 |
Cinderella's animal helpers:
Puss in Boots, Jenny Wren, and Dickory. |
Once upon a time, in Fabletown, there was a young woman called Cinderella. To hear her tell it, everyone knows her story. She gets dressed up, the clock strikes twelve, she loses a shoe. But there's so much more to it than that. As Cinderella says, she's "tried to find other jobs, and none of them really took. Even menial labor for awhile, but decided it wasn't really for me. I tried playing the loving wife, as you know, but it didn't really work out. Now, as far as most people are concerned, I'm a globe-trotting gadabout with a beef against her ex-husband." She owns a shoe store, and stays in contact with her old friends, Puss in Boots, Jenny Wren, and Dickory, who claims to be "the fastest mouse alive." What Mother Goose never told us is that each of these creatures has an extraordinary ability. Puss has powers of persuasion, Jenny is "the best surveillance agent... since WWl", and the mouse, who is able to "affect the flow of time". It's a little trick he learned while running up all those clocks. Cinderella is an athletic girl who likes a little spice in her life, and the career that suits this sweet young thing best is that of spy. She and her little animal friends work for the same boss: Frau Totenkinder. This not-so-nice-old lady sends Cinderella on a mission to find out who is trafficking in unauthorized Seven League Boots and Singing Swords. Cinderella, armed with three magical charms that can each summon a powerful friend, flies to Baghdad for further orders. And this is where 21st century geography meets the Arabian Nights. When she meets a dark, dangerous — and handsome!— stranger there, things get a little bit more exciting. And when she and this mysterious young man are captured by shape-shifting demons called Ghols. Over the six parts of this comic novella, Cinderella saves Aladdin from the Ghols, goes back to Berlin, 1942 to take on the Nazis, and intercept a shipment of guns and ammo from the Mundane World, as it comes in to be traded for illicit magical weapons. Puss is summoned, as is Jenny Wren, and a trio of concubines are freed from the bad guys. As for the hidden mastermind trading in magical arms? Let's just say that Fairy Godmother — whose magic is good only until midnight — craves a little boost in her powers. In the end, Cindy and Aladdin get together. As Cinderella explains, she "doesn't believe in 'happily ever after'. Not anymore. But if the best I can manage is happily for the moment, then it'll have to do. Hey, it beats sitting in cinders and ashes, right?"
From Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love. A series of six comic books.
Roberson, C. & McManus, S. (2010) New York: DC Comics
Notes: I loved this book! Such a fun and funny take on the same old Cinderella. However it does contain the word penis, implied sex, scimitars, and semi-atomatic weapons. Plus wooden shoes used as projectiles. Good, rowdy fun! Ages 12+
Montessori Connection: Literature/Comic Books/History of Graphic Novels
1. Read this book.
or DC Super Heroes: The Ultimate Pop-Up Book
or Marvel Avengers: The Ultimate Character Guide
or The DC Comics Encyclopedia, Updated and Expanded Edition
or Comic Book Encyclopedia: The Ultimate Guide to Characters, Graphic Novels, Writers, and Artists in the Comic Book Universe
