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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
After Victory, New Menaces and Complications---Peacetime is not stacking up to be all that Peaceful, August 19, 2009
Oh, yes, baby! Fables took us before through a wonderful, wild, delicious ride that introduced characters, locations (the farm, the homelands, Fabletown) and took us through a terrible, fascinating war between evil Gepetto and his magic-fueled armies in the homelands and the force from Fabletown. Now, we're in the aftermath. The Peace after the War. And things are getting ugly, event by incident. Dark Ages refers, no doubt in great part, to the fact that dark powers are being released into the chaos that is the Homelands (now no longer kept in check by the tyranny of Gepetto and his sorcerers and armies), where mercenaries are looting and no one is in charge; and dark power released as well in the Fables' NYC town, where Gepetto is still vicious and bitter over his powerless situation post-amnesty.
In the first secton, a sort of establishing one, an interlude, "Around the Town", we get interesting (different from what we're used to, too) art by Michael Allred--very two-D, darkly outlined, thick areas of color. A sort of retro art look, but I liked it. Pinocchio is showing his toxic maker around Fabletown, where most don't wish him well at all. He gets an opportunity to spout his menacing philosophy, and there's nothing likable about this still-menacing (if momentarily neutered magically) puppetmaker. I like how Pinocchio is drawn in a very boy-like way, unlike the original/usual Pinocchio who has a huge head and square jaw, as if he were a dwarf rather than a boy. I also liked seeing Bigby and Snow's brood taking in the city. (Bigby looks like a young Marlon Brando in this chapter.)
After that, we are in familiar visual ground with Buckingham's style as we move into a series of chapters that toggle between Fabletown in the city and parts of the homeland, where things are happening that not everyone is yet aware of--very dangerous things that bode ill for the residents of all fabley places. One is Mr. Dark (and yes, that connects to the title) and the other is Baba Yaga, who you may recall is imprisoned way down there in Fabletown's dungeons. There is a short, but hilarious, section with Bufkin, the flying monkey, and his digestive event. Bad things are also happening to our dear Boy Blue, whose wounds post-Wartime are not healing well at all.
The darkness in this Dark Age refers not just that of the sorcerous villains that are revived/released, but the darkness within the hearts of characters--from the first pages showing us the wasteland of Gepetto's heart and mind, to the darkness in the looting mercernaries, to the surprising revelation of the darkness in Rose Red.
A new romance, a visit to Mowgli's jungle, a terrible loss, and some insight into the emotional dysfunction of one of the main female Fables--a very good scene that's sad and insightful.
As usual, you get so me glorious cover pages reproduced inside (non-glossy) for those of us who prefer the bound volume to the individual issues. It's totally worth taking a pause to enjoy each of the covers, including the bound volume's glossy one that gives a Fables version of a Madonna and dead Christ.
I've never been let down by the FABLES series, and I look forward to seeing what's up next.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
After the fall., August 19, 2009
Bill Willingham's "Fables" series spent its first 75 issues being defined by the conflict between the Fabletown community on Earth and the Adversary's Empire, which had conquered their old homelands and driven them into exile centuries before. The despotic Adversary, eventually revealed to be Gepetto, created a seemingly-invincible state spanning hundreds of worlds. And then, in the space of a few issues in the preceding "War and Pieces" trade paperback, the Fabletown forces, allied with Sinbad's Arabian Fables, succeeded in crippling the Empire and ending the war. It was, for my tastes, a too-abrupt conclusion. But Willingham turns things around in this volume, by showing the many unpleasant consequences that you rarely ever see after the Evil Empire has been toppled. Spoilers follow, so be warned.
Consider "Star Wars", where the death of the Emperor and the destruction of a minor portion of the Imperial Fleet was implied to have led to the complete collapse of a galaxy-spanning imperium, and its replacement with a New Republic (the non-canon novels give a more complex picture, of course, but that's not in the films). The Fables succeeded in decapitating the Empire's leadership, but it soon becomes very clear that the bulk of the forces, and the more junior ranks of the military and administrative leadership, have survived, and are now trying to deal with things individually. Each world now becomes an isolated problem to deal with on its own. In addition, the disbandment of Fabletown's specially-raised armies poses new questions, as many demand the right to conquer their own realms within the old worlds (as was hinted at back in "Sons of the Empire"). And the seemingly-too-easy induction of Gepetto himself into the Fables' community gets dealt with here, which goes quite a way to justifying it (Gepetto gets a particularly chilling line where he compares himself to God).
By far the biggest consequence, though, is the release from prison of Mr. Dark, a spirit of unknown origin but considerable magical power, who lends the volume its name. Imprisoned by Gepetto's forces, the chaos surrounding the Empire's collapse lets him loose, and he strikes with such unexpected force so as to knock even Frau Totenkinder off balance. While his actual actions are rather limited in this volume, he promises to be a compelling antagonist in future volumes.
Highly recommended.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Out of the Frying Pan and into the Fire....., August 21, 2009
"The Dark Ages" is the latest graphic novel compilation of the outstanding Fables series written by Bill Willingham supported by various artists. The premise is characters from folklore like Prince Charming, Hansel and Gretel, etc. are real and secretly living in New York. They have been driven from their other dimensionally home worlds due the depredations of the "Adversary".
At this point if you have not read the series, stop reading this review. In order for someone to fully appreciate and understand what is going, you have to read the series in order.
What we have seen so far, our heroes have successfully defeated the forces of the Adversary and his empire is destroyed. The true power of this empire, Gepetto, is now an unwanted and very reluctant citizen of Fabletown in Manhattan. But he is under control. Everything should be fine, right? WRONG!
Gepetto is utterly unrepentant over anything he has done. He hates where he's at. He hates everything around him. But he does have a point however twisted. His empire kept order. Our heroes have serious destabilized the worlds of folklore. In the ensuing chaos, two soldiers-of-fortune unwittingly unleash an evil from confinement worse than the one they defeated. Unfortunately our heroes are first on the agenda....
They are forced to run as things literally collapse around them. They do not understand this new opponent. They do not even know the true nature of this new enemy. Not even Frau Tottenkinder does not understand what is happening. But they do know they have run.....
It is a common criticism of "The Good Prince" that everything was cut and dried with victory inevitable. Apparently Mr. Willingham heard your complaints. Now everything is in disarray and out of control.
Our favorites are all here. Flycatcher, King Cole, Bigby, Snow White, etc. have key roles in the action. My favorite part is when Boy Blue sadly, quietly and dispassionately tells Rose Red exactly what he thinks of her. What I didn't like is the author instantly creating a rivalry between Beast and Bigby. One of the things I liked about these characters was regardless of what they thought of each other when there was crisis, truces were declared. They pulled together and took care of business.
As for the art, Mark Buckingham is the best Fables artist. I really don't care for the others featured much. But Willingham's writing and the character's so rich I don't notice much.
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