Fables, Vol. 04: March of the Wooden Soldiers

Red Riding Hood manages to escape from the hands of the Adversary and to Fabletown - the first person to successfully leave the homelands in centuries. But in quick pursuit are a trio of strangely wooden brothers with a penchant for violence. Bigby Wolf smells trouble brewing from a mile away, and the residents of Fabletown batten down the hatches for a battle they fear is coming sooner rather than later.

This book picks up a little bit after Volume 3, with a now very pregnant Snow White continuing to oversee the Fabletown government for King Cole, who is being challenged for his mayoral position by Snow's ex-husband, Prince Charming. Author Willingham provides a helpful who's who at the beginning of the book to bring readers up to speed show more / refresh their memories. As with the other three volumes, I quite enjoyed Willingham's humor, including the play on words, as well as the fun he has with updating and changing fairy tale characters to serve his purposes. Once again, I was happy with the small hints of romance for my Bigby-Snow ship. This book had a lot more action (i.e., fight scenes) than in the previous volumes, and these were surprisingly captivating for me, as someone who doesn't usually enjoy long action sequences. As with the other books in this series, this title sort of stands alone in that the story is fairly self-contained but it definitely harkens back to the previous title and leaves open some storylines that hopefully will be continued in Volume 5. I for one am excited to keep reading this series and see what happens next! show less

Fables: March of the Wooden Soldiers, which is volume four of the graphic novels, reprints the following issues: Fables: the Last Castle and Fables 19-21, 23-27. The James Jean covers for the original issues are reproduced at the end of the book. The cover for Fables: the Last Castleis used as the lower part of the title page as well as being reproduced in full after the two-page character guide, 'Who's Who in Fabletown'. (I blush to admit that I was almost completely through the book before I realized that the title was a pun.)

It's an exciting volume, opening with Boy Blue telling Snow White about the sacrifice of many brave Fables so that final escape boat could carry refugees out of the Homelands. (This happened roughly in the early show more 19th century as we Mundies reckon time.) Boy Blue had been fighting the armies of the Adversary for 15 years when the beautiful Red Riding Hood is the last refugee to make it into the Far Keep.

Doctor Swineheart patches up the wounded Red long enough for her to have a quick romance with Blue. The final battle is brutal and we see how some of the defenders died. It's not pretty. As always, there are touches of humor, such as the bet Britomart makes with Robin Hood and the conversation Prince Charming has with his third wife, Cinderella, on their way to the escape boat. The art isn't just beautiful, it rewards the reader who examines the panels. For example, when Red Riding Hood and her horse are racing for the castle, they leap over the remains of Cinderella's pumpkin coach, where vultures are feasting on the corpses of her poor horses.

Blue survived because Colonel Bearskin selected him to watch it all and warn the escape boat when the last defender had fallen. The witching cloak provided Blue's escape. Red stayed behind to share Blue's fate, not knowing the provision made for him. Nearly two centuries later, Blue hasn't forgotten her.

Back in the present, history repeats itself as Red escapes the Homelands through the Oz gateway to Canada. Mayor Cole considers this a cause for rejoicing. Sheriff Bigby is much more suspicious, based on his experiences in World Wars I & II. Could Bigby be right? He's going to investigate. Remember Kay from Hans Christian Anderson's The Snow Queen? He makes an appearance here. How, I don't know, given that Mr. Anderson was born in 1805, so he probably hadn't written the story when the events of The Last Castle took place. Perhaps Fables created in the 19th century never got their own Homeland?

Meanwhile, three strange men in black enter New York City. They overhear Jack Horner trying to entice King Thrushbeard into financing a plan of his. The King isn't interested, but the men in black are, much as Jack comes to wish they weren't.

Another subplot involves Prince Charming's desire to be the new mayor. Snow White is very obviously pregnant from that magic-induced overnighter with Bigby and she's not happy about it. It doesn't prevent her from marshaling Fabletown's defenses when the men in black invade. Will everyone survive?

In fairy tales, not everyone gets to have a happy ending. show less

Seriously, this series is gold. Each volume gets even better. As if Fabletown didn't have enough drama to deal with eternally, they may have a new threat. It's been nearly two centuries since anyone escaped from their ancestral land and made it into the mundy world. Red Riding Hood shows up out of the blue, somehow having escaped the adversary, but something isn't right. Bigby Wolf thinks she might be a spy so he sets about trying to prove it. Meanwhile a very large and very pregnant Snow White must keep the peace and keep Fabletown going while Bigby is off collecting evidence. Love it!!!

This, the 4th of the Fables collections, covers one of the most epic story arcs I've read in any form of graphic novel or comic book.

It begins with Snow White's PA; Little Boy Blue telling her the story about how he escaped from the Homelands. Blue was on the last boat out and was present almost right to the end.

Some of the greatest Fable warriors of all time had gathered at the Far Keep located East of the Sun and West of the Moon, in a last ditch attempt to either hold back the forces of the Adversary or to give those of their people that they could a chance to escape the Homelands and join the other Fables who were setting up in Fabletown in the Mundane world. Robin Hood and his Miry Men were there, along with the warrior woman show more Britomart. St George the Dragonslayer had come to defend the keep. Tam Lin and old Sir Pellinore were prepared to fight for their home or die in the attempt.

On the no mans land just beyond the keep's walls a pumpkin coach came to grief, a flame haired lass mounted a horse and rode for the keep. Boy Blue helped rescue her and fell instantly in love. Her name was Red Riding Hood and she had only just managed to escape from enforced slavery at the hands of the Adversary's forces. She and Blue spent a night together and intended to rendevous in Fabletown. Unfortunately Red Riding Hood never made it and Blue never forgave himself.

Fabletown is concerned with the upcoming mayoral elections and the two candidates; the incumbent Old King Cole, and Prince Charming are furiously campaigning. Snow White is too concerned with her pregnancy to give the elections a lot of thought. She's carrying Bigby's child or as Doctor Swineheart insists, children and more disconcerting is the fact that Bigby keeps referring to the baby as a cub.

That night something that hasn't happened for over a century occurs. A Fable arrives in town requesting sanctuary. A pretty red haired girl who goes by the name of Red Riding Hood.

When she sees Blue the new arrival bursts into tears and flees the room, accusing him of abandoing her to her fate and saving his own skin. Bigby hasn't had a chance to question Ride as she prefers to be known, but he's suspicious, for him it's all too perfect and he's also sure that the gate she claims she entered our world through in Canada is closed and has been for some time. He explains that he believes she's a plant. To allay Snow's scepticism he tells her that it's a common ploy used by warring forces and he has personal experiences from it when he served in both World War 1 and 2. That's an interesting nugget of information about Bigby, that he cared enough about his adopted home to fight for it. Meanwhile 3 unusual, almost robotic characters have entered Fabletown and are behaving very oddly.

After a number of unsuccessful attempts to sell fake magic beans off, Jack leaves a bar and is waylayed by the 3 newcomers. They offer to buy the beans from him and refuse to believe him when he tells them that it's a scam. They attack him, but hadn't reckoned on him being able to fight back. He takes a beating, but manages to fight them off and take evidence that they're not what they appear to be. One of them lost his wooden leg during the struggle. Jack takes that and himself to Bigby.

Jack has pulled so many scams in his day that it's hard not to believe this is another one, although he's not likely to have had himself beaten up so severely. While Jack is trying to convince Snow and Bigby that something rotten is going on in Fabletown the 3 black suited wooden men have armed themselves with enough firepower to start a small war.

Blue is with his two best friends; Pinocchio (who is to his chagrin forever stuck in the body of a pre adolescent child) and Flycatcher (better known as the Frog Prince), pining for his lost love in Ride, when she comes to see him. She apologizes for her earlier behaviour and asks him to come with her to somewhere private so that they can 'talk'. Both the former puppet and the former frog are concerned for their friend and also think Ride is trouble. After talking things through Ride and Blue spend the night together again. Once he's slept with her Blue knows that Ride is not who she's claiming to be, unfortunately he's come to this realisation too late. The woman professing to be Ride disables him and has her servants, who look like the 3 wooden men take him into custody.

Things are quieter on the Farm, at least until Baba Yaga's chicken footed house goes crazy and tries to escape. The more effective Farm inhabitants do manage to rope it down. Fabletown is wondering what happened to Blue. The musician in question is being tortured by 'Ride' and her henchmen. Bigby calls Snow from the gate in Canada and informs her that the Fable garrison there is dead and the gate has been opened from the other side. The Fables know that they're in a dangerous situation and without Bigby they need someone to take control and make plans for defence. Before anything can be decided 3 of the wooden men dump a bloody and battered Blue in the foyer of the control centre. They deliver a message from the Adversary that if they do not surrender they can expect the reprisals to be swift and deadly.

Snow, Charming, Cole and Jack swing into action. The foul mouthed, obnoxious child that is Pinocchio becomes important. The Adversary's soldiers are wooden puppets like him, this means he knows their strengths and weaknesses, it also means to him that his father the puppet maker Gepetto is alive and the Adversary's slave.

Rose is on her way with the advanced weaponry they keep at the Farm and she's brought some of the Farm's heavy hitters; Weyland Smith and the Three Bears with her. Charming is preparing defences to guard Fabletown's perimeters and using his natural talents to fob off the Mundy authorities. The wooden men are mobilising for battle and Snow has enlisted the witches and wizards of Fabletown to put their not inconsiderable powers to use protecting their home. Against Snow's wishes Blue has had himself patched up and is going into battle, despite most of his fingers being broken. Pinocchio is being guarded by Jack, but he believes he can be of use as the soldiers won't attack him, he's effectively their prototype.

The soldiers march and the battle is joined. As the first wave of defenders falls back luring the soldiers into a trap Fabletown's aerial brigade fly over dropping grenades on the invaders. That's when Fabletown's big boys go into action: the goblin Hobbes and the troll Grimble along with the Beast, on another front Weyland Smith and the Three Bears rip into the wooden men. The Fables retreat and the wooden soldiers give chase, only to run into a wall of high powered weapons manned by the Fables.

The losses are heavy on both sides, but the wooden men don't care about their 'dead' and the Fables do. They can't put themselves back together the way the Adversary's soldiers can. Snow unleashes her ultimate weapon; fire. Pinocchio goes into hysterics, the soldiers are hardwood like him, they'll burn, but slowly and they'll take a lot of the Fables with them. The former puppet slips Jack and runs out to try and put a stop to his 'brothers' rampage. It doesn't end well. Snow orders the witches and wizards to rain on the soldiers. One of the witches; Frau Totenkinder (the Black Forest Witch who used to live in a gingerbread house) takes exception at how Snow speaks to her and goes to teach an insolent woman a lesson that's been too long in coming. Just when things look impossible a hurricane blows in and behind it comes a huge grey wolf, he's not at all happy. The battle of Fabletown is over, but what happened to 'Ride'?

She's floating above the battle, gleefully watching her plans take place when she's upset by Frau Totenkinder. The wily old witch has put 2 and 2 together and come up with the answer of Baba Yaga. While Bigby cleans up at street level Frau Totenkinder does her job on top of the roof.

The Fables bury their dead and it's a time of sadness in Fabletown. Just as things are at their darkest a glimmer of light shines through when Snow tells Bigby that her waters just broke.

What a ride this was! Mark Buckingham provided the art and it was truly deserving of the story Bill Willingham provided. There are a lot of visual gags in most of the Fables stories and you have to wonder how much of this is off Buckingham's own boot without input from Bill. I felt the Fables pain and rage as they fought and died for their independence against an emotionless unkillable enemy.

This is going to be hard to top. show less

The Fables series returns to a full story arc in this collection as the Fables' sanctuary in New York is invaded by forces of the Adversary. I liked this one better than the other compilations thus far as the characters are developing and growing on me, and this story was well-constructed. Even the villains, while derivative of Agent Smith in The Matrix, were a clever and interesting conceit.

This is the 4th collection in the Fables series and it was my favorite one so far. Things really get epic in this installment with massive battles and goblins and spies...oh my!

When Red Riding Hood mysteriously passes into the Mundy world many Fables celebrate the arrival as a sign of hope for their old world. Bigby Wolf though suspects something is up; he smells treachery. When the Adversary finally gets an army of Wooden Men into the Mundy world the battle between the Adversary and the Fables is epic.

The first chapter in this book tells us all something we've been dying to know. Exactly how did the Fables get driven from their homeland? The rendition of the Fables exile is wonderful backstory and wonderful to read. Then things get show more even better; the long lost Red Riding Hood appears and gives the Fables both hope and trouble.

This is the installment in the series that finally pulls the whole Fables story into something epic and wonderful. Now we start to get a look at the Adversary, the very thing that drove the Fables into our world.

The plot is wonderfully twisty turny with betrayals, spies, and misunderstandings. There is also some intrigue as Prince Charming decides to run for mayor and positions himself as a benefactor of all Fables.

There is humor in here, action, and some wonderful answers as well as new questions. The final battle between the Fables and the Wooden Soldiers is incredibly well done and was an absolutely awesome read. The illustration is detailed and easy to follow (if a bit outdated looking at times..but that's my fault for not reading these sooner).

Overall I really, really enjoyed this installment in the Fables series. It really broadened the story and just made the whole thing more epic and fantastic to me. Highly recommended for fans of fantasy graphic novels. Recommended for adult readers because of violence, language, and nudity. show less

At the outset, we hear Boy Blue's story of fleeing the Homelands on the last boat out during which he unwittingly leaves behind his love, Red Riding Hood. When Red shows up in Fabletown, there is at first jubilation as no Fable has escaped in centuries, followed quickly by suspicion, and events that may reveal their presence to the Mundys. Oh, and just for a little extra intrigue, Prince Charming is looking to unseat Old King Cole as the Mayor of Fabletown.

I didn't enjoy this installment quite as much as have the first three. The art as usual is well rendered, but I had a hard time fully engaging in the story. That said I was quite entertained by the witches' battle near the end, and I look forward to reading more about Frau show more Totenkinder. This volume definitely appears to be pivotal to the continuation and I am looking forward to see where it leads. show less