Fairest, Volume 2: The Hidden Kingdom

It's almost a truism of Vertigo books, by this point, that the first collection of stories is the series finding its feet, and volume 2 is where things really take off. That's definitely the case with Fairest - Lauren Beukes takes over from Willingham, and treats us to a story of Japanese mythology, and of Rapunzel's past catching up with her. I'm not an expert on the mythology of Japan, so there were times I was running to Wikipedia, but that was only for the in-depth stuff - the basics of the story all would have been understandable with zero knowledge of Japan (although knowledge of the mythos of Fables would be helpful). Beukes tells a story that's scary, funny, sexy, and thrilling - she understands the core of what makes Fables enjoyable and stuffs it all into her scripts.