Jack of Fables, Vol. 3: The Bad Prince [Paperback]

Bill Willingham (Author), Matthew Sturges (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 8, 2008

Collecting JACK OF FABLES #12-16! Jack's now a wayward Fable in the heartland of America. Follow his extreme road stories as he reveals the secret of his former relationship with the illustrious Snow Queen (when he took her powers and became known as Jack Frost).

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

No sooner have Jack and Gary escaped Lady Luck (see Jack of Hearts, 2007) than the Librarians of Golden Boughs recapture them for return to Mr. Revise. Worse still, they’re reunited with Wicked John, the fellow Fable who resembles Jack. An argument ensues, and after a mini-van crash at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, the adventures really begin. Willingham and company are in top form (artist Andrew Robinson’s work on the final chapter is outstanding), so Jack and the crew are witty and snarky as ever, even in what is basically an interlude explaining histories and telling secrets. --Tina Coleman

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Vertigo (July 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401218547
• ISBN-13: 978-1401218546
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.3 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #522,486 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant continuation of the Fables' Universe, July 27, 2008

By 

Robert Moore (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Jack of Fables, Vol. 3: The Bad Prince (Paperback)

Even though Jack is perhaps my least favorite Fable in the wonderful imaginative universe that Bill Willingham has created, I once again have been completely blown away by one of his collections. This addition to the sequence features some truly wonderful twists. There are also a number of additions to the overall Jack narrative that significantly increases the complexity of the tale.

The big surprise is that the revelation that Jack is the not the original of the Jack/John stories, but the copy. If you've read any studies dealing with European folktales, you have undoubtedly encountered the idea of Jack stories (very similar in Native American folklore concerning Coyote stories). There are a host of stories centered on this character, more of a type than a specific individual. Here the idea is introduced that through the Powers that Be, Jack was a copy of John, insted of the other way around. The stories were actually about John, whose memories Jack has been provided.

The real meat of the story, however, lies elsewhere, as we learn a great deal more about Mr. Revise and hints about the particular kind of being that he is, as well as the revelation that there are others like him. I am not buying the individual issues of this series as they come out so I have not checked to verify this, but I suspect that the next group of issues focus on this. Suffice it to say that this book is crucial in introducing essential plot twists to come.

The book also ties in rather nicely with Volume 10 of the FABLES story, in a couple of ways. First, this volume is entitled JACK OF THE FABLES 3: THE BAD PRINCE, while the other is FABLES 10: THE GOOD PRINCE. Second, in the Jack volume a sword is rammed through his chest by someone who appears to be Merlin. In the FABLES volume we learn that the sword may have resulted from more than just that.

All in all, another great addition to one of the best ongoing comics series around. If you love comics, you should definitely add this to your collection, but only after you've added the previous FABLES and JACK releases.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another fun romp with the amoral Jack Horner/Jack O Lantern/Jack Be Nimble..., December 9, 2008

By 

Mir (North Miami Beach, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Jack of Fables, Vol. 3: The Bad Prince (Paperback)

I always say to myself, "Nah, I'm done with Jack." But another paperback comes out gathering the comics issues, and again, I am drawn to the rascal.

It's hard to describe how likably unlikable he is. I mean, he's selfish, vain, greedy, thoughtless, ill-tempered, yes, but he's also clever, energetic, funny, and outrageous.

In this adventure (we've seen him as a Hollywood mogul, in a concentration camp of sorts for Fables, in Las Vegas with Lady Luck), he's on the road...again. As an escapee from Golden Boughs (where storybook characters go to be forgotten, against their will), he's got a sidekick in the Pathetic Fallacy (this development cheers my English Lit degree heart to no end), who has memory issues. Mr. Revise is making sure the forgetting continues, and that includes erasing the memories of escapees so they forget Golden Boughs.

He and P.F. are captured by the Page sisters, but things go, as they will around Jack, quite wrong.

There are a couple of fabulous plot twists--the one with Excalibur and the one with Wicked John, and be careful of one of the following reviews which has serious spoilers, in case you care about surprises that way--and there is a nice bit of humor.

There is also an inclusion of a flashback tale that's intended as a Halloween season treat. Devilish goings on are both funny and dark. Just right for the holiday.

The whole Fables franchise is a delight. I've read all the ones available in bound-paperback form. And I still await the next adventures of the Fables folks, including wascally wicked Jack.

Just plain fun, and with good dialogue to boot(unlike soem of the comics I read this week.)

Mir

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun Volume, Best So Far for Jack, imho, August 4, 2010

By 

Nicola Manning (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Jack of Fables, Vol. 3: The Bad Prince (Paperback)

Reason for Reading: next in the series.

This entire volume except for the last chapter is devoted to the title story arc "The Bad Prince". Jack has a run in with Excalibur and learns a shocking truth about his existence. All the regulars are here and it was great to see the return of Paul Bunyan and Babe from Vol. 1, though they've been shrunk down in size as punishment for their part in the Great Escape. A new character is introduced and an old character from Fabletown shows up. This is a minor character who pops up now and then, though he has caused trouble in Fabletown, and in this volume we learn his true identity, which is a bit of a shocker and questions are answered in this series "and" ones that have been posed in "Fables" are also being answered.

I really enjoyed this volume. The story arc is a lot of fun. Jack is not able to take advantage of anyone this time around as he is the one getting the short end of the stick through out. But in a twist of events, this time, he's the one who wins in the end. A bit of a turn around on Jack's usual plights. The volume ends with a single Hallowe'en issue where Jack reminisces about the past and tells the story of how he came back from the dead, bargained with the devil and got the name Jack o'Lantern. A fun story. Loved this volume and am on my way to place an order for Vol. 4.