robotswithpersonality's review
Fantastic (literally!). So happy this is a series. This first volume does a great job of establishing roles and relationships that I'm eager to see develop, alongside two full story arcs. No cliffhangers, hurray!
Definitely pretty violent and cynical, but such a rich world of retellings with new rules to play around in. Is there such a subgenre as fairy tale noir? 🤔
Definitely pretty violent and cynical, but such a rich world of retellings with new rules to play around in. Is there such a subgenre as fairy tale noir? 🤔
slanderoid's review
3.0
The art in this book shines... sometimes. Most of the time, it's kind of mundane. The first arc didn't interest me very much and that made this volume hard to read. But the second arc has me excited to see what comes next. I've definitely got some mixed feelings about this one. Hopefully the next one exceeds my expectations.
pastel_princess's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
gabieowleyess's review
3.0
I had a hard time getting through the first story because it was a mystery, but after I finished it , I enjoyed the book a lot better. The second story was definitely more interesting. I'll read the next installment, just not in a hurry.
jnikolova's review
4.0
Also available on the WondrousBooks blog.
Fables is certainly a magical story. And the magic does not only come from the fact that it is literally inspired by fables and fairytale characters. Much of its charm comes directly from the smoothly working machine that this mix of stories and characters is.
While it can hardly be said that many fairytales combined in one story is original, and quite the opposite, lately there have been many of these, Fables still does it in an extremely cool way, if not else. And what's even more appealing is that it does not only include Disney characters and tales, but different folklore as well. For example, I had completely forgotten about the story of Rose Red and Snow White, which I used to read as a child, and for obvious reasons, I have been focusing much more on the Disney Snow White. It even took me some time to remember the exact name of Rose Red in Bulgarian.
Aside from the enjoyment I received from the way all of the characters fit together, I liked their depiction as well, even though I did not appreciate them as people. I absolutely loved Belle and the Beast going to "marriage counseling" and Prince Charming manipulating gullible  girls for money and sex. The characters had problems just like normal people though, despite being the magical beings we praise in fairytales.
This first deluxe edition contained volumes 1 and 2 and I can boldly state that I enjoyed volume 2 much, much more. The entire Animal Farm idea was brilliant (I really love Animal Farm, surprise, surprise), and evil Goldilocks was both interesting and hilarious.
I also read some of the reviews and saw many negative ones, based on the art, for the most part. It was indeed straightforward and comprising of either close ups or extreme wide shots of the entire place where the action is happening, but it did not necessarily cripple the story. If it was a horror, maybe it would have been better to have more complicated and intricate panels, but in this case it was easy to follow both the art and the events which are being discussed, as there were many new things happening all at the same time.
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Fables is certainly a magical story. And the magic does not only come from the fact that it is literally inspired by fables and fairytale characters. Much of its charm comes directly from the smoothly working machine that this mix of stories and characters is.
While it can hardly be said that many fairytales combined in one story is original, and quite the opposite, lately there have been many of these, Fables still does it in an extremely cool way, if not else. And what's even more appealing is that it does not only include Disney characters and tales, but different folklore as well. For example, I had completely forgotten about the story of Rose Red and Snow White, which I used to read as a child, and for obvious reasons, I have been focusing much more on the Disney Snow White. It even took me some time to remember the exact name of Rose Red in Bulgarian.
Aside from the enjoyment I received from the way all of the characters fit together, I liked their depiction as well, even though I did not appreciate them as people. I absolutely loved Belle and the Beast going to "marriage counseling" and Prince Charming manipulating gullible  girls for money and sex. The characters had problems just like normal people though, despite being the magical beings we praise in fairytales.
This first deluxe edition contained volumes 1 and 2 and I can boldly state that I enjoyed volume 2 much, much more. The entire Animal Farm idea was brilliant (I really love Animal Farm, surprise, surprise), and evil Goldilocks was both interesting and hilarious.
I also read some of the reviews and saw many negative ones, based on the art, for the most part. It was indeed straightforward and comprising of either close ups or extreme wide shots of the entire place where the action is happening, but it did not necessarily cripple the story. If it was a horror, maybe it would have been better to have more complicated and intricate panels, but in this case it was easy to follow both the art and the events which are being discussed, as there were many new things happening all at the same time.
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veelaughtland's review
5.0
This edition contains the first two comics in the Fables series, entitled Legends in Exile and Animal Farm. The Fables series is based around many characters of stories and fables, living in a magical area in New York City, disguised from the "mundy's" eyes.
Legends in Exile - 5 stars.
I adored this storyline. It gave the introduction to many characters, including Snow White, Bigby Wolf, Prince Charming, Bluebeard, Rose Red and more. The storyline of a murder investigation really brought the characters up to date, and got me interested straight from the start. I loved the world building, and how these old classic characters that I had grown up with had been transformed to the modern day. There was a lot of violence in the comic which I was surprised at, and I loved the inclusion of sex and language too. Fairy tales reinvented for the adults that read them as children. I did not see the twist coming, and loved the way the story was set up. A great start to the series.
Animal Farm - 4.5 stars.
I really enjoyed the fact that there were literary references throughout this story, specifically Animal Farm by George Orwell and Lord of the Flies by William Golding. I delighted in seeing yet more famous characters such as the Three Little Pigs, Goldielocks and the Three Bears, and almost the entire cast of The Jungle Book included in here. Although I didn't enjoy it as much as the previous story, I still felt that Willingham had put an interesting, darkly comic and fresh twist on the two well-known tales. The humour was light relief, a necessity when some of the panels were rather shocking in their violence and exposition.
Overall I enjoyed this graphic novel a great deal, and am so happy that I finally have got around to starting the series. The idea of it is so clever that I wish I had thought of it myself. My previous conceptions of famous characters have been turned on their heads, and I can't wait to see what kind of stories will come next out of Fabletown. The artwork is right up my street, and I love how it is my little adult fix in what often is seen to be a childlike form of storytelling. An amazing series and a must-read.
Legends in Exile - 5 stars.
I adored this storyline. It gave the introduction to many characters, including Snow White, Bigby Wolf, Prince Charming, Bluebeard, Rose Red and more. The storyline of a murder investigation really brought the characters up to date, and got me interested straight from the start. I loved the world building, and how these old classic characters that I had grown up with had been transformed to the modern day. There was a lot of violence in the comic which I was surprised at, and I loved the inclusion of sex and language too. Fairy tales reinvented for the adults that read them as children. I did not see the twist coming, and loved the way the story was set up. A great start to the series.
Animal Farm - 4.5 stars.
I really enjoyed the fact that there were literary references throughout this story, specifically Animal Farm by George Orwell and Lord of the Flies by William Golding. I delighted in seeing yet more famous characters such as the Three Little Pigs, Goldielocks and the Three Bears, and almost the entire cast of The Jungle Book included in here. Although I didn't enjoy it as much as the previous story, I still felt that Willingham had put an interesting, darkly comic and fresh twist on the two well-known tales. The humour was light relief, a necessity when some of the panels were rather shocking in their violence and exposition.
Overall I enjoyed this graphic novel a great deal, and am so happy that I finally have got around to starting the series. The idea of it is so clever that I wish I had thought of it myself. My previous conceptions of famous characters have been turned on their heads, and I can't wait to see what kind of stories will come next out of Fabletown. The artwork is right up my street, and I love how it is my little adult fix in what often is seen to be a childlike form of storytelling. An amazing series and a must-read.