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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “I've heard good things about this series and have almost picked it up many times over the past year or so. I finally broke down and grabbed a copy a couple of weeks ago and I'm really glad I did. |
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“Cool updating of the fairytale creatures of the past. Part murder mystery, part character study of the ancients characters living today just outside NYC in their own town. They had been kicked out by the ever-enalrging empire of the mundys, or mundanes (humans) and so had to go live underground and give all their possessions, castles, etc. So now they're in exile and it appears that Snow White's sister Rose Red has been brutally murdered in her apartment that she lives in with the randy Jack (of Beanstalk fame) and it is up to Bigby aka the Big Bad Wolf to solve the mystery. Meanwhile Snow White's ex (Prince Charming) is seducing mundies and Blue Bird is crossing swords with Cinderella. Much fun.”
Joe L wrote this review 10 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“a fantastic take on some well-loved classics!”
katrin c wrote this review 10 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Thrilling cop story that gives an unfair impression for the rest of the series. Nevertheless, a good read with very colourful characters!”
Anzu T wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I picked up the first volume of this collection because I had heard good things about it. The premise of taking the world of fairytales and blending it with our own seemed interesting enough, and I was curious to see how it would be approached.
Sofia Carvalho wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I have to say I wasn't terribly impressed with it. The artwork is decent, and I liked the back story about the exile of the fairytale characters from their homelands. In fact, if I ever get another book in this series, it will be because I'm interested in knowing more about that story, because the plot for this one certainly didn't cut it. Basically you have a mystery that is neither complicated, unexpected or, in my opinion, as relevant as the characters make it out to be. I finished reading this and pretty much thought, "Who cares?". And the way it was presented wasn't particularly interesting either. The overall feeling was one of underwhelming.
Still, I will probably read another one from this series, not only for the reason I have explained, but also because I want to understand why everyone seems to like it so much.”
“My favorite comic book series of all time, a modern masterpiece”
Turiboy wrote this review Saturday, November 14 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This is a really cute idea for a series. Some of the characters fall a little flat, but all the silly puns totally make up for it. I'm definitely going to try out the next volume, anyway - I've heard it picks up a little bit somewhere along the way.”
redmaynes wrote this review Monday, November 2 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“"Fables" is one of my favorite graphic novel series, and my husband and I harass the good people who order books for the Owatonna Public Library without shame until the latest has been purchased. Luckily, one of the librarians there is a graphic novel expert. This series modernizes fairy tales for adults. The exposition is that the land where all the fairy tale characters come from is under attack (by a "fable" or fairy tale character who is quite surprisingly revealed toward volume 8 or 9), so the fables are trying to assimilate in New York City. It's clever, engaging, and often worthy of a giggle or two.”
Mrs. C wrote this review Wednesday, October 28 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This graphic novel is about how fables are surviving in the real world after
Tollula wrote this review Tuesday, October 13 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
being exiled from Fableland when the adversaries take over. They have
to learn to live together and cooperate to survive. They maintain
their identities by forming an organization ruled by old King Cole and
administered by Snow White. When Snow White's sister is missing and presumed
murder it is up to Snow White and the Big Bad Wolf to solve the case.
All of your favorite charters show up in this story, Beauty and the
Beast, Cinderella, Prince Charming Pinocchio, Jack (and the beanstalk), etc. It was a fascinating read and fun to see what these characters would be like in
the real world.
”
0 of 1 members found this review helpful“The whole series is good, but way overrated. ”
Matt Jones wrote this review Wednesday, September 30 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No1 of 1 members found this review helpful“I've heard good things about this series and have almost picked it up many times over the past year or so. I finally broke down and grabbed a copy a couple of weeks ago and I'm really glad I did.
Okie wrote this review Friday, September 25 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I've enjoyed a lot of the "fairy tale retelling" stories that have been coming around lately, some more than others. What I found even more fun about this premise is that the fairy tale characters have been dislocated from their fairy tale worlds and are now living in our world…trying to 'fit in' but also striving to maintain their own identities.
The character development and presentation was excellent. I loved the adult depth given to these characters that are otherwise fairly 2-dimensional. Seeing Jack (of Beanstalk fame) as a conniving, lying, scheming, unsuccessful con-man of sorts was great. Snow White as the semi-snobbish clean cut acting-leader felt a little flat at first, but as the story went on and we saw more into her personality, she became even more intriguing. Prince Charming was great as the over-confident schmoozer. But my favorite had to be the portrayal of "Bigby" (as in "Big Bad" Wolf) as a sort of noir detective for the fairy tale folks. Having just recently read Red Harvest, I had a feel for the hard-boiled detective and really liked Bigby's portrayal.
The art in this novel was well done and a lot of fun. The central art was clean and nice and helped the story along….while at the same time, the artist had a lot of fun along the periphery by adding in small details that added humor or tension to the scenes and may not even be picked up on (I'm sure I missed a lot of the subtleties).
The story was engaging and very interesting. At the heart of this particular book (the first in the series), there was some focus on introducing us to the characters. By doing it through the course of a murder mystery, it allowed the author to provide backstory without it sounding like contrived monologues. The mystery itself was a lot of fun and very engaging. I wish I could say I had it figured out before the very end…but I can't. I did suspect something along the lines of what happened, but not exactly as it played out, which (in my opinion) is the way a good mystery novel should be framed (the reader shouldn't be able to figure things out too easily, but should feel like they came just inches behind the detective).
I was a little turned off by the amount of swearing in the book (I would love to have been able to share this with my kids, but the language will definitely make me keep it out of their hands for at least the next few years). There were a couple of scenes of violence which were a little over the top (especially for young readers), but weren't overly graphic or offensive. And the one "sex scene" and the couple of suggestive panels we in the PG to PG-13 range. Overall, a movie version of the book would probably receive a PG-13 rating, possibly pushed to R if they decided to overplay the language/violence or expound on the sex. If the language was toned down a bit, it could probably be a solid PG.
Overall, this was a great read and a very fun world filled with wonderful characters. I'm definitely planning to follow this series (from the B&N shelf, it looks like there are 10+ books already). I may have to increase my book allowance so I can catch up more quickly.
****
4 stars”
