Fables Vol. 6: Homelands [Paperback]

Bill Willingham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2006 | Series: Fables (Graphic Novels) (Book 6)

Collecting issues #34-41 of writer Bill Willingham's Eisner Award-winning creation, HOMELANDS follows Boy Blue on a mission of revenge as he uncovers the Adversary's true identity! Plus, the 2-part story of Jack's adventures in Hollywood and the one-shot story of Mowgli's return to Fabletown.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This clever, enjoyable series written by Willingham, has a rather ingenious premise: what if all the characters of fairy tales lived, loved, schemed, and fought in a modern-day city of their own? This installment contains two fun story arcs. One, a cute satire of contemporary Hollywood, stars Jack, of beanstalk fame, portrayed as a rather unsavory trickster. Making his way to Hollywood with a fistful of cash, he becomes a wildly successful producer of films based on his own mythological exploits. Eventually, though, his ruthless business practices and unsavory past catch up with him. In a longer story, Little Boy Blue goes on an epic quest to find and kill a shadowy tyrant [...] The more one reads of the series, the more the narrative strands bear thematic fruit. Willingham clearly has an immense amount of fun playing with these characters and their histories, and the art, mostly by Buckingham, is a perfect match: clear, fanciful and finely drawn. Fables is an excellent series in the tradition of Sandman, one that rewards careful attention and loyalty. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The last installment of Willingham and principal artist Mark Buckingham's saga of fairy-tale characters in exile, The Mean Sea sons (2005), seemed to tread water after the cataclysm in arch of the Wooden Soldiers (2004) and before more hurly-burly. Home lands,while it reveals the long-sought identity of the Adversary, whose forces drove the exiles out and threaten them still, consists of cloak-and-dagger stuff, however, not warfare. Before the central action resumes, the rather too rudimentarily drawn (by David Hahn) "Jack Be Nimble" follows con-man Jack (famed for his thieving beanstalk capers, among others) for some years after March 's big battle and leaves him hitching farther away. Back to the main drag. Boy Blue, invincibly armed, is in the Homelands, aimed toward the Adversary and offing evil underlings en route. In Fabletown, the sheriff, Beast (Beauty's husband), ferrets out an Adversary mole, and the mayor, Prince Charming, calls in "perpetual tourist" Mowgli to track down absconded Bigby Wolf. Blue winds up in two consecutive stews, and any final ending remains shrouded in the mists of futurity. Lucky us. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Vertigo (January 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401205003
• ISBN-13: 978-1401205003
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.4 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,178 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #83 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Graphic Novels > Fantasy

More About the Author

Bill Willingham never fought a desperate and losing battle in a good cause, never contributed to society in a meaningful way, and hasn't lived a life of adventure, but he's had a few moments of near adventure. At some point in his life Bill learned how to get paid for telling scurrilous lies to good people, and he's been doing it ever since. He lives in the wild and frosty woods of Minnesota.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sixth volume and still going strong., February 2, 2006

By 

R. SHARIFF "rayhans1282" (Jamaica, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fables Vol. 6: Homelands (Paperback)

I absolutely love Fables. That's the best way to express it. I lover everything about it...its originality, its irreverance, its twists, its art, everything. Homelands is the sixth volume in the series and collectes Fables #34-41.

The first arc picks up after the battle in volume 5 and shows what Jack has been up to. I don't want to give anything away but let's say that it involves Hollywood and a trilogy. A very entertaining read and is told from the POV of characters that Jack had interacted with in show business and pokes fun at the current media obsessed society of today.

The second story follows Boy Blue after his return in the Homelands. He slowly and after spilling much blood, finally learns the true identity of the Adversary...this one is worth the price tag of the book alone. After being captured by the Adversayr, Blue finally learns motives behind the Adversary's actions and finally finds out the truth about Red Riding Hood. This story really puts Boy Blue and makes him shine. His side as a cunning warrior is explored as evident by the way he escapes from the Adversary.

Fables has quickly become one of my favorite non-superhero title. It is one of the best adult-themed comics in the market alongside the likes of 100 Bullets. The author Willingham really flshes out each character and humanize them with the imperfections that come with the territory. Fables has been a very fun read since its inception and the trend continues with the Homelads. Very high recommendation for old fans and new fans alike.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, the Adversary, February 2, 2006

By 

David "I read science fiction and fantasy, bu... (LAUREL, MD, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fables Vol. 6: Homelands (Paperback)

Volume 6 opens with Jack of the Tales in Hollywood, using the billions of dollars of loot he stole in the last volume to start his own studio. This story (and the entire volume) takes place over a period of years, so Jack's scheme actually works better than most of his previous ideas, though as usual, things don't turn out quite the way he wanted in the end.

But tying up many loose threads left dangling in previous volumes, the main star of "Homelands" is Boy Blue. No longer a blues-playing office clerk, in this volume he hacks and slashes his way across the many worlds from which the Fables originally fled, giving us a look at what this fantasy realm is really like and how the Empire ruled by "the Adversary" really works. On his quest to kill the Emperor, we get the answers to many questions, but the war continues, and the future of Fabletown is still an open question.

Back home, there are several interesting developments both in Fabletown and up on The Farm. We meet Mowgli of the Jungle Book, who has a conversation with Bagheera (imprisoned since his participation in the failed rebellion in Volume 2) and then is given a secret mission by Prince Charming. A long-time character is revealed to be a traitor, Snow White's children are growing up, and the volume ends with a sad twist. Many subplots from previous volumes have been wrapped up, but plenty of new ones are spawned.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars .....the Valley of the Shadow of Death, March 13, 2007

By 

Michael E. Hill "Major Rassendyll" (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fables Vol. 6: Homelands (Paperback)

This sixth volume of the "Fables" series does not disappoint. If you want to start the series at this point....don't. In order to fully appreciate this volume, you should start with Volume 1 and work your way forward. Storylines that have been under development for sometime are tied together at this point.

Don't even read anymore of this review! :-)

In a way, this graphic novel is about what happened to the things 'stolen' from Fabletown after the Adversary's attack and Prince Charming's election as Mayor.

The first part deals with Jack Horner and what he did with the contents of the late Bluebeard's missing treasure room. Up until now he has been portrayed as the pathetic hustler with one flawed get-rich scheme after another. Jack is the kind of guy that got your sister pregnant and then skipped town. He's the guy that's always borrowing money with no intention of paying it back. This is the loser your girlfirned dumped you for.....

Well this is one of his good ideas. Old Jack is a huge success. Even though he's set back at the end, he's still set up for his own personal series that I've reviewed elsewhere.

As satifying as the Jack tale is, it can't compare with Boy Blue's saga. He's left Fabletown stealing the Witching Cloak, the Volpal Blade and his best friends Pinocchio's body. He's returning to the Homelands to 1) Find Gepetto and see if he can fix Pinocchio 2) Reunite with his lost love - Red Riding Hood.

This is where Willingham and company's genius shines. Our nerdy trumpet-playing office clerk is really a man of cunning, brilliance, conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity. It's like Peter Parker and Spiderman. His primary motives are loyalty and love to the people closest to him. For this he risks his life in returning to the Adversary's empire, the Valley of the Shadow of Death referred to in the title. The journey is perilous and skillfully plotted with surprises and revelations along the way.

If I'm ever in jam, I'd want Boy Blue to come to my rescue.