Customer Reviews

Fables Vol. 7: Arabian Nights (and Days)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

This seventh volume in the excellent FABLES lineup may disappoint some fans of the series.

ARABIAN NIGHTS (AND DAYS) fits in nicely with the overall series, continuing to progress the still-developing story that has enthralled so many, and to expand the setting. That being said, I felt that this volume didn't quite live up to the awesomeness of the previous three. The new characters out of the Arabian fables just don't add too much to the overall appeal of the series for me, and the primary story here was almost wholly directed at introducing them to the reader. While it looks like the events related here will have a significant impact on the future of the series, this just wasn't as entertaining of a story as I've come to expect from FABLES.

And, the side story at the end of this one, "Rodney and June", also failed to impress. The forbidden love of two wooden soldiers and their quest for transformation felt like a stretch even in such a bizarre setting as FABLES. And again, while this story promises to have major implications on the future of the series, the story itself just sort of fell flat in my opinion.

So, while volume seven progresses the story and continues to entertain, it felt like a step down from the heights of the previous collections. I have high hopes that Fables Vol. 8: Wolves will pick up the pace and bring this series back up to the level I know it should be.

I love Fables. One of the best graphic novels since "Preacher". I think this book was good but more of filler than anything. Not much progression of the story. Still fun to read and the dijin is pretty awesome.

The fairy-tale world of this remarkable epic just expanded. By now, the reader has gotten accustomed to Snow White, Prince Charming, and all the rest as living, breathing urbanites. In this collection, they receive a diplomatic mission from Sinbad, who represents the wide world of far-eastern myth. And, true to mythic form, his evil advisor plots behind his back ...

The second story line in this book starts in the armies invading the Fables' lands, the force that drove the Fables into exile originally. There, the wooden soldiers hold high rank, not just because of their bravery and nearly indestructible making, but because of tight political loyalties as well. They treat the "meats" as lesser beings, subject to weaknesses of the flesh and of the heart. Then, one of the officers discovers that the heart business might have something going for it. I'll let you discover for yourself how that works out, but I will say that it adds a remarkable twist to the ongoing plot. I'm looking forward to seeing how that plays out.

-- wiredweird

Arabian Nights (and Days) introduces the world of the arabian fables to Fabletown. We get to see that not all worlds are under the sway of the Adversary, and that not everyone is thrilled that the arabian fables are going to cooperate with the american fables. We also get to learn a little more about the wooden soldiers, as well as get to see more of the wonderful Frau Totenkinder (easily one of the most interesting characters in the series).

While this isn't a good place to jump into the series, I'd still recommend this to anyone. Fables is easily accessible to even the greenest comic book fan or to a person who has never picked up a comic book before in their lives.

ARABIAN NIGHTS (AND DAYS) maintains the high quality established by all the previous volumes in Bill Willingham's award winning FABLES series. The joys of this volume are smaller compared with those that came before. Apart from the release of a djinn and Frau Totenkiller's role in reigning it in, there are no major arcs. That does not mean that the volume isn't filled with pleasures, but they are not those of a large narrative arc.

The final section of the book is a real change. A wooden soldier in the adversary's army named Rodney falls in love with June, a wooden "medic" who helps repair injured wooden troops. She reciprocates and they petition Gepetto to be made human so that they can really and truly marry. Their wish is granted with the condition that they move just outside Fabletown among the Mundys (with Rodney ironically taking a job as a butcher--meat is abhorrent to the woodens).

This series is a marvel. I've not read all the comics except for the Jack of the Fables tales (I'll get to them -- I just don't enjoy Jack all that much). I think this is with ease the best currently running graphics series and compare favorably to the best series of the past. I have several very well read friend who haven't delved into adult comics. The three people I urge them to try are Alan Moore's books, Gaiman's Sandman books, and Willingham's Fables. It really is that good.

Bill Willingham, Fables: Arabian Nights (and Days) (Vertigo, 2006)

The seventh volume of the Fables series has finally dropped, and it looks like the transitional-volume period is coming to an end. Willingham gives us two stories here. The first deals with the coming of Sinbad and his retinue to Fabletown after the Adversary started attacking the Arabian homelands. Not all of them, however, are seeking refuge... the second is about a love story in the Army of the Wooden Soldiers, and is just the sort of thing for which this series has earned all its raves-- the kind of tale that you have to wonder what Bill Willingham was smoking when he came up with (and where you can get some of it). Of course, anything that looks like a mere diversion isn't, and it all ties in at the end.

Another very good volume in the series. It'll keep you interested until things explode again. *** ½

"Arabian Nights" is as good as any of the books in the Fables series, but the entire sequence read like a prelude to future volumes. Nothing happens in this latest installment to significantly impact the war against the Adversary, nor are there any major changes in the established cast, though we see a lot of new characters introduced who will no doubt play major roles in the future.

There are basically two stories in this volume. The first concerns the arrival of a delegation of Arabian Fables in New York, led by Sinbad. We've seen references to non-European Fable lands in previous volumes and knew that the Adversary had already begun his invasion of the worlds of the Arabian Fables. Now we learn that the Arabian Fables are quite aware of the threat, but still have not decided whether or not to ally themselves with the Fables who have fled to Earth.

There are a lot of culture clashes and the requisite amount of treachery and bloodshed, along with a few subplots highlighting the personal lives of Beast, Beauty, Prince Charming, the Frog Prince, and Red Riding Hood. (As a side note, I personally found the resolution of the Djinn threat to be rather lame -- it is introduced as the magical equivalent of a nuclear weapon, but resolved in an anticlimactic manner in which Willingham seems to be making up new magical rules just to get himself out of a plot bind.)

The second story is about two wooden soldiers serving the Empire in a unit that is establishing a beachhead on an Arabian Fable world. We get another glimpse inside the Empire and learn more about the wooden soldiers, and these two individuals are obviously being set up as recurring characters whom we'll see in future volumes.