Customer Reviews

Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

i first read this collection a few months ago. i was delighted that willingham had this amazing idea...but the problem seems to be in execution for the first book...the story is kind of like a pulpy detective series...even down to a parlour scene in which the hero explains how he solved the crime...the reason i've only given it 3 stars and that i say it's a good start is because:

a) it is in fact enjoyable...
b) i've caught up and read the rest (and they get better each volume)
c) i want you to read it.

stepping away from this book for a moment, this series is entirely worthy of your time and money if you ever enjoyed fairy tales...willingham masterfully takes what were once 2 dimensional characters and gives them personality...the problem is that you can't (or shouldn't) read the story without starting here...i highly recommend the series, but this is the worst book in it...

Fairy tales are real. They have a life of their own. Unfortunately, most of the fairy tale lands have been taken over by a villain known as the Adversary. As a result, the characters have fled to our world where they lead a hidden existence in New York. Most have been here for centuries. The main settlement is a colony on Bullfinch street. King Cole is in charge but Snow White really runs things. The sheriff is the Big Bad Wolf (a.k.a. Bigby).

At the start of the story, there is a crisis. Snow White's sister Rose Red has been murdered. Bigby must try and solve the murder while the community is planning for their annual festival where they raise the money needed to operate for another year.

Jack the Giant Killer, Prince Charming, the Three Pigs, Bluebeard. Little Boy Blue, Beauty and the Beast, and many others come together in this wonderful treatment of fairy tales. It doesn't hurt that the mystery is well plotted and developed. A very entertaining read.

Recently, I have found myself being drawn closer and closer to the world of Graphic Novels. Now, I do not speak of the ones that the teenie boppers are clobbering themselves over, but instead the dark sinister tales that are being woven by some of the masters of the trade. I am speaking of Frank Miller, Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, and Jamie Delano. Now, with the greatest of comfort, I can add Bill Willingham to that list. I know there are probably more (possibly better) graphic novel artists out there, but these are the foundation on which I am building up from. I know they can only get better from here.

But, back to Bill Willingham. After my wife graduated with a Master's in Children's Literature, and even sometime before, I began to see the utter chaos and darkness surrounding these tales that help the youth of our future sleep at night. They have been glossed over in years past by the subliminal corporation known as Disney, and lost that eerie creep factor that they long deserved. You cannot tell me that Alice in Wonderland is a colorful story that should be told to every three-year-old out there ... I don't think I could say that. In my eye I have always envisioned it as this dark hole that she falls into, a sinister nightmare that I think has only been captured well on film by famed director Jan Svankmajer. Now, with Willingham's writing, I can see that darkness emerge again.

Fables: Legends in Exile is a perfect introductory to the new world of infamous children's characters. After fleeing their homeland, these magical and mysterious people have been forced to find refuge in none other than NYC. Here, Willingham takes us through mazes of people as we learn their rituals, their magic, and their secrets. In this first book we learn about the murder of Rose Red, Snow White's sister, in a classic "who-dun-it" mystery with our very own gumshoe played by Mr. Wolf.

I enjoyed this graphic novel for several reasons. The first is the intermingling of classic characters with the real world. Those who use this as a central focus to their stories normally capture my attention quickly. For so long we have stared at these characters, watching their lives unfold as we sit on our couches or bed, it is nice to see them up and walking around in our world now. Also, by brining them into the real world you give them the opportunity to be more than just one-dimensional characters. They curse, lie, steal, have sex, and all those dark, gritty things that you would have never imagined as a child.

Second, the story was simple yet effective. While I thought the ending left a bit of cheese on the table, overall I was impressed with this first outing. The storied moved briskly, yet left enough open for more stories to follow. I loved this world Willingham created for me, and I cannot wait to go back into it with the second book. It was this sense that I was getting to know the characters and couldn't wait to revisit them again.

Finally, the artwork was perfection on paper. I am continually impressed by the work that graphic artists do to not bring in so much light on the page, but instead show the world in the dismal state of which we live. It is an honest novel that has just as much creativity and passion as you would see in any film.

I loved it, I would recommend it to anyone who wants to get into graphic novels (like I am doing) or to anyone that just loves to read an original tale involving those characters that we assumed we knew. I cannot wait to read it again!

Grade: ***** out of *****

Fables: Legends in Exile reprints the first 5 issues of the Vertigo Comics' series, Fables. The concept of the series is well done, original, and interesting. The classic fairy tale figures of legend were driven from their lands by a mysterious creature named "the Adversary". Left with no choice but leave their lands or die, the Fables fled to New York City, living in secret, judging, policing, and governing themselves.

This volume centers around the question, ` Who murdered Rose Red?" The beloved sister of Snow White is violently murdered, her apartment soaked in blood, her body missing. Immediately Snow White, who is now the Deputy Mayor of the Fable community enlists the help of Bigby Wolf, who is now the Sheriff. Together, they sort through a very unusual list of suspects, including Bluebeard, Jack (of Jack and the Beanstalk), and Prince Charming himself.

Personally, I love this volume and Willingham's take on the characters. Happy ever after rarely means just that, everyone has distinct personalities that are more mature and devolved than the original fairy tales had time to discuss, and the characters are flawed. It makes for a brilliantly fun read.

The only word of caution I have is this story has adult language and sexual situations, so keep that in mind when determining appropriateness. But for every adult out there, this is a great, fun graphic to read, with nice art and an original prose story by Willingham " A Wolf in the Fold".

This reprint of the first few issues of "Fables" serves as an introduction to the Fables' world. All the characters of fairy tale and legend are real, and living in New York. They were chased from their alternate worlds where their fairy tale kingdoms were located, by a stock fantasy uber-villain, a vaguely-named "Adversary" with huge armies of orc-like creatures that overran the Homelands. We learn that those Fables who can pass for human live in New York City, while the inhuman ones live on a "farm" upstate. Their community is governed by Old King Cole, with Snow White as his deputy (and for all practical purposes, the real boss). The Big Bad Wolf (who can assume human form) is the Sherrif. The community sticks together under an agreement of amnesty for all deeds performed prior to their emigration from the Homelands.

In this first story, we mostly get a quick introduction to a lot of fairy tale characters cast in this modern setting. Some are central to the plot, like Snow White, Prince Charming, Rose Red, the Wolf, Bluebeard, and Jack (of Beanstalk fame). Others only make cameos this time around: Cinderella, Pinochio, the Witch (from Hansel and Gretel), one of the Three Little Pigs, Little Boy Blue, Beauty and the Beast.... The story itself is just a vehicle to introduce us to the setting.

The ending is not terribly surprising, but delivered with touches of humor, and some additional character development. Elements that were barely touched on (such as the upstate "Farm" for Fables that can't pass for human, the history of the Fables community, the current activities of the Adversary and what is happening back in the Homelands) will no doubt be revisited in future volumes, and of course, you'll be anticipating which fairy tale characters will appear that haven't been introduced yet.

The Fables graphic novel series begins with this volume, Legends in Exile. It manages to incorporate both background story as to who the Fables are and a mystery.


The "Fables" are just that: the characters from legends, fables and fairy tales. Their Homelands were invaded and those that had the means to do so escaped into New York City and upstate New York. These refugees form a small Fable Town community, with King Cole presiding and Snow White as second in command.

Jack (of the Tales) discovers his girlfriend Rose Red's trashed and bloody apartment and comes to the one law enforcer of Fable Town, Bigby Wolf (as in The Big Bad). Bigby, with unwanted help from Snow (it's her sister that's missing, after all) questions suspects and unravels the mystery. He delivers the answer in a tongue in cheek, classic mystery "parlor room" setting.

The mystery is interesting and has a good ending. There are some truly witty lines in the dialogue. The characters are generally quite engaging. Bigby is charming in a rough, uncertain way; Snow is arrogant and vulnerable; Bluebeard is appealing and frightening. The twist on their lives and characters is just plain fun fantasy. It's not awe-inspiring, but it is fun.


A short story becomes a graphic novel through the addition of good artwork. The art for this is average. Facial expressions are well done and costumes and fantasy elements are clever. Unfortunately, there were no "Wow" moments, as there are in other graphic novels. The panels don't carry the story forward or add to the story, they are simply illustrations. The one excellent panel was showing Bigby's shadow as a wolf. Other than that. . . well, it felt like any ol' comic book.

That said, and despite my average 3 star rating, I became interested enough in Fable Town to want to read more. I just hope that the illustrations become more of a vehicle to tell the story as the series continues.

Bill Willingham's FABLES series have received immense acclaim in the last few years as an original idea that appeals to all sorts of readers. The basic premise is that all of our favorite characters from the old fairy tales have been driven from their old homes and have taken up residence in New York City. These characters from legend do not always have the personality or history you'd expect from reading the old stories. Prince Charming is a notorious ladies man and moocher, who cheated on Snow White with Snow's own sister Rose Red. The prince who was cursed to live as a frog until a beautiful princess kissed him appears to have picked up some rather disgusting habits during his days as an amphibian (and thus earns the name 'Flycatcher'). Beauty and the Beast have some marital problems with rather dramatic effects on their happiness and the Beast's looks. And so on.. Willingham has created an intriguing world where he can develop characters from old tales into more believably fallible people. The rather risque behavior of some of the characters and the [almost] explicit nature of occasional sex scenes make these stories for a more mature audience than the tales these characters come from.

In this first volume, Willingham introduces a wide array of characters and hints at some extraordinarily entertaining stories to come. The only reason I'm giving this volume a 4-star rating is that the primary storyline (Who Killed Rose Red?) isn't very good, being predicable and non-engaging. It seems that Bill began with this rather dull story to give the reader the feel of day-to-day life in Fabletown and to allow introduction of many or its residents. Snow White and Bigby Wolf are especially well-developed here and will likely take on primary roles in the other FABLE titles.

The most attractive aspect of the FABLES series is the humanization of creatures and characters from storybooks that we read as children. Rose Red as a party girl and the Big Bad Wolf as a chain-smoking, no-nonsense detective are strangely attractive.

Subverting expectations and inverting cliches is one thing, but Fables is also a book with heart underneath its undeniable style.

The art by Lan Medina is deceptively good: at first glance it looks fairly standard but covers all the basics of storytelling, creates some interesting visuals and is attractive to look at. More importantly it serves the story and is one of the major reasons it works so well.

But the book is all about the story. Willingham takes a good premise and runs with it. The characters are engaging and seem human, despite their origin. The climax of the story is a little staged and generic, but everything else about the story (including the actual explanation) sparkles. Overall, one of the best Vertigo books of recent years.

This is a graphic novel series I have been wanting to read forever. I really enjoyed this first book; it's basically an investigative urban fantasy featuring fairy tale characters. The illustrations are beautiful and the story is very well done.

All the characters from fairy tales and fables have been thrown out of their homelands and are now residing in Fabletown in the human world. The Big Bad Wolf is a detective who is told by Jack that Snow White's sister, Rose Red, has been murdered. Now it is up to Wolf (big bad wolf) and Snow White to track down who the real killer is before the big Remembrance Day gala.

The illustrations are in full color and absolutely stunning; they are done in a very classic comic book type style. The story is also very well put together. It is mainly an investigative detective story. I loved the twists and turns in the plot and was constantly surprised by which character from Fable I would encounter next.

The book definitely has a dark tone to it and is definitely meant for adults (there is some sexual content and swearing).

Overall I really enjoyed this book. I was excited to read it and it actually exceeded my expectations. Lots of fun, a great story, and beautiful illustrations. I can't wait to read the next installment in this series, Fables Vol. 2: Animal Farm.

I am a HUGE Fables fan. I started reading Fables a bit after it first came out and I was hearing the buzz about it. I know this is supposedly sacrilegious, but it was really the James Jean covers that put me off at first. I thought that was what the interiors would look like and that's not really my cup of tea. I started with Volume 1 Legends in Exile right here and never looked back. The art by Medina is great in this first volume, but wouldn't you know it? It actually gets better with Mark Buckingham (who does almost every issue after this initial volume). I can't believe that I actually started by talking about the art in this collection when we all know that as insanely good as that is, the brilliance that is Fables sprang forth from the mind of Bill Willingham. I almost get teary eyed thinking about how much he's given to so many people with this story. It's amazing. I own over 30,000 comics and there's no doubt in my mind, Fables is my all time favorite read. In this specific collection, yes, you only get 5 issues, but I think the price reflects that to an extent, and you're not paying the same you would for Volume 10, which contains 10 issues. I can't say enough great things about this book, buy it right now and you won't regret it. This collection introduces you to modern day incarnations of these fairy tale characters with adult sensibilities. It gives you a murder mystery that absolutely plays fair with you. The clues are there, if you're keen enough to pick up on them. And most of all, it starts building a world that you absolutely get swept up in and devour volume after volume of. Take it from me. I've given my trade paperbacks to no less than about 5 people who had never read a comic book in their life and they quickly asked for every subsequent volume after having this one for one night each. One of these friends liked it so much, that I was able to convince him to do a comic book podcast with me, and, at the time, this was the only comic book he had ever read. So, of course, we started with this story. If you'd like to check it out and see what we thought in even more detail, come visit us at [...]. Be forewarned, though, this was the first podcast that we had done, so it was definitely rough. They get much better as you move along and we got a better idea of what we were doing on there.