The creepiest Fables volume in ages. For my money, Toyland is far scarier than Mr. Dark was.

For a long time, Fables has been feeling a little played out, and since the defeat of the Adversary we've had some good individual stories (Peter & Max), but no satisfactory arcs. Mr. Dark, who I assume was supposed to be the Bogeyman, was too simplistically and single-mindedly evil to be truly worrisome, and was defeated handily by the North Wind almost as an afterthought.

With this volume and its predecessor, I think Willingham, Buckingham et al. have found their groove again. The story of Wolf & Snow's cubs is now the driver, and it's a good engine for stories. I was thinking about this volume for days after finishing it. It ends brilliantly, with the beginning of a conversation you'd love to be in on, but never will be. Looking forward to Vol. 19!