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Sep 16, 2010

Alex rated it:

FABLES: 1001 NIGHTS OF SNOWFALL BY BILL WILLINGHAM, et. al.: Whether this is the first time you’ve looked upon the world of the Fables comic book series, or you’re an issue to issue addict (like me); 1001 Nights of Snowfall is a graphic novel that anyone can read and enjoy; Bill Willingham says exactly this in his introduction. Working with a host of different artists, including Mark Buckingham (who illustrates the series), John Bolton (Harlequin Valentine), Jill Thompson (Scary Godmother) and More...

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Dec 23, 2008

James rated it:

I'm tempted to give this 4 stars instead of 3 based on the diversity of art and design throughout the whole book. My gripe with the Fables books has always been that the fantastic, memorable, gorgeous, striking, and provocative art on the covers is then followed by bland, so-so comic book art. The stuff inside isn't necessarily bad, but it's nowhere near as great as the stuff on the outside. In 1001 Nights, this problem is resolved by handing the illustration duties to a collection of artists More...

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Jun 12, 2008

Amy rated it:

This graphic novel stands apart from the Fables numbered comic series - it's a beautifully illustrated tale of what happens when Snow White travels as an envoy of Fabletown to warn a sultan in an Arabian land of the Adversary, an enemy who is out to destroy or enslave all Fables. Snow White is tricked into replacing the bride who was to attend the Sultan one certain evening, and the honeymoon prize for all brides of the Sultan is death. To keep her head, Snow White spins many tales for the Sulta More...

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Jan 29, 2012

Corielle rated it:

This is my first read of a FABLES book, and I am loving it! Bill Willingham’s writing brings together several children’s stories into one world, where the grim part of the Grimm Fairy Tales can be elaborated upon and characters’ stories intertwine. These aren’t only “back-stories” of the famous childhood figures, they are stories that connect each and every one of them in a world that is as ferocious yet as good as our own.

It all starts with Snow White, the “Most Troublesome Woman.” I More...

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Oct 31, 2011

Dave rated it:

A nice anthology piece detailing the backstories of some of the characters we've met throughout the regular series. I think the best part of this collection is the chance to see a number of other great artists telling these characters' tales. The basic gist of this trade is that Snow White is acting as an ambassador for Fabletown in Arabia. After being caught by a great sultan, she survives by telling him a different tale about the various adventures of many of the characters from where she's fr More...

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Dec 10, 2009

Nicola rated it:

Reason for Reading: next published book in the Fables series.

Summary: Snow White is sent to the land of the Arabian fables to ask for their help in fighting the Adversary. The time period is shortly after the fables have settled in our world and from information gathered in this book that is probably somewhere in the 1600s. When she arrives the court of the Sultan does not know what to do with such an insult, a woman emissary! They lock her in her rooms for quite some time but after More...

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Jul 19, 2011

Hotavio rated it:

1001 Nights of Snowfall may be my favorite of the Fables books I have read so far. In the graphic novel, Snow White ventures to the eastern kingdoms in order to earn a sultan's allegiances against the Adversary. Instead, she is taken captive, and is to be married and then killed. Snow White responds by telling stories to hold off her fate. What we are treated to are the lives of some of the main characters of the series before they fled to the Mundane World. The stories cleverly combine e More...

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Jan 30, 2012

John rated it:

There are some good stories here, which put an interesting twist on familiar stories and nursery rhymes. In particular, Flycatcher's story is quite dark. There's a lot of nudity in this book: that doesn't bother me, but it's probably best not to read it in public (e.g. on a train). The framing sequence isn't quite so good, particularly if you're already familiar with Scheherazade; it's only significant as a way for the main cast to acquire certain items.

<spoiler>In Frau Totenki More...

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Jun 01, 2009

Katrina rated it:

Whether this is the first time you’ve looked upon the world of the Fables series, or you’re an issue to issue addict; 1001 Nights of Snowfall is a graphic novel that anyone can read and enjoy. Featuring a collection of stories, the book is framed with Snow White’s meeting with a misogynistic Sultan who intends to kill her when he is through with her. To prevent this, Snow White must tell a new story to him each night to stay his lethal hand. From her stories we find out about Bigby’s (the big ba More...

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Jan 20, 2009

Neil rated it:

This was a nice little diversion, the back story to a series of graphic novels. Author Willingham makes clever turns on many different fables and fairy tales, joining them together with a plot about invading goblins led by "The Adversary" who wipe out every kingdom in their path except for a few plucky survivors from various fables who get together in Fabletown (hidden in or near New York City). This book is tied together by a framing story of Snow White going to the court of an Arabia More...

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Mar 28, 2011

Kim rated it:

Really enjoyed this prequel. It gives some great character insight for some of our favorite fables. My favorite one was about the Witch of the fables, since her story has always been one of the most mysterious. I also liked hearing more about Bigby Wolf. I found the stories of King Cole and the Frog Prince (the latter especially) to be terribly tragic, but that in itself can be really excellent character development. It also gave just a little more insight about King Cole, who started out t More...

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Apr 24, 2009

Purplycookie rated it:

"Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall" is something of a prequel to Bill Willingham's award winning Fables series. Taking place long before the events set forth in the regular series, 1001 Nights retells the tales of several of the inhabitants of Fabletown.

The art of 1001 Nights is beautifully rendered, each story illustrated by a different artist, including Charles Vess (of "Stardust" fame), Brian Bolland, John Bolton, Michael Wm. Kaluta, James Jean, Tara McPherson, D More...

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Feb 09, 2009

Siyuan rated it:

This series is my guilty pleasure. Actually, both guilty and somewhat embarrassing, for various reasons. I've tried to duck quickly into the comics section of the bookstore, grab what I need, and duck out, but it rarely works out this way. Sometimes I spend a good 5 minutes searching the confusing jumble of brightly colored DC comics in the company of 12-year-old boys. Other times, the books are on the top shelf (why are comic book shelves taller than literature shelves?) and need Ken to get the More...

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Mar 29, 2011

Bonnie rated it:

I love Fables to pieces. I place it up there with Sandman in graphic novel brilliance.

With that in mind, this is not the best Fables volume. I say it's more a library read than a must-buy. Or something to tide you over until the next Fables volume comes out. It's always fun to see more of favorite characters, but I felt like I had already read these stories. This might very well be because during my initial Fables frenzy I scoured Wikipedia for more information and then I got what I More...

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Jan 25, 2011

Jonathan rated it:

I kind of think i would have liked it a lot better if the cover hadn't said "A top-notch fantasy comic that is on par with The Sandman. --VARIETY" Sorry, Variety, this is nowhere near on par with the Sandman, although i do see some similarities. It's just that this deals with surface trappings and fables and The Sandman deals with myths and deeper meanings. The best conspiracy theories take concepts from opposite sides of your mindspace and fit them together so neatly you wonder why More...

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Aug 07, 2011

Jeff rated it:

Both words and pictures make this a spectacular volume and a nice companion piece to the Fables story. We see a prequel story told in mostly prose of Snow White on a diplomatic mission to one of the leaders of the Arabian Fable worlds. Customs clash and soon the strong headed former princess finds herself in a situation that would find her raven haired head soon severed from her body. In order to save herself and to try and salvage any hope of an alliance, Snow tells the sultan tales of the E More...

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Jan 22, 2009

Icats rated it:

This book is a prequel to the Fable series. Snow White travels to Arabia as an ambassador from the exiled Fables community to seek an alliance with the sultan against The Adversary, but instead of his guest she ends up his prisoner. With her execution looming, Snow attempts to charm her captor with not-so-familiar stories of the familiar Fable characters.

This is no Disney folks; these captivating tales definitely put the grim in fairytale. If you like happily ever after this book is p More...

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Apr 03, 2010

Natalia rated it:

Ditto.

Just kidding. Sort of.

A prequel to the Fables series, and a play on Scheherazade's 1001 nights of stories, 1001 Nights of Snowfall follows Snow White as she travels to the Arabian lands in the hopes of forging an alliance with the Sultan.

I really enjoyed learning the back stories of many of the characters. Once again, it felt like a true representation of what had happened, far beyond the stories we knew as children.

Heartbreaking, horrifyi More...

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Aug 27, 2009

Eliza rated it:

This is the first book that I read from this series and it made me want to read the rest. I love that several different artists worked on this project so that every story has a different look. I especially like John Bolton, Tara McPherson, Derek Kirk Kim, and James Jean.

Overall the book is sad and a little disturbing because Snow White is telling the misadventures of the fables in the homelands as the adversary was taking over. I was intrigued by the new take on these old character More...

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Sep 04, 2010

Angelli rated it:

Very cool illustrations! And generous too! I like it when comic books use different artists. I'm familiar with the "G BROS" and grew up with your run of the mill fairy tales so the stories are not new to me, instead, like some common reasons why we read "graphic novels" - it is all addictive and refreshing! I understand this is the "prequel" and I am a late comer to this "much hyped series." Reading this book first really geared me up for Volume 1.0 b More...

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Nov 12, 2011

Matt rated it:

Another aside from the Fables series. It provides some interesting backstory on many of the favorite fables characters, bookended with a story that is intended to mirror the Arabian Nights tales. Much like Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love, it seemed to fit very naturally between volumes 8 and 9 of the Fables series. Best of the volume: back story on Flycatcher; it really gives depth to what we’ll see soon in volume nine. More problematic for me was the Arabian Nights motif; Willingham do More...

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Feb 05, 2012

Mangaphan rated it:

Beautifully illustrated with some of the best artists in the comic world (favorite though was Tara McPherson's work who is somewhat known but nearly at the level of a Charles Vess).

Stories are vignettes told by Snow White to a sultan in order to stave off being executed. Some stories are tragic (like the Frog Prince) and some are winky (like the Girl who becomes a mermaid to see the world only to get stuck on the Farm).

What holds it all together is the stunning art. My favor More...

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Jul 09, 2011

Caroline rated it:

A collection of shorts discussing the history of various characters. The framework is borrowed from 1001 Arabian Nights, but with Snow White as the clever wife who charms the sultan with stories.

A lot of the stories themselves were excellent, particularly Ambrose's, Bigby's, and Frau Totenkinder's. The art, however, I didn't care for in some of these, particularly in Snow White's story about how she learned how to fence when she first married Prince Charming. The inconsistencies thre More...

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Jul 07, 2009

Loyd rated it:

Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall is structured along the lines of the Arabian Nights stories, adorned with a spectacular group of artists and illustrators. Michael Kaluta, Charles Vess, Brian Bolland, James Jean and Tara McPherson are the real standouts, but everyone does an enviable job. The stories are a little less coherent than usual for Fables, but not enough to ruin the cast of princesses, frogs, ogres and knights that make a Fables story so engaging.

One minor quibble: the hand More...

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Mar 04, 2009

Beth rated it:

I'm always poking around the library looking for good graphic novels, and picked this up recently. I've never read any of the other Fables comics, but this was a good place to start, I think. The stories feature common fairy tale characters that are placed in different storylines, either before or after their most popular adventures. While I found the stories lacking, I loved the various illustrators that contributed to this book, and selected a couple that I will definitely follow-up with to More...

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Dec 10, 2011

Lacey rated it:

This story is a standalone from the series, but the concept is just as clever and the storylines are intriguing.

Snow White tells stories that invent the circumstances that either led to the well-known fables we're familiar with or stemmed from aspects of fables we're familiar with. None of them are the rainbows and puppies stories we're familiar with!

The artwork in this volume is fascinating as a collaboration among artists...each tale has a different illustrator. I loved see More...

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Jan 06, 2010

Sarah rated it:

I loved this. 1001 Nights of Snowfall leverages Arabian Nights to tell a series of short vignettes involving Fables characters. Each night Snow White tells the Sultan stories and he stays her execution each morning.

The exchanges between Snow and the Sultan occur in prose and then each individual vignette is drawn by a different illustrator. Going into the book, I expected the changing illustrations to distract (or possibly annoy) me, but this was not the case. I think the use of mult More...

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Jun 03, 2011

Ashley rated it:

A wonderful prequel filled with stories about Fabletown's prominent and most beloved characters told within a story that could have stood alone by itself but was more entertaining this way. Filled with common fairy tale stories with a bit of a twist the stories ranged from 2 pages to more lengthy. I took 1 star off as some of the artwork was a bit out there for me at first and the abundance of female toplessness. While this is an adult comic and a little nudity is all right there were times when More...

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Feb 04, 2012

Chris rated it:

Another fun setup/play on the old tales/legends here. This worked quite nicely as it's own little book, and I especially enjoyed the further back story for some of Fables more notable characters.

Even though Willingham says in the intro that this could be for anyone--not just readers of Fables--I would think that much of the charm and appeal wouldn't quite be there. But for Fables fans, this is a nice way to provide further insight into our favorites, without slowing down the narrativ More...

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Mar 20, 2011

Sofia rated it:

Posted on my book blog.

Snow White is sent to Arabia as Fabletown's ambassador, tasked with forging an alliance between the two peoples against the conquering Adversary. Instead, the misogynist sultan takes her prisoner and intends to give her the same fate as he's given nearly every other young woman in his land: marry her in the evening, and kill her the following morning. Snow White attempts to escape that fate by doing exactly what you would expect (if you know your fairytales): e More...

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