Customer Reviews

Fables, Vol. 11: War and Pieces

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

So far the other reviews all seem satisfied with this new volume so don't let my review put you off from taking a look. Especially if you're one of the few people who's gone through the first ten-plus volumes because your going to want to go ahead and graduate with this one.


Ever since the very first volume when all of the fables made a toast to winning back the homelands the series has been leading up to what is the last three issues collected in this paperback. Willingham says this himself in his afterword and calls the 'War and Pieces' arc a milestone in the series so far. We've been waitng 72 issues for this and here it is, the climax, summed up in three slim issues. I wanted so much more than this and I don't understand how the script came out the way that it did. All of the pieces for a great story are here but it's the execution that leaves it flat. It's filled with excellent and entertaining ideas but it moves so f***ing fast that it feels like more of an outline rather than an actual story. Literally half of the action is gotten out of the way by word baloons. Characters aren't so much the characters we've come to know anymore but vehicles for plot points; they speak in plot points. Subplots from previous arcs that took themselves several issues to be set up are solved here in a single panal. I don't understand how after so much careful planning and time went into this series it would all just be slapped together in the end. I would have been willing to pay twice as much money to have seen this arc spread out over seven or eight issues, maybe more. (Good Prince was 9, and Wooden-soldiers was 8)

I suppose that by now Willingham knows that he has a sure audience and that all they really want is those damn plot points. But I feel, as a reader and fan of the series, that I deserve more than just flashes of sensationalism that the writer thinks I want rather than something I can really immerse myself in, as I could in the first six or so paperbacks. It's really a shame how little this feels like an epic.


After 'War and Pieces' things actually are going to change; alot. Unlike most comic book promise's that the "-universe will change forever." The series is going to have to take an entirely fresh, deep breath which I hope will force Willinham to go back to basics and telling his story without anything to lean on, as he had to do in the beginning. I'll no doubt be buying the next collection so good luck to him.

Some SPOILERS for those who haven't yet read prior FABLES TPBs.

The man crush continues. I'm a late comer to FABLES, but I've been down with Bill Willingham for some time now. I've long held the notion that Willingham's ELEMENTALS was the utter shiznit, but, now, while I still have love for that 1980s series, it's clear that FABLES has surpassed that earlier work. In the multi-award winning FABLES Willingham juggles with dexterity a large cast of characters and continues to develop rich, complex story arcs.

Willingham takes characters from classic fairy tales, from mythology and folklore, and even from literature, and plants them collectively in a residential Manhattan neighborhood (referred to by those in the know as Fabletown). Even as these exiled fables strive to hide their magical nature from the unsuspecting human (or "mundy") population, they exist in constant dread of the terrible Adversary, who drove them out of their Homelands so, so long ago.

Alarming events have shaped the recent years. After centuries of indifference, the Adversary had finally set his eyes on Fabletown. When his attempted invasion failed (see Fables Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers), Fabletown took retaliatory measures against the Adversary's Empire and struck a devastating blow. The Adversary - whose true identity is none other than Pinocchio's erstwhile kindly woodcarver, Gepetto - means to exact serious friggin' revenge. So it's war now, on the horizon.

By the All-seeing Eye of Agamotto, this series is crazy good, and so enthralling. Bill Willingham has done a wonder with his world-building, and one can sense his love of mythology and folklore by the care he puts into his storytelling. As ever, he lends a gritty believability to his fairy tale cast, invests them with real emotions and fleshed-out histories. And, hurrahs and huzzahs for me, brother, because, after several weeks of catching up, I'm finally to this most recent trade paperback. FABLES Vol. 11: WAR AND PIECES collects issues #70-75, and arrives at that thing Willingham had been working up to from issue one. Fabletown goes to war against the Adversary.

But, before the main event, issue #70 presents "Kingdom Come," which is basically a calm-before-the-storm sort of tale, noteworthy for the last-minute war council among the leaders of Fabletown and also for Boy Blue's confession of love to Rose Red. Niko Henrichon provides cool guest artwork and colors.

Next is the two-part "Skullduggery" as Cinderella, Fabletown's intrepid super spy, takes on a deadly mission to recover an invaluable package but runs into enemy agents. Cinderella, Cinderella - can stomp on any fella. Cindy demonstrates why she's the world's greatest secret agent, and there's also a further development with Rodney and June, spies for the evil Empire.

Even as Cindy is doing her covert thing, the war is already in progress. Narrated in three issues, "War and Pieces" brings to a climax what has been the overriding storyline for this series' entire run thus far. In depicting this all out war between Fabletown and the Empire, Willingham manages to tell a compelling story. The core characters are deeply involved, including Bigby Wolf, my favorite dude. With the Fabletown refugees so outmanned by the Adversary's minions, they have to resort to unconventional war tactics (unconventional in the fairy tale sense). As such, they make good use not only of magic but also of modern mundy technology (guns, explosives, and, yes, bungee cords). The battle plan hinges on three main deployments: a flying wooden ship - manned by European and Arabian fables alike, and powered by many, many magic carpets - out to target the Empire's interdimensional gateways; a secret camp in the Imperial Homeworld, established to serve as Fabletown's last getaway resort and supervised by Bigby Wolf; and the infiltration in the heart of the enemy's capital of a classic fairy tale character, armed with a needle (some points for originality taken away on this one, as this ploy had already been used by Bigby; however, as a military course of action, it really is brilliant).

It starts out well for the good guys as Gepetto's puppet Emperor is befuddled by this unfamiliar brand of warfare. But, then again, he's got the advantage of overwhelming forces, and he employs that. Willingham goes into good detail about the minutiae of running a war, of presenting both sides' military tactics and strategies. And it's nice to see that, with things on the line, there's no one more efficient or reliable than Snow White in running the home office. Most of the story is told thru Boy Blue's perspective, and that's cool, as I've cottoned to this unassuming guy. He and the Witching Cloak are pivotal in Fabletown's schemes.

"War and Pieces" is a rousing story, but not perfect. Firstly, it should've extended past its mere three issues. For an event which took 75 issues to build, this should've been as long as the magnificent nine-part epic "The Good Prince," which came just before. As it is, "War and Pieces" doesn't resonate quite as richly as "The Good Prince." Also, the war felt a bit too one-sided, therefore shedding a bit of that sense of jeopardy. However, having read the ominous issues which follow "War and Pieces," the exiles of Fabletown may soon regret this war even more. Without the Empire's rigid control, old powers again roam the Homelands. There may be worse things than the Adversary, after all. If I read it right, the next FABLES volume will be titled "The Dark Ages," and it should be another excellent entry into the trade collection. It's gratifying to see that Willingham isn't yet parched for plot ideas.

Mark Buckingham and Steve Leialoha are the workhorse artists, and they bring a consistent visual look. As ever, James Jean's covers are marvelous stuff. FABLES: Vol. 11: WAR AND PIECES also features a Willingham afterword and a Buckingham sketchbook. FABLES is very much for mature readers (the content - and, definitely, the language - can get a little raw). Anyway, few can match the richness and complexity of this series. Throw in the occasional snarky humor and Willingham's always diverting fairy tale twists, and what you have is, for my money, the best comic book currently going. I have no doubt that those normally not into comic books will still become rapidly hooked with Bill Willingham's terrific storytelling. And, so, the man crush continues.

I still remember the first day I picked up Volume 1 of FABLES in Barnes & Noble. I was waiting around for my sister to finish work, browsing the comics section in hopes of coming across something that looked halfway interesting. James Jean's artwork on the front grabbed my attention right away, and after reading just the back cover I was hooked. I bought it immediately and have spent the months and years since then eagerly anticipating every volume.

Willingham's re-imagining of classic fairy tale folk blends masterfully and seamlessly with his story of the ultimate war between worlds. I won't spoil anything for those who haven't read everything, but you'd be doing yourself a major disservice by not picking up WAR AND PIECES. I found the ending very fitting and in keeping with Willingham's characters and world.

I can't wait for the next volume, THE DARK AGES, to see what happens to our group of intrepid Fables post-war.

Before commencing with my review, I have to note that FABLES could well become the next TRUE BLOOD. The latter is the highly successful HBO television series, which adapted the wonderful Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris for the small screen. About a month before I write this ABC put a new television series based on FABLES into production. The people in charge of the production and pilot are the people behind the interesting but unsuccessful series SIX DEGREES. Hopefully the pilot will thrill and enchant the top brass at ABC and FABLES will become a primetime series on ABC. I have to confess that at the moment I have a hatred for ABC that is deep and strong, due to their almost unforgivable cancellation of PUSHING DAISIES, but a TV series based on FABLES would go a long way towards making me forgive them.

WAR AND PIECES pretty much brings us to the point that we always knew that FABLES would reach, the war between the Fables and the Adversary. From the very first issue any perceptive reader knew that this moment would come. What is somewhat surprising is that the series will not cease with the resolution of the war. But just as some friends of mine refuse to watch individual episodes of either LOST or 24, preferring instead to watch them in one big chunk on DVD, so I refrain from getting the individual issues of FABLES, instead buying each collected volume. So I won't know what happens next until next August when the 12th volume in the series is published. Meanwhile, Willingham's FABLES has become quite the franchise. Not only is there the possible new ABC series, there are a couple of spin offs in the offing, including a Peter Piper series and a miniseries involving that wonderful superspy Cinderella. The fifth volume of JACK OF FABLES has had its publication date announced, even before the fourth volume has been published. So, even if the main FABLES comic were not to continue (though it is), it seems certain that it will be a long, long time before we are without new comics based upon the FABLES universe.

This was just a glorious set of stories. There is always the danger when anticipating the end to a major story arc that it will be disappointing. These were just a delightful series of issues. We'd had a brief taste earlier of Cinderella as a super spy and it was delightful to have her reprise that guise. On a mission to retrieve an all-important package at the southern tip of South America we get to see her in all her unexpected glory. Some of the things we see various Fables do are wonderfully congruous with what we already knew about them, but the whole idea of Cinderella as a Jane Bond character is so out of whack with everything else we know about her to be delightful, not unlike Goldilocks as a murderous and slutty rogue. Then the actual war is wonderfully inventive. Using magic carpets as ballast to keep a wooden ship airborne seems very much like something the Fables would do. And the heroic demise of the unceasingly selfish Prince Charming is delightfully out of character. As with all the previous FABLES books, this one is filled with endless surprises and unanticipated twists. It is all so very good that even though it would have been a natural place to bring the entire series to a close, I'm quite delighted that Willingham decided not to.

Except for SANDMAN, this has to be my all time favorite comic series. It is exceptional for getting better and better as it has gone along. Early on I felt that some of the volumes were somewhat hampered for attempting to emulate one or another genre (for instance, the first volume was a whodunit, and all the weaker for that). But it really has ceased imitating other genres and found its own voice. I hope that we are a long, long way from the end. Hopefully by the time that Vol. 12 is published in August 2009, we will have heard that ABC has pulled the trigger on a FABLES TV series.

This was the end of a major story arc for Fables - the war with the adversary - and, as such, I expected it to be somehow bigger. The first two issues lead up to the war with only three issues dedicated to the war itself. This is the big climactic event of the series so far and I wouldn't have minded seeing a few more issues dedicated to the conflict. Also, as I've long suspected, the Fables win quite easily, since they are armed with modern-day firepower as well as magic. This creates a lack of suspense throughout the book.

Having said this, I have trouble faulting "War and Pieces." It would be difficult to write a fully satisfying close to this storyline. And several loose ends were tied up in a way that made perfect sense. A few loose ends were left, too, which makes me excited about what Willingham has in store for the future of Fables. And, as always, the art is beautiful.

Still, on the heels of Fables Vol. 10: The Good Prince, which was easily one of the best graphic novels I've read, this story felt somehow lacking.

Here it is, the final arc of the Fables-Adversary storyline!
The epic conflict is finally run out in this book, the eleventh in the Fables run.
If you're considering this book, you've probably already read the previous ones so let me just say that you need to read this if for no other reason than to see how everything plays out. So buy the book.
*Spoilers ahead*
The only reason I don't like this book as much as the others is because it feels rushed. I really was hoping for more explanation and story about the apex and end of the war. The defeat of the Emperor and capture of Gepetto is done in roughly 3 comics. I understand that the writer was ready to move on to the next story arc, but I wish that we could have devoted a little more time to wrapping things up here. The story itself is enjoyable, but you just get a sense of a whirlwind of activity w/the reader just given glimpses of relevant moments. It's almost a montage-type feeling of important moments that we're given.
Great book, slight (very) letdown.

Reason for Reading: Next in the series.

Comments: This is a fabulous edition! A culmination of the overall plot to date that is very satisfying. The book starts of with an issue devoted mostly to the farm and the relationship between Blue and Red but also sets the stage both on the farm and back at Fabletown for the preparations before the war. Next up is a two-parter devoted solely to Cindy on a special op. which was seriously fun. We've seen her in action before but only in small doses, this dedicated storyline has made her one of my favourite characters. Finally, the book finishes with the 4 titular issues "War and Pieces" where the final battle and ultimate war that all previous issues have been leading up to one way or another. The book ends with a written afterward by the author speaking of this "ending" in the series and the new "beginnings". Things will certainly be different now and I can't wait to see where they go from here. A fabulous volume that brings a great ending to an 11-volume story arc. Onward ho!

What intense escapist pleasure reading the Fable series is! This book, which encompasses original issues 70 to 75 is one of the strongest. Most of the action occurs in the Homelands instead of Fabletown. What I find cool about Fables is not only the strong action storyline, but also the amazing characters. Bill Willingham breathes more than life into them - they explode off the page! His way of tying in familiar concepts such as magic carpets and giving them, a modern day edgy sensibility is deeply satisfying.

As usual in this series, the artwork is stunning. I particularly enjoyed some of the full-page, detailed battle scenes. Drawings of the "Glory," the flying ship were especially interesting. The long vertical panel style with thematically consistent side panels is an effective technique rarely seen elsewhere. Nice extras in this volume are Willingham's afterward (we rarely hear his voice outside of the work itself) and the sketches gallery.

Like all other Vertigo titles, this is for mature audiences, not kids - adults will find Fables extremely entertaining.

If you're new to the "Fables" universe, please do yourself a favor - begin at the beginning. Otherwise, everything you read about the later volumes will turn into a spoiler.

But, if you're here, you've come to know the fairy-tale characters living in our New York (or something very like it). You've seen the tensions building up to the war between worlds - and you saw that brilliant, crippling first blow struck back in vol. 10. The war ends here, in a complex series of maneuvers involving the unique strengths of many favorite characters. Despite the thousands of pages that came before, this maintains the energy levels of the earlier books, and brings the war story arc to a satisfying close. In fact, the ending seems so solid that I really wonder what the next book will do to sustain the momentum.

When these stories first came out as monthly comics, they never caught my interest. Well, I'm wrong a lot - or maybe not, since the suspense of waiting month after month for new installations, plus the chance of missing an issue would have driven me bonkers. "Fables" isn't as experimental or out-there as some graphic novel experiences. Instead, it offers a good story, enjoyable characters, and a well-crafted alternative to superheroes in tights.

-- wiredweird

It's not the ending to the series, but man, it should be, because it is a great ending to what has been a great series so far. I can't imagine how it could get any better or even keep up at the level it has been going for so long now. Great work Willingham.