Part of an ongoing series revisiting graphic novels and collected editions from days gone by....

Hard on the heels of a devastating battle between the residents of Fabletown, a refugee city hidden in the heart of New York, and the vast army of animated wooden soldiers sent by the Adversary, The Mean Seasons picks up with a casual lunch among the famous ex-wives of Prince Charming -- Snow White, Briar Rose and Cinderella -- who are grousing about the baser attributes of their former spouse. It seems an odd place to start, given all of the devastating losses just suffered by the community, to say nothing of untold property damage caused by wooden attackers set ablaze by a fire-breathing crow ... but writer Bill Willingham has already proven time and time again that his odd sense of storytelling works.

This is, for the most part, a filler issue, with a few single-issue, stand-alone stories filling up much of the space. The first gives us a bit of a spy thriller, with Cinderella seducing and exposing a literary figure who is a traitor to the Fabletown cause. Next, Bigby Wolf visits an old friend and relives a raid on a German castle during World War II, where readers are treated to an actual Frankenstein vs. the Wolf Man fight.

Then it's Election Day in Fabletown, and either King Cole or Prince Charming is going home unhappy. (Spoiler: It's King Cole, who has been mayor for so many centuries he's not sure how to function without the position.) The inevitable transfer of power follows, with both Deputy Mayor Snow White and Sheriff Bigby Wolf stepping down from their positions; Charming quickly appoints Beauty and Beast in their places. Meanwhile, Snow's pregnancy comes to term, and it turns out she's not just having Bigby's baby -- she's having his litter. Hijinks ensue.

New complications arise when the children -- or "pups," if you prefer -- are mostly nonhuman in appearance. That means banishment to the Farm upstate, where nonhuman Fables must live where they won't be seen by the Mundanes. But while Snow takes her relocation with good grace, Bigby is barred from the Farm ... something to do with the various depredations he wreaked among the animals there during his long-ago "Big Bad" days. So he disappears, with some degree of bitterness; meanwhile, his estranged father, the North Wind, shows up to meet his grandchildren.

And then the mysterious deaths begin. Boy Blue, his hands finally healed from the tortures he suffered in the previous issue, disappears on a quest to the Adversary's world to find his lost love, Riding Hood. The new mayor starts breaking campaign promises. And Ambrose, the Frog Prince, loses his job, his home and his purpose.

The Mean Seasons doesn't have the monumental import of past collections in this series, but it certainly advances the overall storyline in several key directions. Willingham has a keen grasp on his characters and he obviously knows where he's going with them, and I for one am here for the ride.