Fables Vol. 6: Homelands (Paperback)

by Bill Willingham (Author)

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.)
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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

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Vertigo (January 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401205003
• ISBN-13: 978-1401205003
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,032 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 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 (REAL NAME)

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	Amadan "amadanb" (NY) - See all my reviews

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Adversary and More, July 18, 2006

By	Joshua Koppel (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

With shadowed hints about the Homelands and how various Fables escaped this may be the volume fans have been waiting for. But upon opening the cover, they have to wait a little longer. The first two issues tell the tale of Jack. He has left Fabletown and hit the road. Now he is in California and using stolen Fabletown funds to finance a new movie industry. The idea is to make a series of movies about himself and increase his popularity/presence. But we know things do not always work out the best for Jack. I was a little disappointed in this tale as Beast now seems able to change at will as opposed to in relation to Beauty's feelings. This is just wrong, he is Beast nor Bigby.

After Jack's little adventure we finally move to the Homelands. Boy Blue has taken the Witching Cloak, the Vorpal Blade and Pinocchio's body and fled to the Homelands. Now we see what he is up to and what is going on in these fabled lands. Boy Blue is quite the unstoppable force as he secretly works his way from world to world. His quest takes him through many adventures and brings him face to face with many powerful denizens including the Snow Queen and the Emperor. But when trouble takes him to the second part of his quest, Blue and the readers learn the truth behind what has been going on in the homelands. Eventually Blue returns to the Mundane world to face the consequences of his actions and we learn even more secrets.

While Blue is on his adventures, things are not completely quiet in Fabletown. Beast is growing into his role as Sheriff while Prince Charming has his hands full as Mayor. We learn a little more about the Tourist and even meet one. We learn of a traitor and his fate. We even learn a little about hoe the Fable community plans to respond to the Adversary and his incursions into the mundane world.

All in all this volume is packed with adventure, intrigue and revelations. Like earlier in volumes there is a lot of action off-stage. This makes the story move quickly but may be disappointing to some (although they should be used to it by now). If you have been following the series you will really want to read this one. Check it out.