Willingham, Bill - Fables: The Mean Seasons

[oyceter]

Wow, I haven't read Fables in a while. I originally loved the series -- it's about fairy tales and fables, all jaded and bitter, living in New York! How could I not love it?

But this collection and the last one ( March of the Wooden Soldiers) have an underlying harshness to them that is disconcerting. It's not a sudden thing; it's been there all

Comments

[coffeeandink]

I tried the first Fables collection and couldn't get into it, even though it's the kind of thing I usually like. It wasn't a political thing, really; it's just that the characterization seemed shallow and the humor forced.

[oyceter]

I liked it from the start, just because I liked Snow and was tickled by the fairy tale thing, but... it's getting a little old, and I keep reading the same bitter fairy tales in modern life thing.

[jinian]

Yeah, I'm annoyed by Snow going to live at the farm. It's not really mentioned in the Willingham interview I read recently (character summaries on page 3), he's all talking about how "pro-active" she is. I'm hoping she will miss the power she had and go kick some ass, but I don't know. I loved the creepy interaction with the invisible baby, though, so at least some things are still going right.

[oyceter]

Wargh. I liked invisible baby, but yes. I am still irritated by Snow having a litter of kids and going off to the farm. Particularly when it's contrasted with Bigby's past adventures in WWII and being all action-y and male.

[oyceter]

I know! And... why?? I'm also irritated because it feels like Bigby is the main character. He's all rebellious, with a mysterious past, he's the one who single-handedly protects Fabletown by doing all the nasty things that King Cole and Snow don't want to know about, he's the son of the North Wind, etc. And I like Snow, damnit! It annoys me to see her playing second fiddle, so to speak.

[ponygirl2000]

Yeah, Bigby's position as the ultimate cool guy really turned me off the series. It wasn't like that in the beginning where he seemed genuinely befuddled about dealing with people but as things went along it became more about Bigby always being right.

[oyceter]

Yeah... it's really getting to me =(.

[londonkds]

You know, I failed to notice the baby-machine thing, but you're right that it's there. I think one can argue that Willingham at least portrays it as an imposition and not, IMO, What Good Mommies Do.

I worte posts specifically about March of the Wooden Soldiers and The Mean Seasons. I've also read and reviewed the latest TPB, Homelands. I would suggest that you get the TPB before you read the post as it's better read without being spoiled, but there are aspects of it that can be read as a Libertarian or Paleoconservative attack on Neoconservatism, which is interesting in terms of pinning Willingham down. It still does have the general pride in ruthlessness that disturbs me about the series politically though.

[londonkds]

Messed up the Mean Seasons link. LJ really should allow you to edit comments.

[oyceter]

Ooo thanks for the links! The ruthlessness of all the characters is really starting to get to me; on the one hand, it's nice to know that he won't hesitate to do things to his characters, but on the other, it ends up having the same effect that overly sentimental fiction does, which is just to distance me from the characters.

[buffyannotater]

I took all the babies as a reference to (a) the seven dwarves and (b) a litter of wolves.