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Jan 29, 2012

Larissa rated it:

A friend of mine who is very immersed the graphic/comic world suggested that I would really enjoy this series, and brought me the Deluxe edition to get me started. I finished the first book in two nights, which is somewhat unusual for me, since even though reading a graphic novel may not actually take as much time as reading a text-based story, I generally go slower with visual storytelling. The first two arcs in the series are fantastic, though, and the artwork is not only beautiful and dynamic More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 29, 2012

Krizia Anna rated it:

Review of Animal Farm: It was really exciting and interesting. The book was hard to put down. It was much better than the first volume. The illustrations was still great. However, it really kept me hanging. I just want to read the next one as soon as possible!

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 29, 2012

Anne rated it:

Continuing to expand my Graphic novel reading horizons. I Like this already, it's about how the fairy tale/folk tale characters had to escape their world for ours - they call it the MUNDANE world. HA!

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 29, 2012

Stven rated it:

The folk of fairy tale and nursery rhyme, fantasy and fable mingle in the modern world. Of course it doesn't really make sense, but it's a terribly clever premise pulled off with a rigorous internal consistency and an acceptable level of panache. The only trouble is I keep feeling it ought to be terrific while all it's ever going to deliver is a polished, dogged competence.

This is a collection of ten monthly issues of a comic book, and I do have a rich respect for the form and its wo More...

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Jan 29, 2012

Kevin rated it:

Incredibly creative. Author Bill Willingham introduces us into the world of Fables, the physical manifestations of all humanity's fairy stories who have been exiled to New York after a mysterious Adversary drives them from the thousands of magical worlds they once inhabited. Bigby (Big, Bad, and Reformed) Wolf, Snow White, King Cole, Jack (traits of all of them rolled into one roguish social climber) Rose Red, the Three Little Pigs, Little Boy Blue, and a myriad of other storybook, fairytale, an More...

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Jan 29, 2012

Halik rated it:

Set in a universe not unlike ours. New York city is inhabited with an underground community of wait for it.. fables. Yes. Snow white, big bad Wolf, Little Boy Blue, Captain Bluebeard, three piggies. The works.

What am i, a 26 year old journalist, doing reading this? Well for one, i was bored at work. And for another the book isn't all that juvenile actually. Willingham explores myth and folklore and attempts to overturn established stereotypes in this one. The situation is odd. The home More...

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Jan 29, 2012

Hotavio rated it:

Fables: The Deluxe Edition compounds the first two books of the sizy Fables series. The concept of throwing various childhood stories into an adult storyline was appealing, so I plucked this book off the shelf to satiate my recent urge for graphic novels.
I found the concept to appease my initial curiosity, but not with out a few reservations. The cover art for the various original comic books that this series came out is very eye catching and really molds the imaginative aspects of More...

3 comments like

Jan 29, 2012

Belcky rated it:

Jumping onto the Fables bandwagon a little late, I didn't know much about this series except that it brought fairytale characters into modern society. That was more than enough to interest me, but I didn't expect to encounter the logistics of trying to keep their magical nature quiet, or maintaining order in a community where so many were main characters in their own stories, including kings, princes and lords. I love the amount of thought put into running such an outfit, and the way it's comp More...

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Jan 29, 2012

Jesse rated it:

This book is amazing. Classic fairytale and nursery rhyme characters as refugees from there homelands in the middle of New York City and upstate New York. The art is excellent and the writing uses a smart and deft touch to treat what sounds like a possibly corny subject while still being interesting and exciting. This is quite simply like nothing I've ever read before, quilted together from pieces of stories everyone has read.

The first storyline is a murder mystery with the back dro More...

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Jan 29, 2012

Reed rated it:

Bill Willingham's Fables series has been getting a lot of play outside of the comics/graphic novel community lately, so being a reformed comic junkie, I thought I'd see what present day comics are all about.

First off, the deluxe edition truly lives up to it's name--the large format hardback is gorgeous, with a dazzling wrap-around cover that certainly intrigued me. Inside, the art is not as appealing. It's certainly workable, but it's nothing like the cover.

But what abo More...

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Jan 29, 2012

Tyler rated it:

I read this one a while back and forgot to put it up on here. I feel like it was a good start to the story, and from friends I know the series gets much better, but at the end of this book I was not blown away. It was good, no doubt about that, but I feel it was a "set up" book. Being that there are tons of books out for it, that isn't exactly a problem, but oh, how I DO hate set-up books. There was a compelling story in here, but it felt like the mission of the book was not to tell th More...

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Jan 29, 2012

Ash rated it:

Okay, quick review.

What more's left to say about this modern approach to classic fairy-tales that hasn't been expressed? The way the Bill and his team portrays these unfamiliar yet fresh characters and has them interact within the curious plot is undeniably entertaining. There is the right amount of suspense and the book is ideally seasoned with tasteful comedy. There's more meaningful content too, sandwiched around the climax. Like countless others I'm definitely hooked.I can't revie More...

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Jan 29, 2012

Sean rated it:

Fables is an ongoing series about Fable characters that are in exile from their kingdoms and living in secret in New York City. The first installment of this story find The Big Bad Wolf, Bigby, as a detective trying to solve the bloody murder of Red Rose.

The city is run by Old King Cole, with the help of Snow White, and she just so happens to be the sister of Snow White.

The details unfold as Bigby gathers the evidence and reveals a secret plan that no other Fable, or r More...

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Jan 29, 2012

Trevor rated it:

Fables is a unique series in that it doesn't retell fairytales, but it takes much loved fairytale characters and creates whole new stories with them. In Fables, all of the fairytale creatures have been run out of their homelands and are now seeking refuge in Fabletown, an entire town that exists in an apartment building on Manhattan's Upper West Side (with an annex in Upstate New York).

One of the best things about Fables is that it shows fairytale characters that everybody knows about More...

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Jan 29, 2012

Sue rated it:

I enjoyed this graphic book - the concept of the existence of fables living amongst the human population because of being forced out of their lands by an evil unstoppable force is a great one! Taking up shop and hiding in broad daylight in New York City is the perfect cover for the 'human' side of the tales, while the 'freak' side of the tales resides in a rural setting called 'The Farm'. So a little side track on characters we know - but don't know the way this story is told - and some of the More...

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Jan 29, 2012

Ronny rated it:

2009#83

So far this is the best retelling/reintepretation of classic tales, better than The Book of Lost Things or Politically Correct Bedtime Stories Modern Tales for Our Life & Times. And this is the only one that made me fall in love with Snow White. She's goddamn sexy in her own way. More...

6 comments like

Jan 29, 2012

Ed rated it:

Fables is a different sort of comic. There are no superheroes and the endings do not always favor the heroes.

An absolute brilliant triumph in design and execution!

What if all of the stories that humans have told caused the creation of living charactes through the power of belief? The answer is of course, every character that has been reviled or loved is real. From Little Jack Horner to Snow White, they are all there, and they are adapting to their new life in the real wo

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Jan 29, 2012

Andrew rated it:

I've known, or at least, strongly suspected for years that I'd love Fables. I noticed this recently-published hardback, which collects the first two collections, and thus the first ten issues, at Amazon when I was feeling weak of will and reasonably well-off in terms of gift certificates. Very handsome the book is too.

The reuse of the very old characters is every bit as good as I'd hoped. I hear that Fables get even better...

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Jan 29, 2012

Noah rated it:

This new deluxe hardcover collects the first two Fables storylines. Honestly, I should be giving this book a five, but the fact that the mystery in part one is so predictable, forces me to take it down a notch. Otherwise, all I can say is that Fables is one of the best series out there, and once you've made it through the Animal Farm storyline, I think you'll be hard pressed to criticize this collection. Very highly recommended.

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Jan 29, 2012

Jason rated it:

Uh, pretty good. I enjoyed this a bit and though it creative. I don't know that it floored me though. After having recently read Blankets by Craig Thompson (or even Bone by Jeff Smith) the bar may have been set unreasonably high for me for graphic novels/comics.

The setting is pretty interesting but I can see it wearing thin over time. We'll see. Still, I'll more likely than not continue to read these through to their end.

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Jan 29, 2012

Yocheved rated it:

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed reading Fables as I was not expecting to find it interesting. Willingham provides the reader with an interesting story of characters from various fables who have come to the regular world to escape the Adversaries. The solution to the mystery of Rose Bed’s disappearance was not one I was expecting and I think the reader will enjoy the surprise. An excellent graphic novel!

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Jan 29, 2012

Caitlin rated it:

I loved the way this book imagined the lives of Folk and Fairy tale characters as refugees in the "mundane" world of New York. the allusions made me giddy with delight and the sheer size of the cast of characters they have to draw from is simply dazzling. The beautiful illustration and wonderfully witty writing make me look forward very much to continuing with this series.

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Jan 29, 2012

Jessica rated it:

I knew I would like this book from the moment my friend put it in my hands, but I didn't know how much. The innovative story is one that anyone could enjoy, especially for those who grew up on the Brothers Grimm and Aesop. The artwork is absolutely fantastic and perfectly aids the dialogue. I doubt I'll wait a day before starting the 2nd book of the Deluxe Edition.

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Jan 29, 2012

Bailey rated it:

Well worth the read! I really liked it. I can't wait to read the next one.

2 comments like

Jan 29, 2012

Annie rated it:

I actually mostly enjoyed this GN and think teens would like the spin on fable telling as well. It's always cool to think of secret worlds existing within the known ones, and knowing it's a series, I'm interested to find out how they were all expelled - who is the evil force? The story itself was predictable, but the art and all the detailing were great.

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Jan 29, 2012

Victoria-Lynn rated it:

I was in Chapters this past March and when I saw it mind mind went numb. All I could think was that I WANTED it, even though I had already read it, I really need that deluxe edition hardcovered mecca of all that is Fables awesomeness! Let me tell you it was so worth it and I can't wait till the next one comes out. ( it better!)

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Jan 29, 2012

David rated it:

Much-hyped series actually a bit disappointing, probably because of all the attention it has received. More comic book than graphic novel, the stories are interesting and fun but not compelling, I have yet to develop an attachment to any of the characters after reading this first collected volume, but I am interested in reading on.

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Jan 29, 2012

Mara rated it:

These are very digestable stories, which I was exactly what I was looking for. They contain enough lore and well-developed characters to hold my interst and they are superficial and light to make for good casual reading. Definitely not my favorite of the genre, but a fun and relaxing read all the same.

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Jan 29, 2012

Tom rated it:

If you like a bit of nursery-tale-characters-in-modern-surrounds you will enjoy these stories. The premise isn't particularly original but the series so far is very well executed. I purchased volume 2 the moment I finished reading it, if such anecdotes impress you.

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Jan 29, 2012

Mary Beth rated it:

Great book!!! This had me laughing out loud - a cross between a fairy tale and a noir mystery. Not a bad combination for a rainy Sunday afternoon. Probably best saved for older teens due to the sex scene between Prince Charming and the waitress.

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