Customer Reviews

Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Once upon a time, long before the events of Bill Willingham's ongoing "Fables" series, Snow White was sent on an embassy on behalf of Fabletown to seek an alliance with the Arabian nations. Once there, she found herself trapped by the sultan and scheduled to be married, bedded and executed, all within the next 24 hours. Snow, cunning thinker that she is, distracts the sultan with a story, and her subsequent stay of execution draws out longer and longer as she spins tales of fables behind the fables.

Charles Vess, one of my favorite fantasy artists, provides the book's foundation, working with Michael Wm. Kaluta to give brilliant, highly detailed and colorful life to Snow, the sultan and his fantastic court. Each of Snow White's stories features the work of a different artist, and the differing artistic styles provides eye-pleasing transitions between tales.

This book is certainly intended for mature readers; youngsters are probably not ready for a naked Snow White, the ugly truth about her time with the dwarves or the fate of the Frog Prince's wife and children. But for adults, whether or not they read the Fables series, this is a masterwork of prose and artistic storytelling. Set apart from the regular series and yet deeply grounded within it, "1001 Nights of Snowfall" is a richer, fuller, more satisfying collection than anything the series has yet produced.

Scheherazade herself should envy this treasure trove of stories. I only regret the book held only a handful and not the full set of 1,001. This is easily one of the best graphic novels of the year.

by Tom Knapp, Rambles editor

This long-awaited addition to the _Fables_ lineup gives, along with a framing story based on the _Thousand and One Nights,_ background on many of the best-known Fables...as well as some that we haven't met yet. We find out why Snow White is so touchy about the dwarfs, what really happened to Flycatcher's family, why Bigby hates his father and the story of Frau Totenkinder...and that's just the most well-known of the Fables whose backstories are presented.

The art is by a stable of guest artists, including James Jean, the Fables cover artist, who does a spectacular job illustrating Flycatcher's story. All of the art is good, and some is better than that.

If you're a Fables fan, you'll definitely want this book. It may not be the best place to begin for a Fables newbie, but once you've gotten to know who is who, you'll definitely want it.

The only reason this doesn't get a full 5 stars is that it cannot be read as a standalone collection of stories, as i thought. You cannot use this volume as an entry point to Fables. Essentially, it's a series of flashbacks regarding the origins of some characters from the Fables series, masked as 1001 arabian nights "frame stories" told by Snow White during her imprisonment in arabian territory.

So, as any prequel, it should be read after 2-3 TPB volumes of Fables otherwise it's just like watching the flashback parts from Lost episodes without the events happening on the island.

On the bright side, it has some of the greatest art in comics i've seen and the variation makes it even greater. This is the kind of comics that i find perfectly crafted: a single writer for story consistency and a variation of illustrators to provide different perspectives on the same characters.

It also got some awards so it's a warm recommendation but as i said, only after getting acquainted with the characters whose origins and dark secrets are presented here.

Warning: don't buy this for your kids even if it looks shiny and contains pictures of Snow White, Prince Charming and goblins. Fables is a series for mature readers, with mature (even sexually oriented) themes dressed in a fairytale form and it achieves that without falling into parody or mockery (which makes it great). It walks the same path as the works of Neil Gaiman or Roger Zelazny with a stronger mainstream appeal (meaning that you don't have to read volumes of mythology and classic literature or to buy companion books in order to understand all the references).

Originally, fairy tales and fables were gore-filled, fantastical stories with dire warnings and messages. What if all those stories were real?

The world of fairy tales and "Fables" is the backdrop for this collection. Prince Charming really married Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella (didn't you know it was the *same* Prince?). Snow White escaped not only the evil Queen of her own story, but she had to flee from a greater menace, "The Advesary". This evil tyrant has chased all of the European fables out of their own worlds, and into ours.

This story is a bit of a prequel to the series. As such, this book reads very easily on its own. Personally, this was my first book in the series. Although there are several trade paperbacks of the Fables comics out now (seven as of this writing with #8 soon on its way - we hope!), none of those are needed at all to enjoy this book.

In this story Snow White is sent from the exiled world of the European Fables to the world of Arabian Fables. Her goal is to speak with their ruler and join forces against "The Adversary". Through her efforts to gain the support of the Arabian King this story unfolds. This book is a collection of stories from the European Fables. We learn much more about many of the faces familiar to those reading the comics.

Whether you are a fan of the series, a fan of fairy tales or fables, or looking for a graphic novel that tells a rich, layered story with great depth and beautiful art - this book is for you!

I love Fables. It's tied with Linsner's Dawn as my favorite Graphic Novel series. I am constantly pulled into the Fables' world and am never bored to reread their stories. I didn't think it could get any better than it already was. But this book did. I nearly wept at the tale of the Frog Prince. I found Bigby's origin to be completly inline with his character. And the return to life and subsequent telling of her history of Hansel and Gretel's witch was an amazing story. I think the best way to enjoy this book is to have first read at least a few books of the Fables ongoing (Homelands being my favorite volume) but it is certainly an accessable title to anyone new to the series.

I have never read a graphic novel before this one, and I rarely read the comics in the sunday paper, so my experience with illustrated stories for older audiences is fairly limited. I have a thing for re-written fairy tales, and the beginning of this book looked very promising, so I crossed my fingers and hoped it would be a wise choice to purchase. It was.

It is such a fast and interesting read. The illustrations are NOT for the younger crowd (nudity, rape, murder,etc.), but it is done in such a way as to appear to the eye as a movie instead of a book. The writing is very well done and the story is quite seemless. The beginning of the book reads like a child's picture book, but then you turn the page and the real stories begin...

Having been driven from their homes by a villain intent on destroying their realm, the characters of familiar fairy tales make their new homes in the modern day world of New York City (a popular place to have otherworldly creatures). Snow White is an ambassador of sorts, sent to a kingdom where her mission is to convince the ruling Sultan to form a treaty with the refugees of Fabletown, a treaty that will unite them against the dreaded "Adversary" who is slowly murdering his way through the various fable realms.

She arrrives and, through a bit of trickery, she is wed to the Sultan whose biggest vice is his complete distrust of all women. After a first marriage that had failed on account of his wife's infidelity, the Sultan has taken to marrying a bride every evening and sending her to the executioner first thing in the morning. Instead of weeping piteously at this news, Snow White gains the interest of the Sultan with her wonderful stories that she relays to him each evening for three years, thus sparing her life and changing the broken heart of a cruel man.

This is the collection of stories that the Sultan will hear each night, stories of different fairy tale charcters and their lives before the migrations and during the invasions of the "Adversary". BEWARE: There is no happily ever after to many of these tales but there is enjoyment in every page.

This book is a wonderful collection of short stories set in the fables universe. Before I review it, I should say first that I wouldn't recommend this to an introduction to the Fables series (despite the introduction saying it would be fine to). Yes, it would be enjoyable to someone new. But, you would be best served by reading at least the first two graphic novels of the series first to understand all the references and enjoy this book to the greatest extent.

As someone who is behind on the series and catching up, I was concerned about spoilers, not knowing when this one was written. I've read up through volume 7, and as far as I can see, there were no major spoilers in 1001 Nights. However, if you absolutely don't want anything revealed here that is revealed in the main story, I guess you should read through book 4, and if you're *really* picky book 5 before reading this.

Anyways, now that that advice is out of the way: This book is a wonderful addition to a Fable fan's library. It mostly consists of short stories about the time of the adversary's invasion. Each is very entertaining, with all the great writing and charm we expect from the main Fables line. The art is done by a variety of artists, ranging from really good to great, depending on your sensibilities.

All in all, highly recommended.

Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall by Bill Willingham is a lushly illustrated stand-alone hardcover comic from the Fables series. The stories take place between the happily ever afters in the fairy tales and their exile from their homelands by the Adversary. I can't say enough good things about the artwork in this book. Lush, lavish, sumptious, this book elevates comic books to the level of art. Even the weaker stories are carried by the gorgeous art. Willingham allows Snow White to steal (or perhaps add) a page to Scheherazade's 1001 Arabian Nights as she entertains a tempermental sultan with tales of the Fables. The first story about Snow is worth the money for the book alone. If you haven't read any other Fables books, this is the one to hook you. You don't need to be familiar with the other comics to enjoy this one. If you are already a fan of the series, why haven't you read this already! Willingham adds depth to his already multi-layered characters, including giving a sense of tragedy to the comic Frog Prince. I was a bit disappointed with the origin of Bigby (Big Bad Wolf), but that's a minor quibble in a terrific book.

One Thousand Nights of Snowfall fills in the back story of Fabletown's most notable characters. Some of the tales compiled within trace over old and familiar fairy tales, albeit updated with a mature, adult, and wholly more believable twist. This isn't "supplementary reading" for anyone who follows the series, it's an undeniable "must-read".

Dream-inspired/inspiring artwork and tight, clever story-lines. There's so much to gain from this addition.

This book presents the biggest questions to the series yet: given a big enough time-line, can the Fable's ever really escape their tragic pasts? Is this foreshadow for an inevitable sad ending? Or will they be redeemed by the heroism within them inspired by said tragedies?

If you have never read Bill Willingham's Fables, you really need to start. It is one of the greatest ongoing series on the shelves today. Willingham imagines a world where the characters of the stories we were told as children, such as Snow White, Prince Charming, the Big Bad Wolf, and Pinnochio, actually exist. The first twist is that they have personalities that are slightly different than what we were told as children. The second twist is that the world they live in is in fact our own. After being driven from their Homelands by the mysterious Adversary, they came to our "mundane" world in order to find shelter from the maniacal conqueror.
In this graphic novel, Willingham, along with numerous artists, tells stories of life in the Homelands before and during the Adversary's rise to power, along with a story of the very early days of Fabletown. Similar to the story of 1,001 Arabian Nights, Snow White has been sent to the Arabian Homeworlds in order to secure an alliance between the Arabic fables and the European fables. However, the sultan imprisons her and tries to marry her. However, at dawn, he will decapitate her. To save herself, Snow tells him stories of her Homelands, and promises new ones each night, thus staving off execution for one more day.
Some of her tales include her own, which finally states why she can't stand mention of the seven dwarves, the tragedy of Prince Ambrose, the Frog Prince, who is now living in Fabletown and known as Flycatcher, an interesting look at Bigby Wolf's origins, the story of her own escape with her sister and their encounter with Frau Totenkinder, and King Cole's story of escape, ascendancy to the office of Mayor of Fabletown, and the beginning of his demise.
All of these stories display Willingham's trademark wit, and the art for all of them is amazing. The only negative thing I have to say about this book is that Fables works best in modern times. The twists on the characters are still fun, but part of Fables' greatness is derived from watching these characters interact in our modern world. But aside from this one criticism, this is a must for Fables fans.