A review by jurassicreads
Fables, Vol. 1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham

3.0

I wanted to love this book so much more than I did, but that's not to say it was entirely disappointing. This turned out to be a fantasy character version of Clue - who killed Snow White's sister, red, in her apartment and left enough blood around to have drained a body dry? At this point in time, fairy tale characters have been banished from their homelands by 'The Adversary' (not really a specific name, is it?). I was a little frustrated at just how jaded these characters have become. Snow White is a secretary of the new fairy tale characters comings and goings, Prince Charming is a womanizing scoundrel, Beauty and the Beast are living a loveless marriage full of fighting, and Pinocchio is a horny brat who hasn't aged since being turned into a 'real boy.' If you're looking here to see some happy endings for your beloved childhood friends, run away, now.

There was a LOT going on here, and while I really liked the art style, I sometimes felt as if there was so much on one page that I was unable to appreciate it all at once. Each board looked like a piece of art and I often found myself having to flip back a few pages in order to make sure I didn't miss anything.

Thankfully, the plot arc completes it self in this first volume or else I would not want to continue on with the series. Although I did like that each character has been realistically developed, I didn't really like how some of them interacted (mostly romantically) in this first set up. I'm looking forward to reading volume two and getting a little more insight into their stories and what drove them from their homelands.