Cinderella follows the titular fairy tale character, who acts as a deep cover secret agent for Fabletown, though most of the community thinks she's simply a blonde headed bimbo that owns The Glass Slipper, an overpriced designer shoe store. When magical items start showing up in the mundy world from the Fables' homelands, it's up to Cindy to track down and stop whatever magical plot is a-brewin'. Along the way of course, we can expect run-ins with some clever modernizations of classic nursery rhymes and fairy tales.

 

Already in this first issue, we meet some of Cindy's awesome secret associates that include Puss-in-boots and Dickory the mouse. The issue mostly sets up the adventure to come, but in doing so we get to know Cinderella a little more thoroughly than we have in Fables proper. As a result, I've come to a strange revelation: Cindy is actually a pretty sad character. Sure, she's got her wits about her, is completely BA, and is a fun personality to follow, but there is something about her severe need to be overworked that pulls some weird fashion of sympathy out of me. 

 

Regardless, the wit of Roberson's work never lets up throughout the issue, and thus makes Cinderella a quick read, but one laced with jokes that will catch you off guard every few pages. The writer's work on Jack of Fables has clearly given him a handle on the style and tone of Fables as a whole, and that experience pays off here. Better yet, Cinderella is easily accessible for those unfamiliar with Fables. Though I don't particularly see an unfamiliar reader picking up this mini-series to begin his or her immersion in the Fables lore, Roberson does provide plenty of quick, non-intrusive explanations of the many Fables nooks and crannies. 

 

As for the work of Shawn McManus, almost the exact same thing could be said; his work is very much in keeping with the series, providing a pretty straight forward presentation of the narrative and its characters. It's not the most gorgeous book on the shelves, but the art is well above the standards of modern books, both in figure work and storytelling ability. 

 

And of course, the beautiful cover work of newcomer Chrissie Zullo can't be looked over. Her highly stylized and sexy portrait of Cinderella that graces the first issue is great, and it's certainly not hard to imagine jumping ahead a few years and seeing Zullo's work all over the place.