Prediction: I believe the murderer is the pig, does he have another name? I don’t really know why the pig would have motive to kill Rose Red, but I’m still pretty sure he did it. Looking throughout the novel so far I have noticed several frames where he is lurking in the background- and that seems like the thing the murderer would do in a graphic novel. He is hiding on page 37, when Snow White is talking to Prince Charming. On page 43 he is frantically running. Finally he is crashed on the lawn on page 70, being a murderer I would imagine, is pretty fatiguing. What would be the pig’s motive? Maybe he wanted revenge for his brother dying on page 59, I am not sure what Rose Red would have to do with his brother’s murder but then again, she had many secrets. Another possible explanation could be, maybe he just wanted her apartment, he doesn’t have one in the city and maybe he was desperate enough to be a city pig that he killed poor Rose Red. Again, I don’t know why or how he did it, but my guess is the guilty party is the pig.
Frame Analysis: When reading the novel I stopped and looked at the frame of Rose Red partying on page 17. I am drawn to this image because in addition to the detail it offers, it also has lots of artistic elements. This image occurs when Snow White is describing the partying nature of her sister. Snow White gives the reader a very one dimensional view at Rose Red’s character. This image shows Rose Red at a party surrounded by lots of other people. The image is closed off in a gold frame. Most of the image is colored a dark purple, full of chaos, giving the reader a feeling that Rose Red was surrounded by some shady people and was living a “dark” lifestyle. Rose Red however, is not colored in this dark light, a spot light shines on her; she appears to be the life of the party. However, this light also serves to separate her from her surroundings, suggesting that Rose Red may not have been the dark character Snow White makes her out to be. The framing of the picture in a gold eloquent frame suggests that although Rose Red led a controversial lifestyle, she was more elegant and refined than her sister makes her out to be. The combination of Snow White’s distaste for her sister in addition to the image itself causes a feeling of uncertainty about Rose Red. This feeling becomes a constant in the remainder of the book.
The Official Blog of WRTG 3007, Summer 2012 
Jessica,
I am kind of leaning towards your idea that the pig is the murderer. I also get the same feeling from the way he shows up in the background of the frame on page 37. He just looks suspicious. When he is seen running on page 43, this supported my theory. This is the frame I chose to analyze because of its significance to what is happening at that moment. Snow White and Bigby are about to enter Bluebeard’s apartment to question him, and the pig appears almost frantic in this frame. By seeing the pig again on page 70, my suspicions were increased further. If he’s not the murderer, at the very least, I suspect that he is working for the murderer, whoever that is.
Sabrina
I like how you highlighted the pig’s presence though out the first half of this mystery. If he isn’t the murderer he definitely knows something or at least is a symbol/indicator of the murderer. I have been trying to piece together the significance of his appearances as well. Also, I like you frame analysis. That was an image that caught my eye as well. Her company is clearly from the shadows, yet she stands about. This is also the first image we see of Red Rose and sets the stage for her character. We believe her to be a party animal, reckless and wild. But later we are revealed to other relationships she has and our perception of her gradually changes from the initial impression.
Good analysis of character! I’m interested to see what you think about the pig by the time Book 2 gets going…
Also, I like your frame analysis! You and several of your peers are drawn to the flashback technique of the gold frame and the color-washed background to signify past events. Looking at how this rhetorical technique operates in the series might be a good paper topic…
The pig really is a mystery character that like you said, is recurring throughout the novel but Willingham only goes as far as to introduce him. I can definitely see why this would make you question his motives. I wonder what he is doing in all of those frames behind the scene, Willingham is definitely setting him up for something good as the story goes on. I liked your frame choice as well, I looked at it for a while when reading because there was just so much going on. I also thought it would give away something about the mystery for sure. I agree that it sets up some suspicion to what Rose is really like and leaves the reader a lot less sure about how she was originally described. Very good description of the frame and character!
I love that you picked the pig! I did not realize that he was lurking in the background of so many frames…I am quite oblivious. I agree that is a great indication of a murder and I think Willingham would chose him because he is a very unlikely character. Pigs are never the bad guys but I would be pretty mad too if somebody blew my house down and maybe that made him want to go kill somebody? I also liked how you analyzed the colors of the frames and linked that to the fact that Rose was hanging out with “shady people”.
Your post really influenced me! Now I keep thinking about the pig as the murderer.. The only thing I keep thinking about is while it is a talking pig they don’t have thumbs so it would make it pretty tough to kill a pig. Also, the pig is living with Bigsby so I think he would have to already know the pig is guilty and trying to cover his tracks for him and that seems pretty unlikely. But who knows, we are just getting to know the characters and maybe Bigsby and the pig know something that we have yet to learn!
Jessica,
I also did my frame analysis on this picture. You pointed out many, many aspects of this picture that I did not even catch! I thought I was paying attention to detail, but in turn, that made me ignore the bigger picture. I was looking at little details like how the artist added logos and patterns to the characters’ shirts and clothing. I like how the artist drew the cigarette smoke. I did not even think about the color purple representing Rose Red’s dark lifestyle and the creepy, “bad” people she surrounded herself with. I think that is a great analysis and supports the plot line of Fables thus far.
I never thought the pig would be a suspect of murder, but after reading your analysis I could see how he could be. A lot of the time he is in the background, almost as if the pig is listening in on conversations. This really goes to show you, you really cannot trust any of the characters. I liked the frame you chose as well, in one frame you are able to see two personalities of Rose come out. I never thought of the color purple as representing the darker lifestyle. I think this also a great analysis and I noticed certain details that I did not notice before.
I guess after reading the second novel we know why he was included. It’s interesting how there is foreshadowing through images for the next novel!