Review: Fables
Okay, I've rambled about/squeed over/annoyed the hell out of you all with it enough, it's high time I posted my review of Fables.
And then I promise I'm going to shut up about it and return to squeeing over Logan and Star Trek again for a while. XD;;
BUT BEFORE I START, a note:
I am reading this story in trade paperback format - that is, in collected volumes as opposed to issue-by-issue. So when I refer to a number (say, volume three) I am talking about the numbering system of the trade paperbacks, not individual issues.
Also, I would highly recommend going into this series as blindly as possible. Go only with your own knowledge of the fairytales and nothing about Willingham’s interpretation. It’s much more fun this way, I think. X3
…Which is why this review is as spoiler-free as I can get it to be. I am not going to be the fool who spoils the awesome for you.
Fables is an ongoing comic series written by Bill Willingham, published by Vertigo comics. The series begins with a murder-mystery that feels a bit like a mash-up of Law and Order and, say, Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie, but soon shifts focus to the entirety of Fabletown - and its plight.
Fabletown, you see, is a small, hidden-in-plain-sight home for the Fables - the characters in our oh-so familiar fairy tales - who were forced from their homelands by an enemy known as the Adversary. They are immortal, magical, and very different to the average human being, and because of this they must keep their true nature secret. But they are refugees in our world, and they know it.
They also know it’s only a matter of time before the Adversary finds out about their haven and makes a move on our world, as well.
--
You guys, I can’t stress enough how much awesome this series contains. I really can’t. It’s just awfully hard to talk about this series in a way that doesn’t give any of the plot away - and god knows I really don’t want to do that. Damn near everything in this story is important, from the first page of the first volume right on through where I am at the moment. Every character has a part to play. Every object mentioned comes back later. (I recently went back and reread the first volume after hitting volume ten, and ohhhh the things I noticed the second time around…) At this point, I’m almost willing to bet the setting is important. That’s just how much care has been put into this series.
And that’s not even the end of it. Bill Willingham manages to weave an incredibly successful, innovative story using characters we’re all familiar with - Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, the Big Bad Wolf, Little Boy Blue, and Red Riding Hood amongst so many others - and a plot so intricate and so detailed and so obviously thought out my jaw settles a little deeper in my lap with each turn of the page.
This is innovation at its finest. Whenever someone tells me that all stories have been told before and that nothing is original, I will throw this series in their face. Yes, it takes ideas from stories almost as old as humanity, but it changes them up into something I had never before imagined but now cannot be without.
And the characters - oh, man. The characters. Lemme tell you, I’ve been so used to picturing them the way Disney reinterpreted them that reading a whole knew interpretation is both thrilling and terrifying.
Snow White? Not a tiny, sweet-natured thirteen year old girl, but a BAMF bureaucrat that takes shit from no one and keeps the entirety of Fabletown running (surprisingly, this is possible! And AWESOME).
And her Prince Charming? A womanizer extraordinaire. Who was the Prince Charming for Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty.
The Big Bad Wolf? A sheriff. Made of awesome. He’s my favorite, though I’m sure that’s no surprise (for starters, wolf. For two, sometimes he reminds me of Old Man Logan. For three? He’s awesome and can be so adorkable I don’t even have words, I just make little gushing noises.)
And, guys, that’s barely even covering a fraction of the cast. This story has flying monkeys, long-dead, prophecy-spewing knights, Mowgli, Sinbad, and the heart-rending story of the little frog prince. (No, seriously, I sobbed like a little girl.)
I don’t think you even have to be a comics fan to appreciate the amount of thought and effort Willingham has put into this beautifully crafted story. I would love to have more people to squee with, so go read Fables so I’m not so alone anymore~
…I’d suggest, however, reading through the first three volumes before judging the series. The first two arcs are important to setting up the rest of the story, but are much more stand-alone than the story arcs started in volume three. In order to really get an idea for how this series works, reading volumes one and two (“Legends in Exile” and “Animal Farm” respectively) isn’t enough.
I would also suggest finding and reading the back-story collection “1001 Nights of Snowfall” as early as possible. Some of the stories showcased in that collection are referred to in various levels of detail in later volumes, and it helps to have read them in their full form before you get to that point. I read it after I finished volume two (“Animal Farm” but before I read volume three (“Storybook Love”), and that seemed to work out pretty well - I knew enough about each character already mentioned to know whose back story was whose without having to guess how any of the back story was relevant.
As far as criticism goes, the only problem I have had insofar with this story is the passing of in-canon time. The comics tend to skip months and years at a time without much indication of how much time has gone by between stories - though there are clues, especially later on, that you can use to help. I've found myself assuming a new arc picked up a scant few weeks after the last only to find out that it was months or even years. But that’s a relatively small problem, all things considered, especially compared to the awesome of the rest of this story.
And there you have it guys, my crazy flailings about Fables. Now, seriously, go and find a way to read this series and then come squee with me. I AM IN DIRE NEED OF SOMEONE TO FANGIRL WITH.
And then I promise I'm going to shut up about it and return to squeeing over Logan and Star Trek again for a while. XD;;
BUT BEFORE I START, a note:
I am reading this story in trade paperback format - that is, in collected volumes as opposed to issue-by-issue. So when I refer to a number (say, volume three) I am talking about the numbering system of the trade paperbacks, not individual issues.
Also, I would highly recommend going into this series as blindly as possible. Go only with your own knowledge of the fairytales and nothing about Willingham’s interpretation. It’s much more fun this way, I think. X3
…Which is why this review is as spoiler-free as I can get it to be. I am not going to be the fool who spoils the awesome for you.
Fables is an ongoing comic series written by Bill Willingham, published by Vertigo comics. The series begins with a murder-mystery that feels a bit like a mash-up of Law and Order and, say, Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie, but soon shifts focus to the entirety of Fabletown - and its plight.
Fabletown, you see, is a small, hidden-in-plain-sight home for the Fables - the characters in our oh-so familiar fairy tales - who were forced from their homelands by an enemy known as the Adversary. They are immortal, magical, and very different to the average human being, and because of this they must keep their true nature secret. But they are refugees in our world, and they know it.
They also know it’s only a matter of time before the Adversary finds out about their haven and makes a move on our world, as well.
--
You guys, I can’t stress enough how much awesome this series contains. I really can’t. It’s just awfully hard to talk about this series in a way that doesn’t give any of the plot away - and god knows I really don’t want to do that. Damn near everything in this story is important, from the first page of the first volume right on through where I am at the moment. Every character has a part to play. Every object mentioned comes back later. (I recently went back and reread the first volume after hitting volume ten, and ohhhh the things I noticed the second time around…) At this point, I’m almost willing to bet the setting is important. That’s just how much care has been put into this series.
And that’s not even the end of it. Bill Willingham manages to weave an incredibly successful, innovative story using characters we’re all familiar with - Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, the Big Bad Wolf, Little Boy Blue, and Red Riding Hood amongst so many others - and a plot so intricate and so detailed and so obviously thought out my jaw settles a little deeper in my lap with each turn of the page.
This is innovation at its finest. Whenever someone tells me that all stories have been told before and that nothing is original, I will throw this series in their face. Yes, it takes ideas from stories almost as old as humanity, but it changes them up into something I had never before imagined but now cannot be without.
And the characters - oh, man. The characters. Lemme tell you, I’ve been so used to picturing them the way Disney reinterpreted them that reading a whole knew interpretation is both thrilling and terrifying.
Snow White? Not a tiny, sweet-natured thirteen year old girl, but a BAMF bureaucrat that takes shit from no one and keeps the entirety of Fabletown running (surprisingly, this is possible! And AWESOME).
And her Prince Charming? A womanizer extraordinaire. Who was the Prince Charming for Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty.
The Big Bad Wolf? A sheriff. Made of awesome. He’s my favorite, though I’m sure that’s no surprise (for starters, wolf. For two, sometimes he reminds me of Old Man Logan. For three? He’s awesome and can be so adorkable I don’t even have words, I just make little gushing noises.)
And, guys, that’s barely even covering a fraction of the cast. This story has flying monkeys, long-dead, prophecy-spewing knights, Mowgli, Sinbad, and the heart-rending story of the little frog prince. (No, seriously, I sobbed like a little girl.)
I don’t think you even have to be a comics fan to appreciate the amount of thought and effort Willingham has put into this beautifully crafted story. I would love to have more people to squee with, so go read Fables so I’m not so alone anymore~
…I’d suggest, however, reading through the first three volumes before judging the series. The first two arcs are important to setting up the rest of the story, but are much more stand-alone than the story arcs started in volume three. In order to really get an idea for how this series works, reading volumes one and two (“Legends in Exile” and “Animal Farm” respectively) isn’t enough.
I would also suggest finding and reading the back-story collection “1001 Nights of Snowfall” as early as possible. Some of the stories showcased in that collection are referred to in various levels of detail in later volumes, and it helps to have read them in their full form before you get to that point. I read it after I finished volume two (“Animal Farm” but before I read volume three (“Storybook Love”), and that seemed to work out pretty well - I knew enough about each character already mentioned to know whose back story was whose without having to guess how any of the back story was relevant.
As far as criticism goes, the only problem I have had insofar with this story is the passing of in-canon time. The comics tend to skip months and years at a time without much indication of how much time has gone by between stories - though there are clues, especially later on, that you can use to help. I've found myself assuming a new arc picked up a scant few weeks after the last only to find out that it was months or even years. But that’s a relatively small problem, all things considered, especially compared to the awesome of the rest of this story.
And there you have it guys, my crazy flailings about Fables. Now, seriously, go and find a way to read this series and then come squee with me. I AM IN DIRE NEED OF SOMEONE TO FANGIRL WITH.