Wow. Fables is fantastic. I'd read the first GN awhile ago and always wanted to read more so it was a pleasure to get ahold of the first fifty issues. I wouldn't always say the art was good, but the side panels and border decorations they started adding in afterawhile were stunning and quite interesting. For instance, the book was beautiful while it followed the adventures of Boy Blue, especially when he fought the three knights.
As for the characters themselves, I was surprised at how much I liked Boy Blue since I don't usually like typical heroes (even if his introduction in the beginning is a bit misleading... you'd never suspect him to be capable of those heroics). The Last Castle arc made me cry, which shows how well done this series is. (Not that a series has to make me cry to be good, but the characters were deeply drawn enough, especially in that short arc, for the end of it to be heartbreaking).
Mowgli can also have naked fights with wolf leaders any day of the week... *leers* Actually, I really liked his character too though I can't help but want to see Bigby and the other tourist we haven't seen - The Woodsman, interact *eg* I kinda want to see Red Riding Hood's reaction when she realizes who Bigby is too, especially since I can't help but think of the earlier versions of the tale.
Have been grinning madly every time I see the Vorpal sword go snicker-snack *L*
Bigby and Wolverine need to get together and compare notes.
The clues as to the Adversary's true identity were nicely spaced and were pretty obvious from the Wooden Soldiers arc up until the reveal in issue 40. That being said, I liked that the reveal obviously didn't solve many problems for peope and in fact created new ones. I would like to know if Pinnochio actually has the loyalty oaths on him or not now since I suspect he does, but he's obviously not happy too.
One of the things I like about this series is that the characters are smart and the author makes an effort to fool you about little things. Like with the Arabian Nights arc. It's set up so you think there's going to be a big fight between North Wind and the genie, and then you discover it was a bit of misdirection and really the wishes weren't all that bad at all (from the Fables viewpoints). Characters aren't stupid either. Boy Blue immediately considers that Bigby faked Baba Yaga's death once he discovers her minions are alive. Bad things still happen through good plot instead, which is refreshing.
Why exactly does Snow keep dreaming of the piggy though? It seems kinda random though I laughed myself silly when he was first killed simply due to the "It's Herbert. It also appears to be a literary reference." comment.
And only in a book about fairytales would it be permissable for a character to have seven children like that. Thought the wedding was sweet and it was interesting that they finally got around to solving the keeping the family together problem (though I do want to see Bigby and his fathe interact too...).
Really disliked Jack and I feel kinda disappointed that he got his own series, which is kinda funny since I liked his Hollywood issues. Oh well.
That reporter guy, Thorne, is obviously the son of a fairytale and I can't help but think his name is a clue, but maybe not as well. He could just be a "thorn in their side" after all.
My only complaint about the series would be the short shrift played to certain plots or stories due to lack of space. I expected at least another issue of material to be in there and yet there's not. *sigh* I did like that it was told only relatively linerally. That's always refreshing.
As for the characters themselves, I was surprised at how much I liked Boy Blue since I don't usually like typical heroes (even if his introduction in the beginning is a bit misleading... you'd never suspect him to be capable of those heroics). The Last Castle arc made me cry, which shows how well done this series is. (Not that a series has to make me cry to be good, but the characters were deeply drawn enough, especially in that short arc, for the end of it to be heartbreaking).
Mowgli can also have naked fights with wolf leaders any day of the week... *leers* Actually, I really liked his character too though I can't help but want to see Bigby and the other tourist we haven't seen - The Woodsman, interact *eg* I kinda want to see Red Riding Hood's reaction when she realizes who Bigby is too, especially since I can't help but think of the earlier versions of the tale.
Have been grinning madly every time I see the Vorpal sword go snicker-snack *L*
Bigby and Wolverine need to get together and compare notes.
The clues as to the Adversary's true identity were nicely spaced and were pretty obvious from the Wooden Soldiers arc up until the reveal in issue 40. That being said, I liked that the reveal obviously didn't solve many problems for peope and in fact created new ones. I would like to know if Pinnochio actually has the loyalty oaths on him or not now since I suspect he does, but he's obviously not happy too.
One of the things I like about this series is that the characters are smart and the author makes an effort to fool you about little things. Like with the Arabian Nights arc. It's set up so you think there's going to be a big fight between North Wind and the genie, and then you discover it was a bit of misdirection and really the wishes weren't all that bad at all (from the Fables viewpoints). Characters aren't stupid either. Boy Blue immediately considers that Bigby faked Baba Yaga's death once he discovers her minions are alive. Bad things still happen through good plot instead, which is refreshing.
Why exactly does Snow keep dreaming of the piggy though? It seems kinda random though I laughed myself silly when he was first killed simply due to the "It's Herbert. It also appears to be a literary reference." comment.
And only in a book about fairytales would it be permissable for a character to have seven children like that. Thought the wedding was sweet and it was interesting that they finally got around to solving the keeping the family together problem (though I do want to see Bigby and his fathe interact too...).
Really disliked Jack and I feel kinda disappointed that he got his own series, which is kinda funny since I liked his Hollywood issues. Oh well.
That reporter guy, Thorne, is obviously the son of a fairytale and I can't help but think his name is a clue, but maybe not as well. He could just be a "thorn in their side" after all.
My only complaint about the series would be the short shrift played to certain plots or stories due to lack of space. I expected at least another issue of material to be in there and yet there's not. *sigh* I did like that it was told only relatively linerally. That's always refreshing.
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I read 'Mean Seasons' first with no idea how it fit into anything, after I picked it up from the library, then read the first four collections.
After that, I started hunting down the monthlies that had been published and read them all out of order as I ran about town looking through back issues in comic shops. I read everything between Bigby leaving Fabletown and the first Arabian Nights in no particular order. Since then I've been buying them monthly. It really turns into an obsession.
I'm becoming more and more entranced with the bad guys. I suppose it's like me and the Death Eaters, except Willingham's giving more credit to his bad guys than JKR did to the DEs. Rodney and June in particular reminded me very much of what I wanted to do with some of my young Death Eaters. Gepetto isn't your typical Evil Overlord. He's actually smart. The Snow Queen is so, so cool. And I can't wait to meet Hansel, who apparently is Gepetto's witch-hunter. Plus, Pinnochio is all mixed up in his loyalties.
The character I'm most keeping an eye on is Kay. He's so tragic, and you know that there's something he has to play out with the Snow Queen in the future.
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Yeah. Exactly. It's not that he's a bad character. It's just that the other characters are more interesting.
I can't say I'm all that interested in the bad guys yet since I haven't seen enough of their characterization (Hansel as a witch hunter sounds fantastic though *grin*). I do like Gepetto in that he's smart and quiet and you'd never really expect him except for those subtle scenes of megalomania peaking through. I really need to see more characterization of the Snow Queen before I make a decision on her since so far I haven't seen much more than I did in the fairy tales. Rodney and June are definately sympathetic, though I'm trying not to get too attached to them since they're kinda doomed *L*
Yeah. Kay's always been tragic. I remember crying when I reached the end of his fairy tale (the version I read didn't have a happy ending) and when I saw him in Fables, I was like, "Is that Kay? As in mirror in eye, living with the Snow Queen, Kay?" It's so nice to see the more obscure tales in there. (I'd love to see the cabbage that turns people into donkey's show up.) I really wish I could figure out who the Forsworn Knight is too. Apparently he's in a fairy tale but not under that name...
I'm going to make some nice Fables icons too. Methinks:)