Jack of Fables, Vol. 3: The Bad Prince (Paperback)

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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 Description

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).

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Vertigo (July 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401218547
• ISBN-13: 978-1401218546
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #105,324 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 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 (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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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 (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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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

5.0 out of 5 stars Jack of Fables, Vol. 3: The Bad Prince, November 22, 2008

By	sunshine sc "sunshine" (atlanta, ga) - See all my reviews

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Loved the book; and even though I made the mistake of beginning with Vol. 3 instead of one. I now want to read the entire series.
Series tracks the lives of a group known as the Fables. It is an interesting twist on all the fairy tales we knew as children.