girls was interesting in its own way, it wasn't enough to carry the volume, especially when there are so many pieces to keep in motion at one time - something Willingham is usually pretty good at. So, while I'll certainly keep reading, this volume didn't exactly leave me crying for more. At least the writers are playing to the crowd a little bit, and included plenty of Babe the Blue Ox. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: One of the weaker volumes so far, but there's enough little snippets of interest that it's worth reading... plus true Fables fans can't *not* pick up this latest installment. ( )