When the proposal was first approved for CINDERELLA: FABLES ARE FOREVER (issue #3 on sale this Wednesday), I asked artist extraordinaire Shawn McManus to send me some rough character sketches of Cinderella and Dorothy in their Big 80s Garb. And I stressed rough as in “super rough, sketchbook style.” So of course, he sent me this amazing finished piece...complete with fishnet capris!!
Just who is Cindy’s enemy who was thought dead?
Here’s a hint from writer Chris Roberson: The second Cinderella miniseries, CINDERELLA: FABLES ARE FOREVER, sees Fabletown's greatest super-spy coming face-to-face with an enemy that Cindy had thought long dead. And we learn that Fabletown wasn't the ONLY community of Fables in the Mundy world, after all.
FAME!
While it may seem daunting to anyone who has ever attended the San Diego Comicon, you can get discovered and procure actual work from a major publisher in the same century. Or in this case, the same summer.
I met the extremely talented painter Chrissie Zullo at the San Diego Comicon of 2008 through the DC Portfolio Review. I repeat: I met extremely talented painter Chrissie Zullo at the San Diego Comicon of 2008 through the DC Portfolio Review.
Upon following the rules that she observed at the Annual Portfolio Review Orientation, Chrissie submitted her portfolio. And then, along with a handful of my colleagues, I reviewed the hundreds/thousands of submissions and found somewhere between 8-12 people whom I wanted to meet over the course of the weekend. Chrissie was definitely at the top of my list and when we met face-to-face for a 15 minute chat, she revealed her passion for FABLES.
I remember commenting on how much I liked her painting style -- specifically the balance of the pretty and the "don't think you're going to take me home just yet" power. Chrissie has a mercurial charm, evident not only in the alluring execution of her figure work but also in her choice of rich, traditional color palettes. She finds inspiration from classical painters such as Jean Honore Fragonard and Francois Boucher, and modernists alike, including comic book artists Winsor McCay, James Jean and Adam Hughes.
I challenged Chrissie to send me a few "mock" FABLES covers on spec in the months to come to see how her sense of composition could vary as well as to see what she could do when presented with the design challenges of working the necessary text elements into her cover art.
When her camera-ready samples came in a few weeks later, I couldn't believe my eyes. And strangely enough, at that very millisecond, I was looking for a cover artist for the new CINDERELLA: FROM FABLETOWN WITH LOVE miniseries. One of Chrissie's images in particular happened to look like Cinderella so it seemed like there was more than a good chance that she could handle this fantastic first assignment. Upon showing Chrissie's samples to Bill Willingham, he replied "Hire that woman!" on the spot. And let me tell you: I can count the number of times Bill has uttered those three words on one pinky. When my boss Karen Berger concurred, the rest became, shall we say, art history. CINDERELLA: FROM FABLETOWN WITH LOVE with covers by Chrissie Zullo will be in stores beginning November 4th.
So, to those of you aspiring talents who think it's impossible to win the lottery, reread the above. And if you still find it too hard to believe straight up, chew on this: Not only is Chrissie one of the most talented new cover painters of her generation, one of us is only 22.
Shelly
As some of you have noticed I'm on a FABLES kick--I recently posted about all the SDCC announcements, the upcoming CINDERELLA mini-series, and just yesterday PETER & MAX. FABLES issue #87 is the start of a new arc called The Witches. At it's heart is an inside look at the many witches of the 13th floor and one of my favorite animal characters, Bufkin the flying monkey. I know, weird right? I think it's because, as a child, the creatures were so scary to me in The Wizard of Oz, yet turned out to be good in the end, that I became fascinated by them. Bufkin can often be found putting books on the high shelves of the business office, but since the collapse of Fabletown, the office has gone missing and now Bufkin's trapped with the evil Baba Yaga and must endure her wrath.
In my excitement for all things FABLES I want to give you a peek inside issue #87.
[gallery link="file"]
Yep, this 5 issue arc is gonna be good!
Some amazing images from CINDERELLA: From Fabletown with Love by Chris Roberson and artist Shawn McManus with covers by Chrissie Zullo were revealed at the FABLES panel at the San Diego Comic Convention, and now you're able to see them for the first time here.
Cover of #1
From issue #2
From issue #3
I’ve read the first issue and have to say, for those of you who’ve been wanting more of Cindy since her undercover work to the cloud kingdom and her trip to Ushuaia, Argentina to pick up a “package” are in for quite an adventure. And as for visuals, well, the opening of issue #1 contains a 2 page spread of Big Ben and Cindy in a cocktail dress and heels that’s stunning!
And here's the cover of #2
Do you know who the mysterious man is? Are they both undercover spies?
