#77 Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall by Bill Willingham and illustrated by various artists
With the comic book series Fables, Bill Willingham ponders the question: “What happened to all the fairy tale characters after 
happily ever after?” With 1001 Nights of Snowfall, he also shows us what happened to many of our favorite characters before the first issue of Fables. Inspired by Arabian Nights, in 1001 Nights of Snowfal an imprisoned Snow White must spin a story each night to save her life the next morning. The stories she choses to tell delve into the backstory of our favorite Fables characters.
It's clear from the start that 1001 Nights of Snowfall is a very different read from the rest of the Fable series. For one thing, the frame story featuring Snow White in the role of Scheherazade rejects the comic book format. Instead we are presented with a prose tale decorated with illustrations by the oh-so-talented Charles Vess. Snow White's stories are illustrated in comic book format, each tale featuring a different artist. I particularly enjoyed John Bolton's work on “The Fencing Lessons.” Here, the art feels more realistic than most comics and at times reminded me of paintings. On the other hand, I also really enjoyed Tara McPherson's more cartoonish illustrations for “Diaspora." Such a mixture of styles may sound chaotic, but each piece is so well done that such a variety of styles actually enchances the reading experience instead of detracting from it.
Beyond the stunning artwork, 1001 Nights of Snowfall is also an eye opening experience character wise. This graphic novel does a fantastic job of giving us deeper insights into the characters that we have already come to know and love, often answering questions we didn't even know we should be asking. The biggest example of this that I can think of is “A Frog's Eye View.” If someone were to ask me who's backstory I would would move me the most, I would have never guessed Flycather's, but his tale is absolutely heartbreaking. Other stories caused me to rexamine my opinions of certain characters and their relationships. "The Fencing Lesson" is a good example of this.
Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall is an absolutely gorgeous addition to the Fables series. The artwork is always fantastic, and the stories are must reads for any fan of the series. Another perk of 1001 Nights of Snowfall is that there are no spoilers to be found on these pages. You can just as easily read this prequel as a new reader as an existing fan. 1001 Night of Snowfall is clearly one of my favorite graphic novels in the Fables series, and I'm quite happy that I picked it up.
Rating: five stars
Length: 144 pages
Source: Lewiston Public Library
Other books I've read by this author: Previous volumes of the Fables series, including Legends in Exile, Animal Farm, Storybook Love, March of the Wooden Soldiers, The Mean Seasons, Homelands, Arabian Nights, and Wolves
Next I will be reviewing The Wake of the Lorelei Lee by LA Meyer and Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George
xposted to temporaryworlds, bookish, and goodreads
happily ever after?” With 1001 Nights of Snowfall, he also shows us what happened to many of our favorite characters before the first issue of Fables. Inspired by Arabian Nights, in 1001 Nights of Snowfal an imprisoned Snow White must spin a story each night to save her life the next morning. The stories she choses to tell delve into the backstory of our favorite Fables characters.
It's clear from the start that 1001 Nights of Snowfall is a very different read from the rest of the Fable series. For one thing, the frame story featuring Snow White in the role of Scheherazade rejects the comic book format. Instead we are presented with a prose tale decorated with illustrations by the oh-so-talented Charles Vess. Snow White's stories are illustrated in comic book format, each tale featuring a different artist. I particularly enjoyed John Bolton's work on “The Fencing Lessons.” Here, the art feels more realistic than most comics and at times reminded me of paintings. On the other hand, I also really enjoyed Tara McPherson's more cartoonish illustrations for “Diaspora." Such a mixture of styles may sound chaotic, but each piece is so well done that such a variety of styles actually enchances the reading experience instead of detracting from it.
Beyond the stunning artwork, 1001 Nights of Snowfall is also an eye opening experience character wise. This graphic novel does a fantastic job of giving us deeper insights into the characters that we have already come to know and love, often answering questions we didn't even know we should be asking. The biggest example of this that I can think of is “A Frog's Eye View.” If someone were to ask me who's backstory I would would move me the most, I would have never guessed Flycather's, but his tale is absolutely heartbreaking. Other stories caused me to rexamine my opinions of certain characters and their relationships. "The Fencing Lesson" is a good example of this.
Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall is an absolutely gorgeous addition to the Fables series. The artwork is always fantastic, and the stories are must reads for any fan of the series. Another perk of 1001 Nights of Snowfall is that there are no spoilers to be found on these pages. You can just as easily read this prequel as a new reader as an existing fan. 1001 Night of Snowfall is clearly one of my favorite graphic novels in the Fables series, and I'm quite happy that I picked it up.
Rating: five stars
Length: 144 pages
Source: Lewiston Public Library
Other books I've read by this author: Previous volumes of the Fables series, including Legends in Exile, Animal Farm, Storybook Love, March of the Wooden Soldiers, The Mean Seasons, Homelands, Arabian Nights, and Wolves
Next I will be reviewing The Wake of the Lorelei Lee by LA Meyer and Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George
xposted to temporaryworlds, bookish, and goodreads