Review by Frank Plowright

Co-writers Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges begin Americana with an intriguing premise. The Fables series deals with the world of fairy tale characters, but the USA has its own myths, and Paul Bunyan has been a minor secondary character from the start. Why not consider other homegrown legends? Americana has a place among the Homelands, but although access has been closed off for some while, a repaired Humpty Dumpty knows a way in. It means hopping a special train, and to do that you have to be a hobo.

Jack isn’t the only one looking for the mythical place. Hillary Page, accompanied by a growing Paul Bunyan is also on the hunt, although for a very different purpose, and their paths inevitably cross.

Beyond the interesting premise, there’s a quality upgrade via having Russ Braun draw the entire main story. His work delivers the characters and a variety of locations, all of them attractively. He’s also convincing with scenes such as a man walking down the street talking with the giant egg at his side. Unfortunately, though, Americana may look nicer than earlier volumes, but it’s another case of not judging a book by its Brian Bolland cover.

Willingham and Sturges really have to stretch the parameters to come up with a viable selection of what constitutes Americana, and much isn’t myths and legends, but past eras. We’re given a prohibition gangster stopover, the Busby Berkley musical, cameos from Huckleberry Finn and Jim… So many, in fact, that they squeeze out most of the story, despite most merely being ticks on a list. What’s left isn’t up to much, introducing a new villain, presenting an improbable submission and a very convenient win for Jack.

Regular artist Tony Akins returns for the final story, his pages looking far better for his inking his own pencils and for having more time than the usual monthly deadline. It’s another story of Jack attempting to escape, rather undermined by the deus-ex-machina ending to the previous story having provided the ideal method. Someone could just carry him away. Jack’s comedy antics ruin a performance of Hamlet in what’s an extremely self-aware script on the part of the writers, and not as funny as they think.

Next up is Turning Pages, combined with this in the second Jack of Fables Deluxe Edition.