Fables: The Take-downs of Baba Yaga, Part 1

[glprime]

Fulfilling my second holiday request, this series of posts is dedicated to ravenous_raven.

Be fairly warned, if you haven't read any of Bill Willingham's Fables (WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?), here there be spoilers. Also, I'm not gonna waste too much time explaining who every single person is and what they're about. There's Google and Wikipedia for that ;)



So, with the Empire learning of a refuge of free Fables living in the Mundy world (our world), he's set out some of his best enchanted wooden soldiers to mow them all down and reclaim his beloved "first son," Pinocchio. They are helped in this endeavor by Red Riding Hood (or at least someone claiming to be her).

This results in the Battle of Fabletown (or the Battle of Bullfinch Street to be more precise), where every Fable who can provide assistance is doing so... except those spellcasting members of the 13th Floor. They prefer to stay out of direct combat, but Frau Totenkinder (their current leader), is quite incensed by a panicked "order" from Snow White to pour on the magic rain as an attempt to burn the soldiers has just resulted in a great fire spreading.



We're to think she means Snow, but as it turns out, she's seeking out the Red (Riding) Hood.





*DING* *DING*

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, your magical contenders:

In this corner, hailing from a chicken-legged house, the undisputed witch of the Rus, eater of children, rider of a mortar and pestle, BABA YAGA!

And in this corner, the challenger, hailing from a gingerbread cottage, formerly of the Black Forest of the Hesse, eater of children, maker of fine-needlework, FRAU TOTENKINDER!

Lllllllllllets get ready to ruuuuuuuumblllllle!





Given what little we can see reflected in King Cole's spectacles, I'd say Fables witch/wizard duels are following T.H. White rules.

The aftermath...





With the army of invading soldiers defeated, the Fables gather to bury their dead in the only place they know they safely can: the Witching Well, a place from which no things return. There's one last addition at the end of the ceremonies, Red Riding Hood(aka Baba Yaga)'s body. While it's hated that she's being "laid" with with the honored and beloved fallen, there's no other course of action.

All's well that ends well. But after chatting with a recovering Boy Blue who looks over the imprisoned immortal heads of the wooden soldiers, Sheriff Bigby Wolf heads down further into the catacombs of the Head Office and meets with Frau Totenkinder and another captive...



Well, surely that's never gonna come back to bite them in the ass? Yes, it will. And don't call me "Shirley."

Tune in next time to see the return of the former champ, and how she was brought down a second time (for good?).


6 and 3/4 pages from Fables #27 behind the cut.

Comments

[punishermax]

Ah yes, keeping your enemy tied up in the basement, a tactic that always ends well.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go into this deserted mansion and scream "IS ANYONE IN HERE?" for an hour.

[icon_uk]

Don't forget, when the masked killer appears, run UPstairs, where there's no decent exit. (See "Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon" for details on the "dos and don'ts")

[viridian5]

Wandering around in just your underwear helps too.

[icon_uk]

Sadly, male characters are less likely to do that than the female ones..

[viridian5]

I know. It's discrimination!

[hyperactivator]

I love this woman's origin.

[tacobob]

Good ol' Frau. She's here to kick ass and knit sweaters and she's out of yarn!

[glprime]

I think for Totenkinder, the motto would be, "I'm here to knit sweaters and kick ass, and I'm all outta ass to kick!"

Especially in this case.

[ian_karkull]

Sorry, but "Frau" is not her first name. It's German for "Mrs", as in "Mrs. Smith".
It cannot be used on it's own.

Don't take it personal, but it's a pet peeve of mine.

[blackruzsa]

Loooved this part.

[lonewolf23k]

I like the way Frau Totenkinder puts it... "Could have been any old witch in the woods."

And she would know. Because she's -always- the old witch in the woods.

She litterally is, "The Witch that Did It."

[karthzon.livejournal.com]

Except when it's Baba Yaga. But really, it's only those two. Which is why it's so awesome that they fight.

[ravenous_raven]

Thanks so much for fulfilling my request! I really love the matter-of-fact dialogue between the witches here, the creepy summoning charm, and Frau Totenkinder's explanation of why she's so awesome. Hope she comes back!

[ruhig_knight]

Seeing more of Frau Totenkinder is a good enough reason to continue where I left off on Fables.

*Adds to 'Must Read Soon' list*

[thandrak]

Frau Totenkinder is lying. There's a reason she's a metric buttload more powerful than Baba Yaga. She's an old knitting woman whose spells are all in doggerel.

http://bcmnc.blount.k12.al.us/cover.jpg

It's the only thing that makes sense.

[badficwriter]

They introduce Mother Goose later in this series, I believe. 'Birdie' created Fabletown.

[ghosty732]

Actually, Mother Goose appears in Jack of Fables. So Mother Birdie/Mother Cherish/Ardelia/Beulah is some other "Fairy Witch" that has yet to be identified conclusively (other than being the witch in the Thumbelina story).

[ghosty732]

This is my favourite scene of the entire series.

As much as I still love the series (even in spite of the Fables Crossover), I don't think it will ever live up to March of the Wooden Soldiers and the story arcs around that.

[thatnickguy]

I have read Fables. I used to love Fables.

Until, that is, there was a trade that crossed over with Jack of Fables (a title I tried and didn't care for). The majority of the crossover focused on Jack, including lots of things that I didn't understand because i didn't read JoF.

So, when a trade goes from volume 12 to 13 and I can't follow along? That's when I stop reading.

[arbre_rieur]

They really ought to have released FABLES vol. 13 as JACK OF FABLES vol... whatever number it would have been.

[ghosty732]

I own all the trades except 13 (the Crossover), and honestly the story doesn't suffer for it. They mention the whole thing with Jack for maybe... 3 pages of Volume 14 (Witches). It's easy to get passed, and Volume 14 is really quite good!

[richardak]

I agree that this was the high point of the series. The entire rest of the war with the Empire was kind of anticlimactic. I liked the crossover with Jack of Fables though; I thought the genres were hilarious.

What's funny about this is that, in Polish folklore, at least according to one source, Baba Jaga is the witch in the gingerbread hut.