Fables, Vol. 1: Legends in Exile in Into the Forest

Jan 14, 2009 Danielle The Book Huntress rated it really liked it

Shelves: graphic-novel-comic-book, fairy-tale-theme, tough-as-nails-heroine, 2013-200s-club-challenge, first-in-series, to-buy-wish-list, yearly-reading-challenge-2013, favorites, detective-private-eye-sleuth, police-federal-agent-law-enforcemen

There is something irresistible about fairy tales to me. So fairy tale retellings that capture what I appreciate about the source material and take it in a new and interesting direction are greatly appreciated.

Fables is a great example of what a fairy tale retelling can accomplish. The artwork itself is beautiful and vibrant. Truly colorful and appealing--successful in using the visual medium to tell the story.. The writing is sharp and witty, and adult without veering into distasteful elements There is something irresistible about fairy tales to me. So fairy tale retellings that capture what I appreciate about the source material and take it in a new and interesting direction are greatly appreciated.

Fables is a great example of what a fairy tale retelling can accomplish. The artwork itself is beautiful and vibrant. Truly colorful and appealing--successful in using the visual medium to tell the story.. The writing is sharp and witty, and adult without veering into distasteful elements that take me too far out of fairy tale land.

Willingham shows us what a stranded group of fairy tale character might very well end up becoming in the modern world. Snow White has quite a backbone, tough and independent (and beautifully illustrated to capture what we see as distinctive to her character), and she's a bit bitter after what her Prince Charming does to her. And who can blame her? Beauty and her Beast have a trouble marriaged. Pinocchio is a foul-mouthed boy who never grew up, and he's not happy about it. My favorite character is the Wolf who ate Grandma, who is now a sheriff in Fabletown. His grooming leaves something to be desired, and he's rather grumpy. But he definitely has some hero caliber. I liked the sparks that flew between he and Snow White. Snow White isn't looking for her prince any longer, so maybe she'll look past that previous attraction to a smooth, handsome exterior to a real man who has something of substance to offer when she's ready to try again. I think she will. In the meantime, they can trade insults and work as a team to solve a mystery that has plagued Fabletown.

While Legends in Exile does deal with dark themes, it's not excessively violent or dark. Instead, it's realistic and plausible based on what we know about these iconic characters we encountered previously in the fairy tales we read growing up. For a fairy tale addict like myself, it was fun to guess who each character was before their names are mentioned, and I made notes to look some of them up. I am working my way through the Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang right now, so it adds to the experience.

As you can tell, I liked the Big Bad Wolf a lot and Snow White. Bluebeard makes an appearance, and did get get a shiver about his pre-Amnesty past, which makes me very suspicious of him in his future romantic endeavors. Rose Red, Snow White's sister definitely has not fared well in her time in the modern world. Jack (of Beanstalk fame) is still a rascal.

I liked that this was essentially a mystery story, with our Wolfish sheriff who serves as the sleuth, with a little help from Snow White and others. There was also a short story at the end that tells you how our Wolf came to be the man we see today. It was just as good as the rest of the book. This is a good start to the series, and I am thrilled that my library has most of the series and some spin-offs. Did I mention how much I love my library? I look forward to continuing and exploring more of the Fairy Tale characters' adventures in the real world.

Overall rating: 4.5/5.0 stars. ...more

14 likes · Like · see review

Jun 28, 2010 Mir rated it liked it

Shelves: mystery, mythology, graphic, fantasy

The Fables series starts off in medias res, with the daily business of running the small secret community interrupted by a murder investigation. Many of the major characters are introduced, but in retrospect it is clear that the characters are still in flux and that the larger story arc has not yet begun. As the beginning of a long story with very rich material this is surprisingly slight. I'm glad I read a later installment first so I knew it gets better. ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

Apr 29, 2012 Ronyell rated it really liked it

Shelves: vertigo-comics, urban-fantasy, strong-hero, my-blog-reviews, fairy-tales-folktales, graphic-novels-comics, modern-age-comics, bill-willingham, strong-heroine

Characters of Fairy Tale land, meet the crew from CSI!

CSI

At least, the plot of this volume seems like something you would see out of an episode of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation!”

Brief Introduction:

After I have been hearing so many good things about the “Fable” series, I just had to check this series out for myself! So, I picked up the first volume of “Fables” called “Fables: Legends in Exile” and I must admit that this volume did have me interested in reading more from the “Fables” se ...more

11 likes · Like · see review

Jun 27, 2009 Lacey Louwagie rated it liked it

Shelves: retelling, graphicnovels, fairy-tales

My friend Jenn recommended this book to me when I told her that my favorite part of the Sisters Grimm book was seeing a bunch of fairy tale characters all at once and in modern times. In this book (actually the first 5 comic books in the FABLES series), there's a similar premise, with fairy tale characters living in New York after being driven out of their homelands. I liked the same thing about it that I liked in the Sisters Grimm, although I appreciated its freedom to tackle more "adult" topic ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 26, 2013 Christine rated it really liked it

Shelves: foxes-etc, red-riding-hood, snow-white, nursery-rhymes, weres-and-shifters, comic-books-fairy-tales

Heidi at Surlalune was so right. This is good combination of fairy tales, Roger Rabbit, and mystery. I love what Willingham has done with Snow White.

1 like · Like · see review

Jun 08, 2016 Katie J Schwartz rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: suspend-reality, old-faces-new-tales, visual-storytelling, mythology-folklore, fairy-tales, series-sequels-sagas, everyone-is-awful

I'm still deciding if I want to devote myself to an extensive comic universe or not. This was an interesting introduction, and left me with more questions than answers, so we'll see.

Three Stars: Not bad, but not fantastic either. I'll still recommend it, if I think that person might like it more than me. ...more

Like · see review