Michael William Kaluta

Snow White goes to negotiate a treaty with the ruling Sultant (of Arabian Nights fame), but ends up taking Scheherazade's place and tells the Sultant the backstories of various Fables to keep the executioner's axe at bay. This is a great companion to the series since each Fable has an interesting background that doesn't fit into the regular Fabletown storyarc. Especially the story of Bigby's fallout with his father, the North Wind, and the one that explains why Frau Totenkinder is so wholly show more devoted to Rose Red and Snow are of great interest to the overall series. All could be read without reading the other installments, though, so this could work as an introduction to the series too show less

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1584276.html

An anthology of stories set in Willingham's world of Fables, interpreting traditional tales and nursery rhymes in his contemporary idiom. The story of Snow White's revenge is typically inventive; likewise Old King Cole and the three blind mice; and also the tragic after-story of the Frog Prince. Lots of different artists illustrate the stories, all good - the one that really took my breath away was Brian Bolland, unfortunately illuminating the show more shortest and slightest of the component stories. Another unfortunate point is the dubious orientalism of the framing narrative (though it too is gorgeous illustrated by Charles Vess). A good starting point to try out Willingham's style, both for good and ill. show less

This gorgeous graphic novel is a prequel of sorts to the “Fables” graphic novel series. The concept of Fables is that it takes classic fairy tale characters and places them all together in a hidden “refugee” city-within-a-city in modern New York. The 1001 Nights, and yes it is styled after the classic middle eastern folktale collection, gives the reader some insight into what caused the fairy tale refugees to end up in our mundane world in the first place.

I had only read one show more installment in the Fables series prior to this, but since the characters are so familiar from those childhood stories of which I and so many others are so fond, there was no obstacle to my enjoyment. And enjoy it I did… from the lush drawings (many artists have contributed to the installments in this book and each has a unique but appropriate style for the text) to the clever twists on familiar tropes and figures. I’ve been wanting to read more of this series and this particular volume has only heightened my interest and further whetted my appetite… I suspect it will do the same for others. Recommended. show less

I had mixed feelings about this particular volume. This is essentially a retelling of 1001 Arabian Nights, Fable style. On the one hand you get a lot of background information about some of the characters in the series. You learn that the seven dwarfs were not as friendly as Disney made them, that King Cole was truly a remarkable leader, that Bigby had a lot to overcome in life, and so on.

But it read to too quickly for me. I think the lack of overall plot, and the inclusion of several show more stories detracted some. I was halfway through it, and it felt like I had just begun. Some of the stories are way to short, especially the Frog Prince. That whole sequence could have been done in a page.

The inking was very good though, and I would recommend this, but as an appetizer, not a main course. show less