17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More Legends to Be Exiled, July 7, 2006
This review is from: Fables Vol. 7: Arabian Nights (and Days) (Paperback)
Bill Willingham's Fables is an amazing series. This collection brings us up to th 47th issue, and so far, not a single one has been bad. It started off great and kept getting better. March of the Wooden Soldiers, the story arc collected in the fourth collection of the same name, is one of the most phenomenal stories I've ever read (and I will continue to praise it in my reviews, seeing as how, for some reason, Amazon won't let me post a review for that collection), and while the Homelands arc was a bit weaker (in my opinion), it was still great, and it showed us an enormous revelation that will affect the course of the series for years. Though, in addition to finding out the identity of the Adversary, the power-hungry emporor who forced the Fables such as Snow White, Bigby Wolf, Prince Charming, Jack Horner, and Boy Blue to flee their homes and journey to our world, we saw that he was nowhere close to finishing his conquoring. It took him nearly 1,000 years to fully take over the lands of European Fables, and now he has set his sights on the Homelands of the Arabian Fables, which includes residents such as Sinbad, Aladdin, and Ali Baba.
As the Arabian worlds begin to fall to the mighty armies of the Adversary, the Arabian Fables send Sinbad as an envoy to Fabletown in order to figure out how to accomodate the many new exiles to come. However, when he arrives, along with a bodyguard and a sorceror, a culture clash of epic proportions is ignited between the Arabians, who are fresh out of the Homelands and the Europeans, who have had 1,000 to assimilate to modern-day American culture. And when Sheriff Beast learns that the Arabians brought a D'Jinn (known in the West as a genie) with them, Mayor Prince Charming is forced to regard that as an act of war.
But alongside the Arabic situation, Charming and Deputy Mayor Beauty have to deal with their own residents who are fed up with the way that Charming is running Fabletown. While Beast has gotten used to his role as sheriff, Charming is still regretting his decision to unseat King Cole as the mayor. The political intrigue is just as interesting as ever as Charming is forced to deal two very unhappy camps.
The 4-issue Arabian Fables arc is followed by a 2-part story that takes place in the Arabian Homelands, and is told from the perspective of two of the Adversary's wooden servants. The wooden soldiers of the Empire were introduced in March of the Wooden Soldiers, and we saw them as exceptionally powerful and merciless footsoldiers. Well, after seeing things from their point of view, we learn that our original assessment of them was completely right. However, two subjects, a soldier named Rodney and a nurse named June begin to show human emotions, which are regarded by the wooden soldiers as being among the worst things that have to do with being human. The wooden soldiers discuss at length their disgust with humanity; humans must eat (shoving dead animal and plant matter into one hole), must excrete waste material (out of another hole), must sleep one third of each day, and are easily injured. However, the story of Rodney and June is both moving and bizarre, and the conclusion may have many consequences for the residents of Fabletown.
Arabian Nights (and Days) may be the best collection of Fables since March of the Wooden Soldiers. While there is no major revelation, many potential future storylines are set up in these 6 issues, and numerous moments of character development occur, one of which may cause a lot of trouble between two characters.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fables Gets Better and Better, October 16, 2009
This review is from: Fables Vol. 7: Arabian Nights (and Days) (Paperback)
Bill Willingham's "Fables" is the most interesting concept in comics I've seen in the last few years. "Fables" is right up there with Vaughan's "Y The Last Man" and "Ex Machina." The artwork by is outstanding; it is detailed and realistic. The art moves the story along without being distracting. Like all other Vertigo titles, it is not recommended for children - as an adult I find Fables extremely entertaining.
Fabletown is a part of Manhattan where people and creatures from traditional fairy tales have gone into exile to escape "the Adversary" who has invaded their kingdoms.
This volume of the Fables stories is my favorite yet. It contains two stories; the first is the story of how Arabian Fables come to Fabletown. I won't give away any spoilers, because the ending is surprising. The second story is a fantastic two-issue story arc about a wooden soldier who falls in love and ultimately wants to become human. This is brilliant writing - like great sci-fi, it challenges your thinking in a mindbending way. I love how it ties in with the rest of the Fables stories.
The artwork is outstanding in this volume. What really stands out is the incredible lettering by Todd Klein. His varying types of lettering add to the experience of reading Fables and propel the story forward in a unique way. Wow!
Highly recommended! Off to the next volume!
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Read, July 26, 2006
This review is from: Fables Vol. 7: Arabian Nights (and Days) (Paperback)
Fables is arguably the finest comic being produced today. This volume continues the stellar work of both Willingham and Buckingham as writer and artist, respectively. The fun of this series is seeing characters we all knew of as a child brought to life in modern times.
This volume brings to town the Arabian Fables, lead by the fair and noble Sinbad. The Arabian Fables are trying to negotiate an agreement to bring their people over to our "Mundy" world. Willingham's humor is at its best when these two cultures clash while negotiating, especially over whether slaves should be allowed.
I wasn't a big fan of the last two issues from this volume, the only two issues in this collection not drawn but Buckingham. Actually, it wasn't the art that I disliked, but rather I thought the story wasn't as original as some of the other issues and that it could have been told in a single issue without losing any of its effictiveness. I thought the art style was very clean and fit the overall tone of the series very well, it just wasn't a story that needed two issues.
Overall, though, that last point was just nit-picking. This book is a great read and, if you haven't read any of the previous books, start at volume one because you won't be disappointed.
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