Fables, Vol. 01: Legends in Exile

I wanted so badly to love this. I absolutely expected to. I've heard great things about Fables, especially with the popularity (and similarity) of the show Once Upon a Time. I love updated fairy tales. I love reconfigured tales. Heck, I love graphic novels.

And I could get into the (rather OUaT-esque) concept of crossover or exile between the world where fairy tales are real and this world. It has a lot of scope, and using the idea in a murder mystery setting seemed like a great idea.

But I hated it. I just hated it. The artwork was rather nice… but I loathed what was done with all of the characters. I disliked the apparent offensiveness for offensiveness's sake in the depiction of a couple of characters. (Also, of course, the feeling show more of "They're fairy tale characters! Let's make them swear and have sex! People will be shocked! It'll be great!")

Most of all, I despised the "Ha-ha-fooled-you" trickery the plot indulged in; there's misdirection, and then there's outright lying, and by the end of this I had the nasty feeling I'd been lied to. There are ways and ways to mess with a reader, and this is not one I enjoy. show less

This isn’t my first rodeo with reimagined fairytales (in fact I’ve read almost too many of them), but Willingham’s Fables is an instant classic. Introducing the story of a group of characters based on those from legends and lore from around the world through the tried and true trope of a murder mystery quietly sets the tone for exploring an intricately developed world (set of worlds, actually) and a unique cast of characters. Leading the pack are Bigby Wolf (the Big Bad Wolf, now turned sheriff of the Fabletown community), Snow White (former princess, and deputy Mayor), and Rose Red (Snow’s sister, and unfortunate murder victim), but we are also introduced briefly to a bevy of characters who will all stick around to play their show more part in the further issues of the comic. Rose Red’s murder is, in true style, not actually a murder, but a double-fake meant to get her out of trouble - cementing her character as a ne’er-do-well opposite to her mayoral sister, and prefacing many conflicts to come over the course of the Fabletown epic. Behind the surface plot, Willingham carefully sketches the background of the story, explaining why the Fables are now in exile in the human world and painting a larger story that will wind up being a 20+ graphic novel series. For a first time reader the intricacies of the story and setting are almost too much if you’re not used to this kind of epic, but it is these complexities that make this story remain a classic and well-worth multiple readings. Who are we going to spot in issue one in brief, who will later end up a hero in the war against the Adversary? I already know, but I can’t wait to find out all over again! show less

The bloody disappearance of Rose Red results in a private investigation into erstwhile boyfriend Jack (without his beanstalk), local magnate Bluebeard and Deputy Mayor Snow White (working to Mayor King Cole) while feckless con-man Prince Charming and a squabbling Beauty and her Beast provide us with the sub-plots.

This is utterly implausible, sometimes obvious and contains every 'noir' cliche in the book, as well a highly self-conscious post-modern pitch at the revelatory 'parlour scene' that we know and love from nearly every Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple on the shelves - only this time it is Big Bad Wolf who is the City detective.

But it is also a highly imaginative transposition of old European stories and legends into a new world show more urban fantasy environment. It is witty and stylish and it earns its five stars despite the comic book's graphic design being thoroughly conventional.

Why ruin the fun by telling you what happens but if you get a copy, don't overlook the text prequel to the story at the end of the book. A trifle over written perhaps and riddled with the dark fantasy cliches of violence and redemption, it is the story of a wolf who becomes a man for love and is oddly affecting. This Big Bad Wolf is Twilight out of Chandler and none the worse for that. Enjoy! show less

I'm willing to chalk it up to this being the first story of the series and there still being kinks that need working out. The characters are fascinating. They're exacting how you'd expect fairy tale characters to be in real life. Beauty and the Beast have marital problems (you try being married 1,000 years). Prince Charming is a delightful scam artist. I especially love the reformed Big Bad Wolf, trying to make it as a cop. The problem is they don't do much of anything interesting in this volume. I guess I'm not a fan of the standard procedural mystery. Everything just seems so by-the-book in the investigation of Rose Red's murder. Still, I'm excited to see where the series goes. The characters have potential: they just need something show more to do. show less

The premise of Fables is pretty well known at this point, not because of the graphic novels themselves, but because of the TV show Once Upon a Time. They are not the same thing, but Fables (which came first) shares the same basic story. Fairy tale characters have been transplanted from their home world into our world. They have no way of getting back and have to make it here without their fortunes and castles, etc.

I've been hearing about this series for awhile and I'm so glad I finally checked it out. The fable characters live in a secret society of sorts in New York City. The Big Bad Wolf runs the community's security. Old King Cole is the Mayor and Snow White serves as the Deputy Mayor. This volume deals with the disappearance of show more Snow's sister Rose Red.

The characters are snarky and fun. I love the way they play with the assumed ideas about them, like Prince Charming, who is a womanizer in Fables instead of a hero. Yes, the art is definitely stereotypical comic book style. Maybe we can one day have good female characters who aren't ridiculous caricatures of what a woman actually looks like, but it's a small complaint when the story is this fun.

BOTTOM LINE: So far I love the series and I can't wait to read more. show less

What if various fairy tale characters -- like Cinderella, or the Big Bad Wolf, or the creepy Bluebeard -- were actually living in hiding in modern day New York? The world building and feeling of immersion here is excellent. The plot is also quite good. The dialogue, though... Characters frequently suffer from "I'm only saying this so you can say something snappy or expository in retort" syndrome, the banter even beyond that is often clunky and forced, and (though this is a much smaller issue than the first two) the author's political views shine through a tiny bit too clearly -- I am a firm believer in divorcing author from work, but that's under the assumption the author will not actively try to place his opinions in every character's show more mindset.

I've many years previously read almost all of Fables, possibly all of it entirely, I can't recall (which is in itself a bit damning). My hazy memory of it is that it has some great notions and plot turns here and there, but overall, it gets steadily weaker, rarely again capturing the experience of this first volume. Sometimes it did. But not often enough for me to have a real desire to re-read the whole of it. This first volume, though, with its murder mystery core and its clear delight in showing us this world for the first time, this works as a standalone story, and I find it is well worth rereading, even with the sometimes groan-worthy dialogue. I'm not likely ever to get around to buying and rereading the rest of "Fables", but this first volume, I can easily see myself enjoying revising once a decade or so. Which is pretty high praise, when you think of how many comics I own. show less

An unnamed Adversary goes on the attack and forces hundreds of beings we know only from (mostly European) fairy tales and legends to escape to the only world the Adversary doesn't care about conquering -- Earth -- and to dwell in hiding amongst us "mundanes." A general amnesty is agreed upon and all past crimes are forgiven as they try to live peaceably in the underground community of Fabletown. Centuries pass with presumably no incident until Rose Red goes missing and her apartment is found trashed and covered in her blood. Her sister Snow White, Fabletown's second in command, fears the worse while Bigby (i.e., the Big Bad Wolf), the community's sheriff, immediately tackles the investigation into Rose Red's disappearance.

I was show more definitely interested in checking out this comic series after hearing so much acclaim for it, but I was a little unsure of how much I would actually enjoy it -- fantasy isn't usually my cup of tea and the comparisons to the Sandman comics, which I didn't care for much, made me wary. It turns out I loved this first book right away. The crime story always appeals to me, even if it follows a set pattern. Here, there's a bit of tongue-in-cheek, really throughout the whole book, but especially in regards to the standard crime procedural -- see, for instance, Bigby's "parlor scene," which doesn't take place in a parlor. The mystery here is well plotted and concludes in a way that makes sense but that isn't at all obvious.

Of course, a big thing for me is also the characterizations. Some of the characters were less well drawn than others (notably, King Cole who just sort of shows up to say a few lines but doesn't have much of a history or character at this point), and some were perhaps a tad bit clichéd (e.g., Rose Red the party girl). But for the most part, I found the characters varied and interesting. I particularly liked Snow White and Bigby, both as characters in their own right and as a dynamic duo.

All in all, I enjoyed the writing and the illustrations (fairly realistic, especially considering the subjects) in this first book. I'm definitely moving on to the next book in the series, as I want to learn more about these characters and see if more is revealed about the Adversary and that whole backstory (which I suspect that will be the case, especially given that the prose epilogue goes into further detail about the refugees and the first meeting between Snow White, Rose Red, and Bigby). My fingers are crossed that I will like that as much as I enjoyed this title. show less