Geeked Out Nation: Fables Encyclopedia Review

Jessica Camacho from Geeked Out Nation was kind enough to write up a review of this past Wednesday’s Fables Encyclopedia, written by Jess Nevins with Mark Buckingham and Bill.

Here’s what Jess had to say about the Encyclopedia, but for the full experience, make sure to visit the Geeked Out Nation web site by clicking here.

Review by: Jessica Camacho

Rated: 9/10

So at this year’s NYCC I was fortunate to obtain an early copy of the Fables Encyclopedia and now I’d like to share my first impression of it with the Geeked Out Nation.

If you are a die hard Fables fan then this is a must have. This whole book is full of wonderful covers from the entire series’ run and information that you didn’t even know about. Each entry is a profile on all the characters in the Fables universe, including those that were in one panel and either were never seen again or died right away. It is fascinating. The entries for every characters have their first appearance and where they were first seen in the series.

I consider myself an expert on the Fables series. I’ve been reading it for years now but I learned a lot. I learned little things about each character that helps me understand them more and enjoy them even more. The book is color coded by letter. Each letter is almost considered a new chapter by the different coloration of the main name. In each entry, the writer Jess Nevins, lets us know where this particular character is from in folklore. So not only do we get the Fables backstory but we also get their roots in real folklore, literature and mythology.

As a bonus, some characters get input from creators Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham. There isn’t a pattern to who gets more input which makes what we get all the more interesting. The book is not that thick but we get a ton of art. Unfortunately none of it is new but what was chosen is some of the best from the series. Covers and huge moments all over the place. For long time fans, it brings back the memories of certain events and how they made you feel.

There are a couple of downsides though. The price is pretty high for something that isn’t that big and does not have new story material. I work at a comic shop and we got the new Death of the Family HC’s and I noticed that that has easily 100 more pages and is $10 (USD) less than the Fables Encyclopedia. This books could have easily been a lot bigger than it is. I was a little disappointed that characters like Snow White, Bigby Wolf, Rose Red and Boy Blue did not have pages dedicated to them. I would have liked a little more than what was included. Honestly the cubs should have each gotten an entry dedicated to themselves and not added in as a group.

That being said I think this is a fantastic pick up for any Fables fan. It has a wonderful cover and is very illuminating.