A review by veelaughtland
Fables: The Deluxe Edition, Book One by Bill Willingham
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.