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Fables, Vol. 16: Super Team (Fables #16)

by Bill Willingham (Goodreads Author), Mark Buckingham (illustrator), Eric Shanower (Goodreads Author) (Illustrator), Terry Moore (illustrator)

3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 · rating details · 1,869 ratings · 189 reviews

Now why oh why in this mixed-up world would we saddle an important series that has never had anything to do with Super Heroes with a title like “Super Team”? And why has that snotty little Pinocchio suddenly got it into his head that he needs to design tight-fitting costumes for a carefully selected team of Fables? In fact, why was the little brat caught looking over his o...more

Paperback, 160 pages

Published December 20th 2011 by Vertigo (first published December 1st 2011)

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Dec 29, 2011 Andrew Shuping rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel

We return to the realm of Fables in this 16th volume as our heroes continue their battle against Mr. Dark. In the last volume Frau Totenkinder's battle against Mr. Dark has failed and the fables have been forced to retreat to Haven and Flycatcher cannot hold the barrier against him much longer. But all is not lost. Pinocchio and Ozma have hit upon a plan to pull their most powerful heroes together to form a superteam to tackle and defeat Mr. Dark. They've picked superhero names, costumes, and ev...more We return to the realm of Fables in this 16th volume as our heroes continue their battle against Mr. Dark. In the last volume Frau Totenkinder's battle against Mr. Dark has failed and the fables have been forced to retreat to Haven and Flycatcher cannot hold the barrier against him much longer. But all is not lost. Pinocchio and Ozma have hit upon a plan to pull their most powerful heroes together to form a superteam to tackle and defeat Mr. Dark. They've picked superhero names, costumes, and everything and are almost ready for the battle. But before their battle can begin Bigby and his father, the North Wind, have to settle the issue of Ghost, Bigby's invisible zephyr cub. And then...everything takes an unexpected turn and some surprising events happen before Mr. Dark is defeated. In other stories we get to check in with Bufkin, our hero of the lost business office, who manages to find his way back to his homeworld of Oz in "The Ascent" and continues his quest to be the best hero he can be. And we also check in with our lost hero Sleeping Beauty in "Waking Beauty."

I can see why there are some mixed reviews about this collection as the battle against Mr. Dark feels very anticlimactic compared to the previous one with Frau Totenkinder. There isn't the big explosion or the epic last battle. It's just not what you really expect at all. And yet...I like how it all goes down. It fits well within the Fables world, much like how Geppetto was finally defeated and it's going to lead the gang down a very different path than what many people I think expected. The artwork is again absolutely fantastic and I'm always impressed with the effects that they manage to pull off, such as the final battle with Mr. Dark. It just has such great imagery and such great character design.

I do have a couple of niggling little doubts, not related to the battle but to a couple of events that happen within it. One involves one of the Fables picked to be on the superteam, and I'll avoid mentioning much since it would be a spoiler, but this Fable suddenly loses their "power" and not much is ever mentioned more of it. I'm sure it will crop up in later issues, but it just left me feeling like I missed pages that talked more about what happened. The second little issue I have is that we finally get a glimpse of the person who roused Rose Red from her bed in the previous collection. It's almost presented like we should know who she is, but we don't. Again I'm sure that Bill will reveal all in good time it just bugged me a bit that we didn't get more information about these two circumstances.

Even with the two niggling doubts Bill Willingham has created a fantastic universe and continues to surprise me with the direction he's able to take the series. I have no doubt that my questions will be answered in future volumes and I look forward to seeing where he goes with the story. (less)

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Apr 26, 2013 Fizzgig76 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Reprints Fables #101-107 (March 2011-September 2011). Mister Dark now is encroaching on Haven and Flycatcher’s magic is weakening. As the Fables worry that they have been backed into a corner, Pinocchio pledges that comic books could save them all. Forming a super team to battle the Mister Dark, the fate of the Fables and the world could hang in the balance. North Wind has problems of his own, he has discovered one of his grandsons is a zephyr and destined to die...by his hand. Bufkin starts a j...more Reprints Fables #101-107 (March 2011-September 2011). Mister Dark now is encroaching on Haven and Flycatcher’s magic is weakening. As the Fables worry that they have been backed into a corner, Pinocchio pledges that comic books could save them all. Forming a super team to battle the Mister Dark, the fate of the Fables and the world could hang in the balance. North Wind has problems of his own, he has discovered one of his grandsons is a zephyr and destined to die...by his hand. Bufkin starts a journey of his own to become a hero and liberate the land of Oz, and waking Sleeping Beauty proves to me more difficult than anyone believed.

Written by Bill Willingham, Fables 16: Super Team collects the five issue Super Team storyline (Fables #102-106) and the two independent stories in Fables #101 and #107. Following Fables 15: Rose Red, Willingham is joined by his normal artists of Mark Buckingham and Steve Leialoha and guest artists Eric Shanower and Terry Moore.

Fables just continues to be one of the most fun title. While many writers would follow much different “patterns” in comic book writing, Willingham seems to enjoy playing with the formats and going his own way. Buckingham and Leialoha breathe life into these creations, and it all manages to come together as something unique in the comic book world by improving over time instead of crumbling.

This collection had me excited for many different reasons. I am a big Oz fan and was excited to see Bufkin go to Oz and meet classic Oz characters (I really didn’t expect the Glass Cat to show up). It sets up future Oz adventures and hopefully Willingham will dig deep into Oz lore for fans. It was only a one shot issue in this volume but has me eager for more.

The second reason I was excited was Willingham playing with the idea of super heroes. Superheroes are essentially modern “Fables” and instead of incorporating real superheroes (which legally they probably can’t and it would change the whole comic), Willingham decided use superhero archetypes in the battle against Mister Dark. Pinocchio’s requirements for a team (a small character...The Atom, Shrinking Violet, a strong character...Colossus, the Hulk, a rebel character...Wolverine, Timberwolf, a leader in a wheelchair...The Chief, Professor X) do fit a lot of superhero team types. Plus, this storyline wrapped up the long running Mister Dark storyline which felt like it should have wrapped up in Fables #100 (January 2011).

The next reason was a bit of a letdown. I love Terry Moore and his art, and I thought Willingham and Moore’s pairing on the Sleeping Beauty story was a great idea. I didn’t really like this issue and was a bit confused by it. It also didn’t seem to really let Terry Moore explore the characters like he normally does (like his little run of Birds of Prey...which was kind of fun).

Fables 16: Super Team was a good collection that had a lot happen in it. Fables continues to impress me and keeps me wanting more. That is tough in today’s comic book market and for a series to last with this strength and ingenuity for one hundred plus issues is a true sign of greatness. Though The Sandman and Swamp Thing are raised as “the best comic series ever”, I think over time, Fables will be up there too. Fables 16: Super Team is followed by Fables 17: Inherit the Wind.(less)

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Apr 01, 2013 Otherwyrld rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, graphic-novel

In volume 16 there is a fun opening sequence where Bufkin the (formerly) flying monkey finally escapes from the Business Office back to his original home - the land of Oz. Once there, he immediately manages to start a revolution. This is an entertaining side story that I look forward to reading.

On to the main story, where the battle against Mr Dark takes an odd turn as Pinocchio takes it upon himself to form a super hero team, with himself suitably wheelchair bound as their leader. Interspersed...more

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Mar 14, 2013 Jake Forbes rated it 3 of 5 stars

Four stars each for the bookend chapters, but two for the main Super Team arc.

Shanower returning to Oz is a wonderful thing, and even though the Oz characters have always felt a little too modern for the "Fable" label, I am excited to see how Bufkin's homecoming play's out.

Terry Moore's pencil on the Sleeping City chapter are gorgeous, and the chapter makes for a fun epilogue to the Adversary storyline.

As for the titular Super Team, the concept works best in a four page what-if scenario narrat...more

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Aug 18, 2012 Jaimie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The Fables series got a touch kitschy in this volume, even though it is clear that they were aiming for a farcical take on superhero comics. Unsurprisingly, Pinocchio, the comic book obsessed child (who claims he's got the maturity of an adult, but has yet to prove it), is the ringleader of the Fables "Super Team" who shall vanquish Mister Dark once and for all. His assumption is that if you lump together a bunch of people with some sort of supernatural power, put them in silly spandex costumes,...more The Fables series got a touch kitschy in this volume, even though it is clear that they were aiming for a farcical take on superhero comics. Unsurprisingly, Pinocchio, the comic book obsessed child (who claims he's got the maturity of an adult, but has yet to prove it), is the ringleader of the Fables "Super Team" who shall vanquish Mister Dark once and for all. His assumption is that if you lump together a bunch of people with some sort of supernatural power, put them in silly spandex costumes, and give them cliched superhero alias' they are sure to triumph.

Anyone in touch with reality (which surprisingly the Fables series usually tries to perpetuate) knows that Mister Dark can't be defeated by anyone but a peer, that is to say one of the "great powers" who are ideas personified into the world. Obviously these characters are few and far between, but it was mentioned in one of the previous volumes that the North Wind (aka Bigby's father) is one of these great powers, yet he's not even considered when the Fables try to come up with some sort of strategy. He may be a royal pain in the a**, but they could have at least asked, since he has a certain fondness for his grandchildren even if he doesn't really like the rest of the Fables community.

I wasn't very impressed with how quickly the battle with the Dark Lord happenned, and how easily he was vanquished. The solution was obvioius to me long ago, so instead of beating around the bush and creating doomed teams of superheros the Fables should have been capable of figuring it out too. At least Mister Dark is gone (he was a bit too predictable for my tastes), and some new plotlines were revealed. It seems that Miss Sprat has almost gotten what she wants, but we'll see if her newfound beauty will miraculously change her cantankerous personality. I'm also curious to see what happens with Bliss, Beauty and Beast's baby. Obviously she has inherited her father's curse, since Beast is now fully human, but it doesn't really seem fair to saddle a baby who can't find her true love until she's grown up some with a curse like this. Though maybe her changing abilities will be completely natural and less curse-based?(less)

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Jul 04, 2012 Nicola rated it 3 of 5 stars

Reason for Reading: Next in the series.

This was a strange volume that felt like a cheesy outtake. It settles the main story arc but in a rather tongue in cheek manner which didn't really seem to take the Dark Man story line seriously in the end. First we start with a short episode involving Bufkin, Mirror and Frankie who are trapped inside the ruins of the office. I enjoyed this short episode which is totally unrelated to the rest of the book but does either set up a new story arc or finish off...more

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May 06, 2012 David rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-contemporary, fantasy, mythological, superheroes

Bill Willingham's Fables series has now been running for about ten years - hard to believe. While I think he has yet to capture the momentum of some of the more epic moments during the war against the Adversary, and the series has had a few fumbles since that arc ended, Willingham still manages to pull out grand ideas with each new story arc, even if they don't always quite live up to their potential.

This volume brings to an end the Mister Dark storyline. To be honest, I'm glad, since we really...more Bill Willingham's Fables series has now been running for about ten years - hard to believe. While I think he has yet to capture the momentum of some of the more epic moments during the war against the Adversary, and the series has had a few fumbles since that arc ended, Willingham still manages to pull out grand ideas with each new story arc, even if they don't always quite live up to their potential.

This volume brings to an end the Mister Dark storyline. To be honest, I'm glad, since we really didn't need another Dark Lord for the Fables to fight. It was almost as if Willingham was thinking, "Well hell, now that the Adversary has been defeated, who will pose an existential threat to the Fables for the next hundred issues?" Then perhaps he realized that the series doesn't necessarily need a steady stream of existential threats.

So, since the Fables are all about mythology, and power fueled by mundy belief, it was inevitable that sooner or later we'd get superheroes. But the notion is really only flirted with here, as Willingham I think wanted to give tribute to some of his legendary inspirations. The plan to go up against Mister Dark with a hand-picked team of Fable "superheroes," complete with four-color costumes, was as entertaining as it was silly, but in the end, what we got was a deux ex machina and a heroic sacrifice. It was rather an abrupt resolution, but it killed several birds with one stone, and left enough loose ends for plenty of new stories. (Like our dear treacherous Miss Sprat, and the continuing Cult of Boy Blue, and the rather obvious "mystery" of Beauty and the Beast's child, and do I sense a hint of a Pinocchio/Ozma ship?)

There were two secondary stories in this volume: one starring Bufkin the no-longer-flying monkey, who apparently is going to get an entire story arc of his own, and one involving the sleeping city that was once the capital of the Empire, back in the Homelands, and the fate of Sleeping Beauty, with yet another ominous plot seed laid for the future.

Fables has not yet completely worn out its freshness, and Willingham has said he's going to continue it as long as he can, so I imagine there are still a few good years left in it.(less)

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Apr 22, 2012 Ottery StCatchpole rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I'd like to start by stating that I am a fan of Bill Willingham, I love his work on Fables, Robin back in the day and the occasional other comic that he's done like Thessaly and Shadowpact which I actually thought was pretty cool. That said, I'd like to add that I am a huge fan of Fables, couldn't wait for the possible t.v. series that sadly became the lame duck shows about fairy tales that you now see all over television. Fables, at its best, is a biting satire on our past fantasies, fairy tal...more I'd like to start by stating that I am a fan of Bill Willingham, I love his work on Fables, Robin back in the day and the occasional other comic that he's done like Thessaly and Shadowpact which I actually thought was pretty cool. That said, I'd like to add that I am a huge fan of Fables, couldn't wait for the possible t.v. series that sadly became the lame duck shows about fairy tales that you now see all over television. Fables, at its best, is a biting satire on our past fantasies, fairy tales, politics, relationships between men and women and everyday life and magic. Lately however, Fables has been anything but its best. Mind you, I add a caveat to that, I'm speaking of the trades, which is how I read Fables now exclusively, though had this storyline been more powerful that would have changed.
Something has happened to Mr. Willingham's work since he introduced the major villain Mr. Dark, who has plagued our Fables for the past 3 volumes or so. He seems to have lost his writing edge a bit. Dealing with the character and the fall out of his last major story line I think has deprived or perhaps left Mr. Willingham a little lost in the direction of the books recently. I've noticed a possible move in his writing style to write for trades in mind rather than as the story dictates. As this 16th volume of Fables begins we pick up with Buffkin in the offices of the Mayor's office in Fable town in a one issue story that sets up what is likely to be the next big conflict, some kind of revolution in Oz. I think, honestly, it was a bad idea to present it in this way, as a whole stand-alone issue at the start of the book, since nowhere else in the book is the matter handled settled or even mentioned again. As I said, Mr. Willingham is setting up the next big conflict. All well and good, but why a whole issue at the beginning of the book that has absolutely nothing to do with the story at hand? Buffkins adventures have not really dealt with the Dark one but rather with being isolated in the business office with a powerful witch. It seems a pity to waste all that time on something that could have been sparced out over the length of the book as a subtle back story while diving us into the main conflict which quite honestly has been a long time in coming to a resolution.
Mr. Willingham did something similar a few trades back introducing the threat of Mr. Dark only to then whisk us away on a horrid, and possibly editorially mandated crossover with a lower selling title Jack of Fables. Why Jack ever got a book is beyond me, as he isn't and never has been a good fable is beyond me. Snow and Bigby could have easily had their own book or even Prince Charming, even a book following Cinderella's exploits or Bigby's agents out in the mundy world would have been infinitely more interesting than the pap served to us as Jack's adventures. I speak for his early adventures as I bought the first half dozen issues or so of the book before I quit it, and the ones from the crossover which where quite honestly horrendous.
The whole crossover book was horrendous and simply a stupidly cumbersome and unnecessary giant bump that through the main Fables book severely off track.
If you remember back to that book you'll remember Rose Red shacking up with Jack for countless useless issues and her being haunted about having an important destiny, that quite honestly in this book comes to naught. Which lends credence to the thought that perhaps Mr. Willingham does not plot out his stories but writes them first and sees where they take him. (Its cool, I write that way and so do many successful writers.) What happens however, is that nothing comes of it. Rose's big destiny was to move all the Fables from the farm to Haven. That's pretty much it. No great battle with Mr. Dark, no revelatory moment at the pinnacle of climax where she finds the answer or reveals the killing blow to a villain who has been established rather eloquently and well in other books as being a damn big menace. No. Simply, you did something cool, you saved lives oh and you may yet do something more important later on down the road, thanks.
Mr. Willingham is the master of the big build-up, and for a lot of volumes of Fables he's paid off. Even here he sets up a fight between Bigby and his father that has been a long time coming over the fate of one of Bigby's children but again the way in which it is resolved is, quite honestly, a bit too deus ex machina. The big fight we're promised and the fall out all seem great and even when it turns out that Bigby doesn't stand a chance against his father I'm still excited for it but then ... nothing. By then the plot has become predictable and we can see the resolution coming a mile away.
For a villain of whom much is done, who went up against Frau Totenkinder and still managed to win, Mr. Dark receives a lame and rather stupid end, leaving in my opinion a lot of loose ends, and henchmen. Hopefully, Mr. Willingham will see to do something good with them down the road but for now we're left to wonder exactly how they're going to deal with the fall out and defeat of Mr. Dark.
All of that said, where the hell does the Super Team in the title come from? Well, Pinocchio has gotten it into his head that a team of Fables in the archetypes of certain comic book super team icons can take down and stand a better chance of defeating Mr. Dark. To say that that's the main storyline is true, but just as true is it to say that it fails at it miserably. One would expect a send up of popular comic book tropes, and characters and situations and likewise one would not be wrong to expect it to be deftly handled by someone who has written superhero comics as well as non-hero comics for years. However, if you're looking for biting satire or good parody about comics this is not the place to look. Aside from a few jabs at X-men/Doom Patrol's characters and maybe Wasp from the Avengers the books don't really deal at all or with any depth or seriousness or comedic seriousness anyway, the roles of super heroes. Nothing on the objectification of women, which isn't surprising coming from DC comics and their recent track record. Nothing about the quirky team dynamics or how disparate individuals gel into a team. Essentially nothing. Bigby is Wolverine, the Badger is a Green Lantern stand in, Pinocchio is Professor X or The Chief. Outside a little more of that we get nothing really. No big send up on superheroes or great satire on the comic industry nothing. Just another idea that Mr. Willingham just doesn't seem to bring to complete fruition.
Its frustrating to see so many possible great scenarios and situations suddenly cut short because the writer seems to be losing interest, or perhaps they were not well thought out. I honestly believe that Mr. Willingham was simply tired of dealing with Mr. Dark, as tired as I was of reading about his impending destruction of the Fables. It just seems like he wished to go back to dealing with things other than the fall out of the Empire, as exampled in the last story which leads straight into the new Fables series Fairest.
Despite all my disappointments with the plot, I would still recommend reading this book, it is better than anything else being written in comics, easily in the super-hero realm, but amongst the other books its still tops too. The dialogue is spot on, the fights and arguments, the little squabbles and machinations that Mr. Willingham has laid will hopefully bear better fruit than anything that has touched the Mr. Dark story lines. He has left enough little seedlings as to future troubles for our beloved Fables that one hopes he will pick one and follow it through. Perhaps smaller storylines dealing with individual Fables are more in order, as too much epic stuff, like too much candy, can get cloying.
To say that Mark Buckingham's artwork is still the most beautiful and best suited to this book is an understatement. I love Eric Shanower and Terry Moore, both of them very competent and illustrious illustrators but Mr. Buckingham's pencils are the definitive Fables for me. It is really great to see him illustrating the main story lines. The next story seems to follow who will inherit a certain powerful mantle, again undermining just how relevant it was to delve into the revolution in Oz which is likely the storyline that follows that one. Mr. Willingham is still a great writer, his book is still good, though it has lost some of its sheen since the big useless crossover, but this volume easily stands about that one, if not as one of the finest in the Fables series, it is still good and one hopes lays the seeds to more promising stories ahead.(less)

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Mar 06, 2012 Michael Larson rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 05, 2012 John Kirk rated it 3 of 5 stars

When I first read American comics, I started out with superhero titles. Later, I expanded my reading habits to include Vertigo titles like Fables. So, this book ought to appeal to me, by combining both ideas. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't up to the standard of some previous storylines either.

(view spoiler)...more

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Jan 26, 2012 Jana rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am still a bit undecided. I won’t join those who claim that the series has run its course and that Willingham should put it to an end, because that’s just sheer nonsense, in my opinion. Willingham will never cease to amaze and I just know it in my bones that there are many more twists and turns just waiting to spill onto paper. There are many more myths, tales, and genres Willingham will surely find a way to wave into this amazing story.

I loved how Pinocchio and Ozma tried to put together a Su...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Melissa Sodano rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, graphic

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 07, 2012 Thomas rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, dark, graphic-novel

Fables soars past issue number 100 with this collection, and given the stories that have led us to this point, one might think that it’s time to start playing around with the idea behind the series, extending it to include some new characters and embrace some new themes. And I guess it does that, but it doesn’t really seem as interesting or as thematic as what’s come before. Now we’re presented with the idea that the Fables need to be superheroes instead of just Fables. I mean, they already have...more

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Apr 07, 2012 Wesley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics

This is volume 16 of the popular Vertigo series and collects issues 101 - 107. As usual it was written by Bill Willingham and the main story was pencilled by Mark Buckingham. The inking on the main story was done mainly by Steve Leialoha with Andrew Pepoy lending a hand on a few pages. The main story is preceded by a fill-in tale with art by Eric Shanower and Richard Friend and followed by another filler story with art by the great Terry Moore.

The main five part story concerns the Fables latest...more This is volume 16 of the popular Vertigo series and collects issues 101 - 107. As usual it was written by Bill Willingham and the main story was pencilled by Mark Buckingham. The inking on the main story was done mainly by Steve Leialoha with Andrew Pepoy lending a hand on a few pages. The main story is preceded by a fill-in tale with art by Eric Shanower and Richard Friend and followed by another filler story with art by the great Terry Moore.

The main five part story concerns the Fables latest attempt to rid themselves of Mister Dark. With Bellflower's scheme to contain Mister Dark failing, the Fables are forced to leave the farm and retreat to Flycatcher's kingdom of Haven. But Mister Dark is on their tails and there is nowhere else to run. While Flycatcher maintains the wards that are holding Mister Dark at bay, Pinocchio convinces the current leader of the witches, Ozma, to create a super powered group to battle the all-powerful enemy in a scenario inspired by his love of comic books. Ozma agrees and with Pinocchio sets about pulling together the members for an archetypal super group that can hope to gain power from the modern myths of the superhero. But as the group is drawn together another champion steps forth from an unlikely quarter.

The first filler story concerns Bufkin and the aftermath of his battle with Baba Yaga in the business office.Now that the business office is safe he is convinced to go on more heroic quests so that he can become king of the business office. This story sees him escape the office and enlist in a new cause. The second story concerns sleeping beauty and a general who is trying to wake her so that he can access the Emperor's former administration and sorcerers to forge a new empire. But little does he know that there are rival forces around who will go to any lengths to stop his scheme.

This story sees the resolution of the Mister Dark story line and the death of major character. Despite the cover of the book bringing to mind Superman, the main story is a homage to Marvel comics and Jack Kirby with the design of the characters recalling some classic Marvel characters and the art very reminiscent of Kirby's work - it seems that it is not just DC characters who wish they were Marvel superheroes. The future is going to be interesting for Bigby and Snow in the aftermath of this story line. Also the return to Fabletown may not go quite as smoothly as everyone thinks with the poisonous nurse Sprat still looking for revenge. The Terry Moore story looks like a set up for Fairest with some of the images resembling some of that new spin-off series. It will be interesting to see if nurse Sprat ends up remaining in the main book or the new one given her new-found status courtesy of Mister Dark.

(less)

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Mar 20, 2012 Jeffrey rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel, fantasy, read-in-2012

Bill Willingham's done a lot of odd things with his fables, but Super Team may be the strangest. After Totekinder's plan to defeat Mr. Dark falls short, Pinnochio and Ozma elect to establish a comic book inspired superhero group to take on the villain. While they recruit Fabletown's best and brightest, Bigby must deal with family issues as The North Wind considers his obligations as both grandfather and monarch.

There are some fun elements here, but the issue never really pulls together. Everythi...more

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Nov 30, 2011 logankstewart rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-read, graphic-comics, own, folklore

*Read as individual comics, not the TPB*

I get the feeling that after issue #100 and the battle between Mr. Dark and Frau, a new major arc is on the way for the fables. There are still unresolved problems (i.e., Dark) that need taking care of, and that's the premise for Super Group. Pinocchio decides to set up a group of super fables, and with the help of Ozma, they hold try outs. Their goal is to rid Haven of Dark's threats and ultimately return to Fabletown.

Meanwhile, Bufkin heads out on his o...more

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Sep 23, 2012 Karissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the 16th book in the Fables series. It was a decent installment in this series. The story surrounding Mister Dark comes to a climax and we learn a little more about Bufkin in the Office.

In this issue Ozma creates a Super Team to take on Mister Dark, but the North Wind gets to him first. The book also includes a little story about Bufkin the Monkey and a story about Sleeping Beauty.

Bufkin is returned to his homeland in this story and another storyline is started with Sleeping Beauty, but...more

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Feb 01, 2012 Kathryn rated it 3 of 5 stars

In this volume of Fables, the safety and harmony of Haven is threatened by the impending attack by Mister Dark. Having studied comic book superheroes, Pinocchio decides to build a "super team" of fables who will fight Dark to the death. It's a clever idea, again breaking down the fourth wall in a funny and charming way. However, it is all for naught as the super team doesn't defeat Mister Dark and that conflict is resolved quickly (and anti-climactically). It's getting a little frustrating how W...more

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Feb 05, 2012 Caroline rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels, urban-fantasy, read-in-2012

Outside of the Crossover (which, really, doesn't seem fair to count), this is really the first of the Fables trade paperback that I didn't completely love. I was totally into the whole assembling of a super hero team to defeat the big bad, but it was pretty rushed--probably reading these in single-issue form would have made it feel less so, but in the trade paperback form it just felt like it was a small blip in the Fables storyline.

The ending was super anticlimactic. (view spoiler)...more

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Feb 22, 2013 Vincent rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel

I picked up Fables, Volume 16 from the library, after reading Bill Willingham's introduction to Mike Carey and Peter Gross' Unwritten. His heralding the age of the LAF (Literary-, Animal-, Fairy Tale- based comics) Triumvirate made me curious about the differences between superhero comics and the ones that he felt a kinship towards. I enjoyed reading both Volumes 1 and 2 of Unwritten and I remember enjoying his Fables comics. I think I got up to Volume 4 before I stopped reading. I think I just...more I picked up Fables, Volume 16 from the library, after reading Bill Willingham's introduction to Mike Carey and Peter Gross' Unwritten. His heralding the age of the LAF (Literary-, Animal-, Fairy Tale- based comics) Triumvirate made me curious about the differences between superhero comics and the ones that he felt a kinship towards. I enjoyed reading both Volumes 1 and 2 of Unwritten and I remember enjoying his Fables comics. I think I got up to Volume 4 before I stopped reading. I think I just got to a point where I simply wanted something different.

It had been a while since I read Fables. I was a little worried that I had missed too much to get back into the story. Happily, the prologue and the chart of relevant characters were enough to provide me with enough background to understand that the Fables (the namesakes of the series) had barely survived a battle with a powerful enemy called Mister Dark. The Fables retreated from their hometown, Fabletown, to a farm and then again to a place called Haven. In Haven, the Frog Price uses a magical incantation to surround the town with a protective barrier. Pinocchio has either been appointed (or self-appointed himself) to recruit and train a group of "super Fables" to protect the town.

Having read Bill's introduction to Unwritten made the stories in Volume 16 particularly interesting because it placed LAF characters in a superhero universe. Pinocchio is befuddled by the difficulty he is experiencing from the recruitment of Fables that meet superhero cliches. For example, there is a funny scene where Rapunzel informs him that her long hair is not "living" and cannot pick up objects. She accuses him of being lecher because of the costume changes (he makes all of his recruits wear spandex outfits). Pinocchio looks aghast. He's much more interested in meeting the comic book criteria for superheroes than well-drawn blond girls.

Fables, Volume 16 is a nice reintroduction to the Fables series. It successfully plays with the superhero and LAF Triumvirate genres(?) in a humorous and engaging way.

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May 25, 2012 Liz rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: decent-artwork, decent-writing, fantasy, graphic-novel, shiny, review-for-the-whole-series

This series is...okay. As with any series written and drawn by different teams of people, it varies from amazing in both artwork and story (Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall) to borderline craptastical (Vol. 13: The Great Fables Crossover). Most volumes fall in between the two, with stories in each volume varying between amazing to just meh, making the volume as a whole just overall readable.

The idea itself is interesting, Fables being real, driven out of their homeland into ours and struggling to...more

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Mar 22, 2012 Ian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: action, dark-fantasy, graphic-novels, magic, mythology, urban-fantasy, war

In which Buffkin undertakes an arduous quest; King Flycatcher faces off against the dullahan; Pinocchio & Ozma draft a "brilliant" plan; Bigby confronts his father; more is revealed about the Great Powers; Mrs. Spratt gets engaged; the identity of Rose's shape-changing benefactor is revealed; we learn the fates of Lumi & Briar Rose; and a terrible sacrifice changes the course of Bigby & Snow White's lives forever.

I'm going to be honest, I expected this volume's central story to be an...more

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Dec 30, 2011 Jeremy rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've never read a Fables book I didn't like (although that crossover book they did a while ago came close), but I am occasionally disappointed when a storyline is rushed or glossed over.

Right now, Willingham has so many irons in the fire that things are feeling a bit stretched (odd that this is the first time I've felt this way considering the scope of the series), and I feel like they really rushed through the end of the confrontation with Mr. Dark (in the same way that they ended the war with...more

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Sep 11, 2012 Rae Ganci rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels

In FABLES: SUPER TEAM, volume #16 in Fables collection, we have our favorite fables going all super-hero on Mister Dark. Pinocchio, an avid fan of comic books himself, devises a plan that a team of superheroes is needed to defeat the unbeatable Mister Dark. Exiled to Fly's kingdom of Haven the fables are gathering their strength and most fearless warriors to take him on.

I love the nod to the golden age of comics here with all the superhero references. Paying respects to the "roots" of comics bo...more

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Feb 06, 2012 P. Kirby rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels

Following up on the short vignette at the end of Volume 15, we find Bufkin, the formerly flying monkey, vying for the role of king of the business office. The Mirror and Frank postpone Bufkin's elevation to the throne by suggesting that he needs to first perform several heroic feats, a la Hercules. As all other ways out are shut, Bufkin seeks fame and glory, up, up, up, the magical tree that grows in the business office.

Meanwhile, the exiled, exiled and exiled again, Fables make a last ditch eff...more

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Feb 16, 2013 Shannon rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013

This volume was alright. The beginning where Pinocchio and Ozma were putting a Super Team to take down Mister Dark was pretty entertaining. The battle fake-out had me laughing my face off. There was this whole epic fight and then you found out it was just Pinocchio throwing out scenarios of how to win. The whole thing with Nurse Spratt and Mister Dark was really freaking weird. The romance aspect just felt icky and grossed me out.

For me, the ending was probably the thing that dragged this volum...more

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Dec 27, 2012 Anthony rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels, urban-fantasy

I suppose it was only a matter of time before Bill Willingham tackled our modern-day fables, the super-heroes, within the pages of FABLES. Using existing Fables characters we've already come to know and love, he deftly satirizes comics' main genre within the confines of the larger story this collection wraps up. One of the great things about Fables is that it moves along at a good pace and doesn't remain "static" the way so many super-hero comics do. In this collection, Willingham brings an end...more

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Jan 24, 2012 Matt Anderson rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 14, 2012 Delicious Strawberry rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: bill-willingham, graphic-novel

This felt rushed in some parts, much like how the Jack of Fables series ended. I have to admit, I was disappointed with the way that Mr. Dark wad disposed of. I will be honest, I hope this series gets wrapped up soon. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE this series, it was clever and creative, but all good things must come to an end and I would rather see this series end than jump the shark. Now that Mr. Dark is gone, I am really hoping that we do not have a new enemy to deal with. Rather, I hope the nex...more

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Feb 16, 2012 Miss rated it 3 of 5 stars

Okay seriously y'all, where is Dorothy? She is the main character of the Oz books, there's no way Bufkin is remembered enough to continue existing if Dorothy isn't. Did she get killed by the Adversary back in the day? Is Willingham just allergic to female friendship? We've had many scenes of the bro club, I don't see why Ozma's canonical BFF is Miss Mysteriously Never Mentioned In This Comic.

I'm not bothered about the anticlimactic end to Mister Dark since I wanted to see him written out ages ag...more

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About Bill Willingham

In the late 1970s to early 1980s he drew fantasy ink pictures for the Dungeons & Dragons Basic and Expert game rulebooks. He first gained attention for his 1980s comic book series Elementals published by Comico, which he both wrote and drew. However, for reasons unknown, the series had trouble maintaining an original schedule, and Willingham's position in the industry remained spotty for many...more

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