The Official Fables Thread

[TheCorpulent1]

No matter how much promotion Identity Disc has, I doubt it'll compete with Identity Crisis. The only thing that Marvel probably could get to compete with Identity Crisis right now is Secret War, but that comes out quarterly.

 

[Eric Draven]

Originally posted by TheCorpulent1
The last issue was pretty good. The proverbial calm before the storm. I like Blue's dedication. Now all I need to see next issue is some Puss in Boots action, kicking wooden ass and taking names!

Who do you think the Adversary actually is? They've given some clues as to the identity, but there's still a ^_^^_^^_^^_^load of possibilities as to who it could actually be.

 

[Eric Draven]

Originally posted by TheCorpulent1
25. And isn't The Witching a new Vertigo series altogether?

Yes. Supposedly, it's supposed to tie in with the three witches that are frequently seen in Vertigo books

 

[Pariah]

I read the 1st 2 TPBs, just got the third from Amazon and have been collecting the issues since #17 (but waiting to read them until I read the 3rd TPB). I also read the Last Castle. Good stuff.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I command thee, thread: LIVE!

The new Dog Company arc is looking pretty good. Is it just me or does Bigby seem like a near-exact duplicate of Wolverine in this comic? Not that I mind, since Willingham is still telling great stories with him, but the similarities are numerous. Hairiness, gruff demeanor, savage side, WWII past, etc.

Also, Eric: I don't know if you're reading The Witching, but it's great. It's only loosely tied into the Fates, who are the three "witches" who appeared in Sandman, Lucifer, and a bunch of other Vertigo titles. Basically, this girl meets up with Lucifer and gets a job to do, but to do it she needs added power. So she goes off in search of two other women to create a Fate-like trio: she's the crone, now she's gotta find a maiden and a mother to help her out. The characters are great and the story's pretty engaging (and also as far away from Charmed as you can get, which is always good).

 

[Eric Draven]

I like the Dog Company arc. But it just doesn't seem as good, especially coming off of the extremely kickass March of the Wooden Soldiers arc.

And of course I'm reading the Witching, it's a Vertigo title isn't it?

The first two issues were a bit meh, but I really did like the third issue. I'm pretty sure the story will pick up even more as it progresses.

And it was pretty good that they put Lucifer into the story. Help to tie the book in with the Vertigo universe

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, I liked Lucifer's appearance. It surprised me, too. I'm gonna get into the Lucifer series someday. As for The Witching, I agree. The first two issues were good, but kind of slow. This one was great, though. That cat rules.

The Dog Company arc isn't as good as March of the Wooden Soldiers, but I like it. I haven't read the second part of it yet, but I hope that's the end of it. Willingham gave it a pretty quick pace in the first issue, so hopefully he'll continue that in this one and wrap it up. I like the occasional flashback, but they're the kind of thing best left relegated to short fillers between larger arcs.

 

[Eric Draven]

Yeah the Dog Company arc does get wrapped up in the latest issue. And to be honest, I did like the second issue of the arc more than the first issue. The first issue did seem to lag on forever. The latest issue, however, had one helluva fight scene. Probably made me like the arc more than I thought I would

Can't wait until issue 30 though, man does the synopsis of the book sound excellent

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, I'm surprised Bigby turned out to be such a great action star. I never would've expected to get as jazzed as I did at the end of March of the Wooden Soldiers, when he huffs and puffs on the Adversary's forces.

 

[DBM]

I keep seeing people rave about Fables so I picked up the first two Fables trades this weekend and loved them. Great stuff. Now I have to get caught up to the whole series.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Awesome, DBM. Which one did you like more? I loved all the allusions to Orwell's novel and Communism in Animal Farm.

I'm trying to woo everyone I can over to Fables. I told my boss about Fables on Thursday and he wanted to borrow the first two trades, but I'd already agreed to lend them to another friend of mine on Friday. Soon, the whole world shall bow before the glory of Bigby and co.

Now I just need to get Storybook Love, the third TPB, and I believe I'll be caught up in the back-issue department... I think my unbroken individual issue run starts somewhere near the end of the issues Storybook Love.

 

[DBM]

Awesome, DBM. Which one did you like more? I loved all the allusions to Orwell's novel and Communism in Animal Farm.

I'm not sure which one I liked more. I liked the murder mystery plot in the first one because that's one of my favorite types of stories but the Animal farm references in the second one really appealed to the former PoliSci major in me. They were both excellent though. I'll probably pick up the third TPB this Wed and as many single issues as necessary to catch me up.

 

[Eric Draven]

Now I just need to get Storybook Love, the third TPB, and I believe I'll be caught up in the back-issue department... I think my unbroken individual issue run starts somewhere near the end of the issues Storybook Love.

You haven't read Storybook Love yet?

Man, you'll love that storyarc if you hate Goldilocks with passion

 

[Chaos]

Who do you think the Adversary actually is? They've given some clues as to the identity, but there's still a ^_^^_^^_^^_^load of possibilities as to who it could actually be.

Spoiler

Pinocchio

Just so you don't post it before me

 

[Eric Draven]

WTF?

Talk about dredging up an old post

 

[TheCorpulent1]

You haven't read Storybook Love yet?

Man, you'll love that storyarc if you hate Goldilocks with passion

I haven't read the full TPB. I've got a couple issues from it and my collection of individual issues starts from around the end of the arc onward. I know the basics of the arc too, since it's kind of hard to miss Snow after that. But I haven't actually read the complete arc.

 

[Mr. Fear]

I'm not sure which one I liked more. I liked the murder mystery plot in the first one because that's one of my favorite types of stories but the Animal farm references in the second one really appealed to the former PoliSci major in me. They were both excellent though. I'll probably pick up the third TPB this Wed and as many single issues as necessary to catch me up.

My only gripe about Legends in Exile, is that even though it was sorta implied, Willingham didn't really touch upon how the disappearence was tearing the Fables community apart.

 

[metr0man]

I recently finished catching up to Fables. Great series. I love the mythology being woven there.
March of the Wooden Soldiers was a great arc, and while the Bigby at War storyline was fun, i'm anxious to get back to Fabletown.

So who is The Adversary? it seemed to me that March of Wooden Soldiers made it pretty clear that

Spoiler

The Adversary is probably Geppetto, with the outside possibility of it being the Blue Fairy. Seems a bit obvious from the conversations of the three Wooden soldiers, but Willingham has said that all the clues are there and the obvious answer is the right one.

My only confusion is that during the Murder Mystery storyline, during the Remembrance Day ceremony they seem to show the adversary, a woodland sprite or a god, looking very Satan like. Then again that could just be how the fables think of him/it.

 

[4StringFox]

I'm just tuning in, here's my two cents.

I recently borrowed the first two TPBs and enjoyed them. I don't know if I'd buy them myself though. I love the snarky humor, and the stand-alone stories that still have the flavor of fairy tales. The whole Sleeping Beauty deal cracked me up, and the Confederate Jack tale was totally awesome!

What I don't love is that, in those TPBs at least, Snow and Bigby are solving their problems without a hitch, whipping out Batman-with-prep-time level plans at a moment's notice. I hope it doesn't stay that way; it's irritating when you're certain the heroes are going to be okay in the end.

I'm also a bit confused that characters from mythology pop up every now and then (Weyland, from Norse myth). No one's throwing Greek gods or Egyptian gods out there as Fables.

It'd be awesome if in future they cracked open more non-Western European, non-American Fables. I know Baba Yaga's a recurring character in other books (Hellboy at least), but think of the potential in Arabian legends, or Russian, or Japanese.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Baba Yaga shows up in Fables too. Willingham's not just limiting it to Fables anyway, he's including all kinds of fictional characters that seem interesting to him. There was a

Spoiler

Frankenstein type of guy

in the last arc.

 

[4StringFox]

At first I thought a "What if King Arthur and the Knights came back" storyline would rule all...

But Peter David's already done it (wrote an entire novel about). Damn.

 

[Lackey]

Recently finished March of the Wooden Soldiers... noticed that issue #22 wasn't included in the trade... what's issue 22 about?

I figure it was a stand alone issue that interrupts the main story arc, but dammit, why didn't they include it at the end of something

 

[masteryoda]

It's about these characters called Fables from fables, folklore, and fairy tales who are driven out of the Fable realm by this guy called the Adversary. They escape to the mundane world (ours) in about 1900 because it's the only one the Adversary has never expressed any interest in.

Once they're here, they set up in New York; most of the human-looking Fables live in this hotel building that they call Fabletown and just mingle with the regular people (mundys) of New York City. Lots of them have jobs in NYC: for example, Cinderella owns a shoe store called The Glass Slipper. Others work in the Fabletown building, like Bigby Wolf (the Big Bad Wolf turned human) and Snow White.

The non-human-looking Fables like the 3 Blind Mice and the Jungle Book characters live in the Farm, which is a huge plot of land in upstate New York. They're relegated to the Farm because it's the Fables' highest law that they're not allowed to reveal their magical nature to any mundys.

In short, it's just a brilliant comic. Willingham balances all the folklore and magical stuff with enough real world sensibilities that it doesn't come off as goofy (unless he means it to) and the stories have been great so far. The first arc, collected in the "Legends in Exile" TPB, is about Bigby's investigation into the murder of Snow White's sister and it's one of the most thoroughly entertaining mystery stories I've read. The second arc, in the "Animal Farm" TPB, is about an uprising in the Farm. Also really good. Just buy the first TPB and you'll probably be hooked. It's not even that expensive; I got it at Waldenbooks for about $10.

I'm sold. I'll look for the trade at my shop next time I'm in.

 

[John Constantine]

Recently finished March of the Wooden Soldiers... noticed that issue #22 wasn't included in the trade... what's issue 22 about?

I figure it was a stand alone issue that interrupts the main story arc, but dammit, why didn't they include it at the end of something

Issue 22 was a stand-alone story that featured Bigby, Ichabod Crane, and Cinderella. Pretty good story actually I'm sure it'll be collected in a future TPB maybe

But onto the current storyline. Man did it kick so much ass. I'm loving the amount of changes the book has gone through since the first issue. I can honestly say that this is probably by favorite ongoing series at the moment

 

[Ben Urich]

I read the fourt TPB the other day, it was ****ing awesome. I did one of those "HOLY **** I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" things when I was done, where I just threw it across the room and sat there thinking about how awesome Bill Willingham is.
I think that

Spoiler

Gepetto

is the adversary. But it's almost too easy