Review by Frank Plowright

A clever conceit about Jack is that he’s pretty well every Jack from nursery rhymes and fairy tales, so that was him with the beanstalk, and him who jumped over the candlestick, and more surprisingly, he was also Jack Frost. Jack of Hearts begins with Jack’s two chapter explanation of how that came to be the case.

Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges produce an unlikely bragging tale that ends up having quite the significance later down the line, and it’s a Jack of Fables highlight. Yes, Jack’s already objectionable as a young man, but the way things progress, and the pre-Adversary setting of the Homelands keep up the interest. Steve Leialoha’s art is a cut above series regular Tony Akins, being more imaginative and having a greater delicacy.

The remainder of the collection has Jack in Las Vegas, which you might imagine as the spiritual home of the conman and trickster, and so it proves to be. However, it also returns the problem of The (Nearly) Great Escape of Jack being front and central, the spotlight rarely deviating from him. This is another staged comedy adventure, slightly better than the first volume, not least for the frenetic pace. Jack’s sidekick Gary able to give life to inanimate objects is key to a Vegas winning streak, and Jack’s not the only one finding good fortune. However, a leading character so thoroughly lacking in principle just doesn’t engage, due to moments of emotional turmoil and conscience having no consequence as Jack will always act in his own best interests.

Akins draws well enough, but without any individual spark, and sharing the collection with Leialoha shows that up.

The Bad Prince is next, and completes the trilogy of paperbacks collected in the first Jack of Fables Deluxe Edition.