- School & Library Binding: 136 pages
- Publisher: Econo-Clad Books, Div. of American Cos., Inc.; New title edition (Dec 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0613667662
- ISBN-13: 978-0613667661
- Product Dimensions: 25.9 x 16.8 x 1.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,070,205 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile
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Product Description
Review
"FABLES is a must-read for any aficionado of fantasy in a contemporary setting." - The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction "We hope this series lasts happily ever after." - WIZARD "Instantly compelling." - Cinescape.com "Looks as good as it reads." - Comics Buyer's Guide "Every fan should take a look." - The Fourth Rail
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
WHO KILLED ROSE RED?- In Fabletown, where fairy tale legends live alongside regular New Yorkers, the question is all anyone can talk about. But only the Big Bad Wolf can actually solve the case - and, along with Rose's sister Snow White, keep the Fabletown community from coming apart at the seams. FABLES: LEGENDS IN EXILE collects the first five issues of writer and creator Bill Willingham's acclaimed new VERTIGO series (superbly illustrated by Lan Medina, Steve Leialoha, and Craig Hamilton), and includes a new FABLES short story written and illustrated by Willingham.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This collects the first 5 issues of Bill Willingham's Fables comic. The run covers Bigby Wolf's investigation into the apparent killing of Rose Red in Fabletown - a community made up of refugees/exiles from the the lands of myth and fable. On paper the idea surely can't work but somehow it does by using characters that are imprinted on most children's consciousness from an early age. This is adult fare though even taking into account real fables propensity for the bloody and the macabre. It all fits together cleverly with a strange kind of natural symmetry. I n execution the comic walks the same paths of style as say Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen even down to the prose fairytale prequelling events at the back of the book, written and illustrated by Willingham. As with Moore's League it's all very much tongue in cheek. Bigby wolf is a good character noiring his way through the mystery complete with parlour denouement. Entertaining and well executed with some pretty neat art.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Imagine if all the legendary story characters were living secretly in New York -- and they weren't quite fairy tale material?
In short, Prince Charming is a thrice-divorced lech, the Big Bad Wolf is now a werewolf cop, Snow White is an embittered government manager, and some very peculiar other residents crashing in a modern city. "Fables Volume 1: Legends in Exile" does an excellent job smoothly introducing the world of Bill Willingham's series, even as he spins up a pretty solid little murder mystery.
The daily business of the hard-nosed Snow White (a Fable government official whom everyone comes to with complaints) is interrupted when Bigby Wolf brings her some ghastly news: her estranged, wild-child sister Rose Red has been murdered, and there's no sign of her except for buckets of blood all over her apartment. The most obvious suspect is Jack, whom Snow White helps interrogate when she isn't dealing with her womanizing, impoverished aristocrat ex, Prince Charming.
But some of the details about Rose Red's death don't add up -- and as Bigby investigates further into the people who knew her well, he begins finding aspects of her life hidden from everybody. Not to mention an irate fiancee who wants revenge on Jack. As the Remembrance Day approaches, Bigby puts together the clues to a very bizarre case where not everything is what it seems -- and not everyone is doing what they claim.
Bill Willingham is an expert in taking beloved characters from legends, fairy tales and nursery rhymes... and then turning our perceptions of them on their heads (example: Beast and Beauty's marital troubles cause his curse to reassert itself). He's also created a pretty unique fantasy concept -- the Fables and their magic have been driven out of their fantastical homeland, and live as secret refugees in the middle of New York City. It's actually a pretty cool idea.
If it were nothing but a "cool idea" gimmick, "Fables" might be a fun read but not a great one. However, Willingham has a knack for weaving together action-packed, gritty plots with a touch of sex, plenty of splattered gore, and plenty of quirky twists (Pinocchio is angry about being a "real boy" who never grows up). And even as he carefully introduces the characters and their situations, he also spins up a solid murder mystery that intertwines with the other subplots like ivy vines on a stone wall -- splatters of blood, a padlock, a strange betrothal contract, and a missing body all take part.
And Willingham's cast is as large as the number of beloved free-domain characters allows... well, at least the well-known ones. The inhabitants of fairy tales and folk legends loom especially large in the story -- the hard-nosed, no-nonsense Snow White; the bickering Beauty and her Beast hubby; the flirtatious much-married Prince Charming (who spends much of the story seducing waitresses and selling unusable property); the grizzled cop Bigby Wolf; supposedly reformed serial killer Bluebeard; a rather embittered Cinderella, and so on. Despite the vast cast of characters, Willingham juggles them adeptly and gives each character a distinct personality.
Bill Willingham started off the Fables series on a strong footing with "Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile," which combines a quirky fantasy concept with a solid murder mystery. Definitely a good read.
In short, Prince Charming is a thrice-divorced lech, the Big Bad Wolf is now a werewolf cop, Snow White is an embittered government manager, and some very peculiar other residents crashing in a modern city. "Fables Volume 1: Legends in Exile" does an excellent job smoothly introducing the world of Bill Willingham's series, even as he spins up a pretty solid little murder mystery.
The daily business of the hard-nosed Snow White (a Fable government official whom everyone comes to with complaints) is interrupted when Bigby Wolf brings her some ghastly news: her estranged, wild-child sister Rose Red has been murdered, and there's no sign of her except for buckets of blood all over her apartment. The most obvious suspect is Jack, whom Snow White helps interrogate when she isn't dealing with her womanizing, impoverished aristocrat ex, Prince Charming.
But some of the details about Rose Red's death don't add up -- and as Bigby investigates further into the people who knew her well, he begins finding aspects of her life hidden from everybody. Not to mention an irate fiancee who wants revenge on Jack. As the Remembrance Day approaches, Bigby puts together the clues to a very bizarre case where not everything is what it seems -- and not everyone is doing what they claim.
Bill Willingham is an expert in taking beloved characters from legends, fairy tales and nursery rhymes... and then turning our perceptions of them on their heads (example: Beast and Beauty's marital troubles cause his curse to reassert itself). He's also created a pretty unique fantasy concept -- the Fables and their magic have been driven out of their fantastical homeland, and live as secret refugees in the middle of New York City. It's actually a pretty cool idea.
If it were nothing but a "cool idea" gimmick, "Fables" might be a fun read but not a great one. However, Willingham has a knack for weaving together action-packed, gritty plots with a touch of sex, plenty of splattered gore, and plenty of quirky twists (Pinocchio is angry about being a "real boy" who never grows up). And even as he carefully introduces the characters and their situations, he also spins up a solid murder mystery that intertwines with the other subplots like ivy vines on a stone wall -- splatters of blood, a padlock, a strange betrothal contract, and a missing body all take part.
And Willingham's cast is as large as the number of beloved free-domain characters allows... well, at least the well-known ones. The inhabitants of fairy tales and folk legends loom especially large in the story -- the hard-nosed, no-nonsense Snow White; the bickering Beauty and her Beast hubby; the flirtatious much-married Prince Charming (who spends much of the story seducing waitresses and selling unusable property); the grizzled cop Bigby Wolf; supposedly reformed serial killer Bluebeard; a rather embittered Cinderella, and so on. Despite the vast cast of characters, Willingham juggles them adeptly and gives each character a distinct personality.
Bill Willingham started off the Fables series on a strong footing with "Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile," which combines a quirky fantasy concept with a solid murder mystery. Definitely a good read.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This series of comics is fantastic. Whilst taking inspiration from the fairytales we all know and love this graphic novel gives them a twist. Like another reviewer said, it gives back the darkness/edge that the fairytales of old had, rather than the watered-down, cutesy versions that exist today.
The book starts with the murder of Rose Red (Snow White's sister) and Bigby Wolf has to solve the crime. It is well written, well dramatised and well illustrated. The female characters are just as strong as the men and there are clever little jokes, such as the Wolf is known as Bigby Wolf in the real world (could that be short for Big B. Wolf, as in Big Bad Wolf).
The fables are a community of fairytale folk (from many backgrounds) that have taken shelter in our world (New York to be specific) because a big bad guy only known as 'The Adversary' has taken over their worlds. Prince Charming is a sleaze who cons women to survive, Old King Cole is the mayor (in name only) and Snow White really runs the show. The less human-looking members of the fable community inhabit a farm in upstate New York, but that's a whole different story (Vol. 2 - Animal Farm)!
Be warned - once you read this you will want to read the rest!
The book starts with the murder of Rose Red (Snow White's sister) and Bigby Wolf has to solve the crime. It is well written, well dramatised and well illustrated. The female characters are just as strong as the men and there are clever little jokes, such as the Wolf is known as Bigby Wolf in the real world (could that be short for Big B. Wolf, as in Big Bad Wolf).
The fables are a community of fairytale folk (from many backgrounds) that have taken shelter in our world (New York to be specific) because a big bad guy only known as 'The Adversary' has taken over their worlds. Prince Charming is a sleaze who cons women to survive, Old King Cole is the mayor (in name only) and Snow White really runs the show. The less human-looking members of the fable community inhabit a farm in upstate New York, but that's a whole different story (Vol. 2 - Animal Farm)!
Be warned - once you read this you will want to read the rest!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Wow!
This is the first in a well-established series of graphic novels. It introduces the fable characters, who are interesting modern twists on the fairytale characters that most of us... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Bigby
A clever twist on well-known stories and a good beginning
The characters from the fairy tales that we all know and love have been driven out of their fantasy world by a sinister unknown enemy. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Katie Stevens
Fairytale of New York
I picked 'Fables' up after reading the excellent The Unwritten series. Fables author Bill Willigham, wrote an introduction to Unwritten Vol 1, and Vol 2 had an advert for the... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Quicksilver
Fairtales get the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Treatment
I really liked this book, the artwork and colours are fantastic, the world building and thematic introduction are woven brilliantly into what is essentially a single murder mystery... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Lark
boring
I'd agree with slimm grimm, the art is average to poor, the dialogue is a bit cumbersome and not much happens over the 5 issues. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Ali Cazalzabar
Not as good as I was hoping...
I had high hopes for this but was left a little disappointed. The premise is a good one but it read like an episode of 'Murder She Wrote' with the Big Bad Wolf instead of Angela... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Slim Grimm
A must read for comic book fans!
I've finally been able to start reading the Fables series. Having heard some friends' opinions about the first volume, I had low expectations, which were easily overcome by the... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Andre Nobrega
mediocre
I've just read vol 1 and 2, and i dont think i'm going to bother with the rest of them.
stuff i like: alan moore stuff, will eisner, preacher, maus, scott pilgrim,... Read more
stuff i like: alan moore stuff, will eisner, preacher, maus, scott pilgrim,... Read more
Published on 1 Jan 2010 by jahtao
A good way of using fairy tales.
I was fascinated when I first learned of the fact that most of the best-loved fairy tales had been rewritten so as not to shock the parents. Read more
Published on 31 Jan 2004 by Neil Dobson
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