I had heard a lot of great things about the Fables series of graphic novels by Bill Willingham. So I bought the first few books and read the first volume, Legends in Exile, for the fall Read-a-thon.

This first book in the series includes some background material so we understand how all the different characters from fairy tales, legends, and fables ended up together and in the world of the mundanes (as we normal beings are called), but really the novel is a murder mystery.

As with all mystery books, it's difficult to write a summary without giving away too much. It starts out when Jack (of beanstalk fame) discovers that his girlfriend (Rose Red) is missing and her apartment is splattered with blood. He races to the head of security, Bigby Wolf (as in Big Bad), and reports the crime. Wolf then confers with Snow White, director of operations, and an investigation is started.

That's the bare-bones version. The fun of this book comes from the sarcastic humor, quick one-liners, and (for lack of a better word) art jokes. For example, in one panel, Bigby, who is drawn as a human, has a wolf shadow. In another of King Cole's home, you see three fiddles in the background. I enjoyed studying the art as much as I did reading the story.

I couldn't find any samples of the pages to post here, but Amazon has a "look inside" feature, so you can get an idea.

I had enough fun with volume 1 that I'm looking forward to more Fables. My understanding is that there are quite a few of them, so I have a lot of good reading ahead. ( )

I've heard good things about this series and have almost picked it up many times over the past year or so. I finally broke down and grabbed a copy a couple of weeks ago and I'm really glad I did.

I've enjoyed a lot of the "fairy tale retelling" stories that have been coming around lately, some more than others. What I found even more fun about this premise is that the fairy tale characters have been dislocated from their fairy tale worlds and are now living in our world…trying to 'fit in' but also striving to maintain their own identities.

The character development and presentation was excellent. I loved the adult depth given to these characters that are otherwise fairly 2-dimensional. Seeing Jack (of Beanstalk fame) as a conniving, lying, scheming, unsuccessful con-man of sorts was great. Snow White as the semi-snobbish clean cut acting-leader felt a little flat at first, but as the story went on and we saw more into her personality, she became even more intriguing. Prince Charming was great as the over-confident schmoozer. But my favorite had to be the portrayal of "Bigby" (as in "Big Bad" Wolf) as a sort of noir detective for the fairy tale folks. Having just recently read Red Harvest, I had a feel for the hard-boiled detective and really liked Bigby's portrayal.

The art in this novel was well done and a lot of fun. The central art was clean and nice and helped the story along….while at the same time, the artist had a lot of fun along the periphery by adding in small details that added humor or tension to the scenes and may not even be picked up on (I'm sure I missed a lot of the subtleties).

The story was engaging and very interesting. At the heart of this particular book (the first in the series), there was some focus on introducing us to the characters. By doing it through the course of a murder mystery, it allowed the author to provide backstory without it sounding like contrived monologues. The mystery itself was a lot of fun and very engaging. I wish I could say I had it figured out before the very end…but I can't. I did suspect something along the lines of what happened, but not exactly as it played out, which (in my opinion) is the way a good mystery novel should be framed (the reader shouldn't be able to figure things out too easily, but should feel like they came just inches behind the detective).

I was a little turned off by the amount of swearing in the book (I would love to have been able to share this with my kids, but the language will definitely make me keep it out of their hands for at least the next few years). There were a couple of scenes of violence which were a little over the top (especially for young readers), but weren't overly graphic or offensive. And the one "sex scene" and the couple of suggestive panels we in the PG to PG-13 range. Overall, a movie version of the book would probably receive a PG-13 rating, possibly pushed to R if they decided to overplay the language/violence or expound on the sex. If the language was toned down a bit, it could probably be a solid PG.

Overall, this was a great read and a very fun world filled with wonderful characters. I'm definitely planning to follow this series (from the B&N shelf, it looks like there are 10+ books already). I may have to increase my book allowance so I can catch up more quickly.

****
4 stars ( )

I am currently reading this title. So far it is high;y enjoyable and I am excited about discovering a new Graphic Novel series. The series has 30+ issues (released as trade paperback sets) and is currently still being written.

This series was recommended to me by a friend after I told him how much I liked Alan Moore's Top 10 series. At the time I was talking about the Top 10 offshoot volume Smax, which contains similar reinvented fable/fairy-tale meta-fiction. Enjoy!

Basic Reason for Beginning: Read 1001 Nights of Snow Fall as introduction, not wishing to get caught in a new (and long!) series and liked it. Add the fact that all my friends seem to love this series, I thought I'd give the first book a whirl as well.
Basic Reason for Finishing: It's fast and I do kind-of like whodunits, for all that they make me feel stupid for not catching the clues.

Full review here.

Book Rereadability: I might, but I think it'd only be to see how the clues are pieced into the story. The strongest aspect, for me, was the whodunit and I know the answer now.
Author Rereadability: I like Willingham as an author. I like his stories. I'd like to read more of them, but I think I'd prefer it if I could borrow them before buying them.
Recommendation: The book comes with a blurb that says it's a must-read for readers of contemporary fantasy. As you might guess, I disagree. It is a solid, good story and if you like fantasy like that, if you like fairytale retellings, I have no doubt that you'll enjoy this. If the idea of 'fairytale retellings' doesn't sell you, don't be too hasty to put this to the side. It's not really a retelling. More taking the characters from fairytales and giving them a new lease on life, with an eye for detailed personal lives and personality and leaving the fairytales themselves to the background. (Go on, how many fairytales you know are a whodunit?) ( )

Our childhood stories characters presented in a darker shade.
This comics intends to depict a fuller and more elaborate view of these characters, downgraded from their magical realms into our own mundane reality. Though, the first volume falls short in my opinion since I expected a more elaborate and darker story.

Read my full review on my website:
http://henwen.net/Review.aspx?rev=Fab...

Review by Eilonvi the Pigkeeper ( )