On we go! Continuing on with the main story of Fables, we have Mowgli trying to find Bigby, Cinderella negotiating with the giants that live in the skies (all of them), and finally a happy reunion.
Really, it makes sense in context.
Once upon a time… we got the story of Jack of the Fables and his meteoric rise (and eventually fall) as a reclusive Hollywood billionaire. And that’s just the first story. On top of that, we get another section in the lands of the Fables, with Boy Blue, Action Hero, keen on saving his lady love, willing to Vorpal Sword his way through anyone to get what he wants. And confirmation that the adversary is who we thought he was, plus the big How He Did It all along. Quite the crazy story.
I’m honestly quite impressed with how awesome Boy Blue has turned out to be in this story.
After the intensity and depth of Fables, Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers, I fully expected Fables, Vol. 5: The Mean Seasons to be something of a step back, a breather. And that’s exactly what we got.
That’s not to say nothing happened. There’s a backstory of Bigby wolf in the war, Snow White goes through childbirth, the election between King Cole and Prince Charming finally happens, and Bigby’s father finally gets to meet the lady who’s snared his son’s heart. And of course along the way, things get bloody and wacky hijinks ensue (sometimes at the same time!).
Another tale and far more worldbuilding!
Fables, Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers digs far more deeply into the backstory of the Fables universe, with a more connected prequel chapter that details the ‘last ship out’ of the homeland as the Adversary took over more and more land and the rest following the first incursion of their forces of what will surely be many of the years– culminating in the first Battle for Fabletown!
Fables, Vol. 3: Storybook Love. I never would have expected extortion and a heist story!
The first chapter is a short that doesn’t really bear on the rest, with one of teh age old tales of tricking the Devil, capturing Death–and the problems inheriant in that. It’s a great stand alone, but a bit jarring that it doesn’t fit with the rest. I guess that’s part of the collected format.
Where Fables, Vol. 1: Legends in Exile was a murder mystery, Fables, Vol. 2: Animal Farm is all about racism, classism, and revolution! The haves and have nots–or in this case, the Fables that can pass as human… and those that cannot.
In a nutshell (heh), some Fables–like nearly all of those we met in Volume 1 can pass as human. But some… cannot. And those all live at a farm in upstate New York. You have talking animals, sentient flowers, tiny mouse-sized people, and all manner of other shocking things. But just because they wouldn’t fit in doesn’t mean they still don’t want to be a part of the world.
Much like Saga, Vol. 1, Fables has been on my list to read for the longest time. I have a soft spot for genre mashups, so the idea of taking Fairy Tales and having them alive and well in a hidden corner of our real world? Wonderful!
Fables, Vol. 1: Legends in Exile introduces us to the setting and the characters, taking the guise of a classic murder mystery and throwing a few Fairy Tale specific wrenches in along the way.
