Max Riffner

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Drunk on Fables

Last night I went home, poured myself a glass of bourbon and started to read through the entire collection of Fables. I purchased all but one of the trade paperback collections yesterday (number 3). Christian let me borrow them Vols. 1 through 7 in November. Vol. 8 is since out (and in my hot little hands).

The pages and bourbon flowed last night, and I got through all the books I’ve read previously. Tonight I crack open Vol. 8, which promises the return of Bigby Wolf (yah!).

So what is all this about? Stay with me here – Fables is about all the characters in fables (duh) who are living in our world. Why? Their homelands were taken over by the Adversary. They are in exile. When someone told me about it initially, I thought it sounded like a terrible idea. Having read it, I can’t be more pleased to have been wrong. It is an impressively well told story with hints of intrigue and traditional spy stories mashed with romance, war, and mystery (such as the true identity of the Adversary). I think in the hands of a lesser writer, the comic would probably remain static and unchanged for many issues hoping the concept alone was enough to carry it. Thankfully, Bill Willingham is a hell of a writer, and the only thing certain in this book is that the status quo changes constantly. And the changes that seem bad at first end up being so masterfully told that you can’t help but like them. I’m thinking specifically of Prince Charming’s character arc in this instance, but I don’t want to ruin it for you if you haven’t read it.

Also pleasing my sequential senses are the covers by James Jean. You can browse through all 60 covers of the series online at his website: each one is lushly illustrated and designed with his trademark muted color palette.

If you are looking for a great read, I can recommend this series of collections to anyone. It won me over and I went in expecting to hate it.

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