Customer Reviews

Fables: The Deluxe Edition Book One

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Just a warning that for DC/Vertigo, "Deluxe" apparently doesn't actually mean "Deluxe" enough to warrant a proper sewn binding. Instead, as per the usual practice in the comic book industry, this is just a paperback glued into a cardboard cover. The pages are glued in and the book does not open as wide as a proper hardcover, so in some cases you lose some of the art in the gutter between the pages.

While Marvel has, seemingly, come to their senses, and is producing at least some of their hardcovers with sewn bindings these days, DC can't be bothered. Even for a deluxe edition like this, which will probably be a double-dip (at least) for many potential purchasers, they can't bother to spend the extra pennies to bind it like a real book. Sorry, fans. DC apparently thinks we'll buy anything and they're probably right.

Prince Charming is a womanizer. Goldilocks is a communist. The Big Bad Wolf is a hard-boiled detective. And they're all living in present-day New York.

The premise may be ridiculous, but the execution is so masterful that it's reminiscent of nothing less than Neil Gaiman's Sandman. It's an engrossing new mythology, full of humor but tinged with darkness. Forget Disney's "Enchanted"--this graphic novel is very much for adults, the story of a struggling underground community of exiles. The art is excellent, the characters are memorable (of course, we already know most of them in some form or another) and the writing is top-notch.

This volume was my introduction to Fables, so I can't compare it to other editions. (This hardcover is equivalent to the first two softcover volumes.) If you already have the comics in some other form, then there's little reason to upgrade to this "Deluxe Edition," which has few extras. But the production quality of this slim, glossy hardcover is very good. It was clearly made to last. I look forward to passing this down to my children some day--when they're old enough.

After borrowing the series from a friend who had the paperback versions I thought this might be a nice way to add the story to my collection without having to deal with all the paperback volumes. The quality of the print seems to lack in color and has been cropped to remove the amazing borders from the original paperbacks (one of my favorite details). You get the equivalent of two paperbacks in this book so there isn't much savings. I think you get more value from the original paperback volumes.

I won't lie...I never read Fables before blind buying this volume. I did hear for awhile just how great the series was, but somehow i put it off. I can't, and won't now. I'm hooked. You will look at characters you are already established with, but now knowing in a different light. I mean who would have ever thought you'd see The Wolfman as a detective? I don't know what these issues looked like when they were originally released on the grade of paper they were on, but this deluxe edition really lets the art shine. My biggest concern is the release schedule...I love the deluxe format of the title, but in the introduction writer Bill Willingham mentions how these will be released yearly....I hope more often than that, because many volumes are out already in trades. I however want to hold out on the deluxe editions, so it will be tough dealing with the delay in getting more Fables in my diet!

I have been reading this incredible series on paperback. I own all of the first 9 volumes on paperback and when I saw this I decided to purchase it to add to my collection. It is beautifully bound with a wrap-around dusk-jacket and glossy, high quality paper (not the cheaper paper used in the paperback compilations). I suspect that Fables will be producing these collector's editions in years to come and eventually we may even see these collected in Absolute Editions. DC-Vertigo are masters of re-packaging, but these editions are truly for the hard-core collectors.

Fables originally piqued my interest as the descriptions I'd read reminded me a bit of the Sandman comics, in that they combine a gritty reality with a fantasy element. This book totally delivered. The pacing is excellent. The characters are well-developed and entertaining (from the manipulative Prince Charming to the wild-child irresponsible party girl Rose Red and her polar-opposite uptight sister Snow White...and literally dozens of others). The stories are suspenseful and the art is clean and creative. I flew through this one in two days and I'm looking forward to reading the rest!

It's high time Fables got its due: It's simply one of the best comics series currently being published, and it has been for years. If you haven't been following the monthly series since its inception in 2002, you're in luck: Vertigo has just released this handsome collection, which reprints the first 10 issues of the series in a nice hardcover.

Fables takes the legends we all grew up with and turns them on their ear. In writer Bill Willingham's reworking, the Fable folk are reimagined as living in modern-day New York City, where they exist in peaceful coexistence with normal humans--albeit only after being magically glamored to fit in. Those who can't magically adapt to fit in live on the Farm in Upstate New York, where they can be hidden away from any human prying eyes.

There's a political hierarchy to the Fables as well, and Willingham's story begins with Snow White (divorced from the slimy cad prince who charmed her ages ago) working as Director of Operations and bringing the long arm of the Fable law down upon both Beauty and the Beast (his beastly curse, it seems, worsens when his bride is mad at him, threatening to expose him to the humans--or "the Mundanes" as they're referred to).

The larger story here, though, is a mystery--perhaps a murder mystery. Snow White's less-famous sister, Rose Red, has disappeared, and her home is covered in blood. Investigating the crime is the detective Bigby (you may know him better as the Big Bad Wolf, but he's now reformed and working on the right side of the law).

If it sounds cutesy in any way--don't worry, it isn't. It's funny at times, suspenseful at others, and well-written always (the art is lovely too). Willingham enjoys taking these characters out for a spin, and what's better is how he keeps them truthful to their historical roots while planting them in a new and rather dangerous world.

This new Deluxe Edition collects the first 10 issues of the monthly comic book. It's a complete, standalone story and sets the stage for the rest of the series (later story arcs would take on different themes; whereas this is a mystery, conspiracy theories, romances, and other arcs have followed).

Fables today remains every bit as good as when it started. This is a perfect jumping-on point for those who have missed it previously.

-- John Hogan

When a person goes into hiding, they simply have to follow a few rules and be careful not to break them. This works out pretty well considering the size of the world and the multitude of people, not to mention the fact that agencies do not work together. When a character from a story makes a dash for their "lives," it's a different story altogether. This is what we see happening here, as the world that a lot of characters know and love is put to the proverbial torch by a really bad bugger. This leads to many a creative story, too, and many a rope to tie it all together.

When fables started out, I did not know what to think. I had seen a lot of failures in this department, but this creation did anything but that. The ideas have stayed fresh, they have been alluring, provocative, inspired, and a lot more. And they have never disappointed when it comes to the original material.

What I really like is that last piece, where the original material is oftentimes the root growing such a freshly inked tree. It makes for good reading and new twists, waking up tired tales and giving them new notions. I have seen Little Rd, Snow White, a certain mermaid and a little man getting his wishes granted all come to life in new and better ways. Sure, this is a lot more than just this novel, but once you start you get addicted. If this could be a downside - and I can't say being good is a downside - then this would be it. I simply need the annuals and the new pieces, not to mention so much else.
It really climbs in and takes you places.

In this volume, you get 1 -10, a prose piece storyline, and some other stuff as well. I liked the story arch falling in my lap and getting this prose piece, and I figure other will too. If you don't know if you are on the like or dislike side,. Simply check out a sample or two while RECALLING that THIS IS A SAMPLE. You can see some stuff but you don't want to see too much or you might run the story for yourself.
Also, you are the real critic, knowing what you like. Hundreds of reviews cannot take away what you really think. All I am saying is give this a chance and try it out. I like many things but, in the end, newness speaks for itself and you should try it out. If you find it horrid, it is only one small collection that ultimately sates that need to know. (and the comments on the binding are right in the glue perspective BUT you are not withut the ability to fix that easily. That's why you use this service here).

If you ever loved fairy tales as a kid, or fantasy, this is a book for you!

Reading this and going back on what characters I remember from child hood was alot of fun! Even if you haven't read many story tails as a kid, you will still enjoy this. I can't believe they waited this long to come out with big hardcover collection as this, only thing better would be an Absolute edition. The jist of the stories follow whats happened to our fairy tale characters in modern time, and how they come to be in New York, after The Advisary runs them out of their Fable lands. Not much is learned of the Advisary other than they slowly destroyed fables lands and took over, until the rest of the fables they had no choice to come to the human world or mundy's world.

Although some of the story telling isn't perfect, and at times its like "oh come on", anyone who enjoyed sandman would enjoy this.

I truly hope that they will further quickly come out with these deluxe editions, i'll buy each and everyone of them !

Imagine if all the legendary story characters were living secretly in New York -- and they weren't quite fairy tale material?

In short, Prince Charming is a thrice-divorced lech, the Big Bad Wolf is now a werewolf cop, Goldilocks is a violent communist, and a suit of armor prophecies future conflicts when it isn't singing drunkenly about its mommy. "Fables Deluxe Edition Vol. 1" brings together the first two volumes (ten issues) of Bill Willingham's complex, humorous and sometimes gleefully strange graphic novel series.

The daily business of the hard-nosed Snow White (a Fable government official whom everyone comes to with complaints) is interrupted when Bigby Wolf brings her some ghastly news: her estranged, wild-child sister Rose Red has been murdered, and there's no sign of her except for buckets of blood all over her apartment. The most obvious suspect is Jack, whom Snow White helps interrogate when she isn't dealing with her womanizing, impoverished aristocrat ex, Prince Charming.

But some of the details about Rose Red's death don't add up -- and as Bigby investigates further into the people who knew her well, he begins finding aspects of her life hidden from everybody. Not to mention an irate fiancee who wants revenge on Jack. As the Remembrance Day approaches, Bigby puts together the clues to a very bizarre case where not everything is what it seems -- and not everyone is doing what they claim.

And then Snow White takes a trip with Rose to the Farm, hoping to repair their damaged relationship. The Farm is basically a secret little town for Fables who are unable to pass for humans -- but they're acting very strangely, with secret meetings and claims that they want to reclaim the Homelands from the Adversary. Then the head of one of the locals turns up on a stake outside the women's hotel -- and the Farm Charter keeps Bigby from coming to investigate.

What Snow doesn't know is that the radical communist Goldilocks is staging a violent rebellion, claiming that the animal-type Fables are "enslaved." While Bigby and Boy Blue try to figure out what's going on, Snow sets out across the dangerous countryside with only one unspelled ally by her side. To reclaim the Farm and quell the bloody rebellion, Snow must call on the help of some very unusual Fables... but that doesn't mean she's out of danger yet.

Bill Willingham is an expert in taking beloved characters from legends, fairy tales and nursery rhymes... and then turning our perceptions of them on their heads (example: Beast and Beauty's marital troubles cause his curse to reassert itself). He's also created a pretty unique fantasy concept -- the Fables and their magic have been driven out of their fantastical homeland, and live as secret refugees in the middle of New York City. It's actually a pretty cool idea.

If it were nothing but a "cool idea" gimmick, "Fables" might be a fun read but not a great one. However, Willingham has a knack for weaving together action-packed, gritty plots with a touch of sex, plenty of splattered gore, and plenty of quirky twists (Pinocchio is angry about being a "real boy" who never grows up). And the first half of this deluxe collection is especially clever -- he spins up a solid murder mystery that intertwines with the other subplots like ivy vines on a stone wall.

And Willingham's cast is as large as the number of beloved free-domain characters. The inhabitants of fairy tales and folk legends loom especially large in the story -- the hard-nosed, no-nonsense Snow White; the bickering Beauty and her Beast hubby; the flirtatious much-married Prince Charming; the grizzled cop Bigby Wolf; supposedly reformed serial killer Bluebeard; a rather embittered Cinderella, and so on.

There are even characters from nursery rhymes, myths and older books, such as animals from "The Jungle Book," Boy Blue and the mythic smith Weyland Smith. Despite the vast cast of characters, Willingham juggles them adeptly and gives each character a distinct personality.

"Fables Deluxe Edition Volume 1" brings together the first two volumes of the now-classic graphic novel, and while each story arc is nicely wrapped up, it leaves you anticipating more of the Fables' battles.