Graphic Novel Review: Fables, Vol. 2: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham

Fables, Vol. 2: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Fairy tales

Publisher: Vertigo

Date of Publication: August 1, 2003

Author Information: Website | Twitter

 

 

Tiara's Rating: 3 of 5 stars - This volumes adds another important struggle to the fables' life (conformity versus nonconformity), one that I hope will be touched on continuously throughout the series and not promptly forgotten.

Coming on the heels of the first volume, Jack and Rose Red are serving community service for the stunt they pulled. Snow White takes her sister to The Farm, a place where fables who can't blend with human society because of their looks are sent. Snow says the trip would give them some sister time to resolve their issues and that she thinks it's important that Rose visit The Farm to see how others in their community live. Naturally, Rose is resistant to the idea. When they arrive at the farm, the sisters realize that things are a little off in the idyllic community, and soon find themselves embroiled in bitter politics.

In this volume, we see a naïve side to Snow. She believes that, because they try to make The Farm as comfortable as possible, there's no reason for the fables that live there to be unhappy. She doesn't look beyond the material assistance they provide the fables there. Therefore, she can't see that some things aren't made better by throwing money at it. There are things that are worth far more than things such as freedom, independence, and dignity. It frustrated me a little bit just how far the depth of her naïveté went. It took Snow an extremely long time to grasp that things were more than a little strange there. I could understand her not grasping what was happening at first, but as these troubling things continued to happen, she still didn't get it. I just think Snow is smarter than that.

In a way, it's a little ironic that Snow took Rose there in hopes of making her aware of this part of the community, but she is the one who leaves with a new awareness about The Farm and how the inhabitants feel about it. I hope that this aspect doesn't just stop here because this adds an important struggle to their story. Every book doesn't need to be about this, but this isn't something that should promptly be forgotten. I think this will be something visited again in the future if I'm to judge by some of the panels.

This volume also adds another facet to Snow and Rose's relationship. We learn a little more about how deeply these old hurts run. It was a relief to see that Charming wasn't their main problem. I didn't want this to be yet another story about women falling out because of a man. It's too easy, so while Charming did play a part in their rift, the damage had been done long before him. (I will concede the main reason may be a bit cliché, as well, though.) Also, I appreciated that there's acknowledgement that it's going to take time for the two women to regain their former closeness instead of them hugging it out over ice cream in just one volume. I hope this relationship will truly be explored and restored over the course of the series.

I recently played the first episode of Telltale's The Wolf Among Us (if you like interactive fiction type games, I highly recommend this and The Walking Dead Game by Telltale), which is based on these comics. I loved the direction the game took and decided to jump into the second volume of the series. However, I'm still not quite as taken with this series as I want to be. I think the idea of it and the characters are interesting, and I'm a big fan of imaginative retellings. But there's something about the story that's not quite engaging me as much as I feel it should. And I can't quite put my finger on what it is. Hopefully, my feelings will change to be more positive as I continue to read the story. Wait, did I say that in my last review?

3 of 5 stars

Comic Review Bites

Mystery Society by Steve Niles and Fiona Staples

A sexy couple with the means and the motivation to solve some of the more unusual crimes are recruiting members for their new Mystery Society. Conveniently, a ghoul named Secret Skull and Jules Verne's brain encased in a quirky robot body apply for the job. Add the atomic twins that Nick Mystery rescues from Area 51 and we have the makings of a really fun team.

Unfortunately, in spite of Fiona Staples' fantastic artwork, this great concept falls flat with sub-par plotting, sub-par subplotting, a lack of mystery, an annoying antagonist and rather lame attempts at wit and humour. This comment is very negative, but I'd like to think that it's a negative with a lean to the positive. As in, I can see a lot of potential for good old fashioned tongue-in cheek mystery wagon fun with this book, if it can stop trying so hard and just relax and enjoy itself.

2.5 of 5 stars

We3 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely

Three lost pets are turned into war machines but as prototypes, their phase of the test program is complete and WE3 are set for termination. Their chief handler disapproves of this and gives them the means to escape their fate. Out in the world, they deal with their hunters with brutal precision that reflects their individual natures but in their hearts and minds is a single word: "home."

I think a true animal lover will find this book even more gut-wrenching than I did, but I can definitely appreciate the emotions attached to it, especially with the lost pet posters that begin each chapter.

This was recommended to me when I asked for a good Grant Morrison story. The story idea was really good and I liked that there was not a lot of dialogue and exposition. Morrison truly allowed the art to speak and Quitely delivered admirably. I loved the way the visuals begin from a pet's eye view and I loved the unique splash pages, particularly the one that separated the page into a mosaic of frightening violence.

3.5 of 5 stars

X-Men: Magneto Testament by Greg Pak and Carmine Di Giandomenico

The best thing about this series is that it is not about a superhero/villain or mutant, but about a very human boy forced to become a man during the Holocaust. We've always known about Magneto's past, but we've never seen it. Not like this. I kept wondering if and when his powers would manifest, as we've seen in various other incarnations of his story, but the harsh reality is ... painful.. and educational.

4 of 5 stars

Daytripper by Fábio Moon, Gabriel Bá

Daytripper by Fábio Moon

"This is a story about life."

That is one of the taglines for this book and it became my initial review because I could find no other words to express how I felt after closing the final chapter. I could not stop the tears and even as I'm writing this months later, I find myself welling up again.

Brás de Oliva Domingos is the son of a famous Brazilian author, who wishes to become a famous author himself, even as he tries to avoid his father's shadow. Brás works for the local newspaper, writing obituaries, highlighting the important moments in the lives of people who never knew. But what about his own life? What are the most important moments in his life? Was it his miraculous birth? A first kiss? Has his life truly begun yet?

What if?

Each chapter is a page out of Brás' life, a time where one decision was made instead of another and the consequences that follow. Each chapter ends in someone writing his obituary after the events play out. The first time it happens, it was shocking, but as the chapters progressed, knowing what was to come, my heart would fill with trepidation and I would find myself hoping...just hoping.... Until the final chapter's bittersweet release.

I really don't want to say anymore without spoiling the story because I feel this book is an emotional experience a reader has to go through for themselves. And when you are done, ask yourself:

"What are the most important days of your life?"

5 of 5 stars

Fables, Vol. 1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham

Fables, Vol. 1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham

I've had friends who have been trying to get me into Fables for years, and I was very receptive to the idea because as a comic book lover I want to be introduced to new comics. However, the problem with being a bibliophile is that my "to be read" list is like a living, breathing, amorphous thing that is constantly changing and expanding. It's very easy for me to have the best intentions of reading something I'm very interested in sooner rather than later, but many times I end up being distracted by some other book and not picking up a planned read until much later. And I was very interested in Fables. I'm a big fan of imaginative retellings of stories whether it's about history, the gods or, as in this case, classic fairytales.

The inhabitants of fairytale land have been driven from their homes by a powerful force named Adversary. For centuries, these inhabitants have lived in New York City where they lead double lives. To the outside world, to mundanes (a word used for ordinary citizens in the same vein as the X-Men's term "flatscan"), they appear to be regular human beings. However, beneath the facade, they follow their own rules as handed down by the "permanent" mayor, Old King Cole, and his second-in-command, Snow White, who is often left to handle messes. King Cole is quite the merry old soul and prone to empathy while seemingly not having the stomach to handle the true pressures of being a leader. He leaves difficult decisions to Snow's discretion.

They try to rule the folk fairly and in ways that will keep them safe, adhering to very strict laws about what is and isn't tolerated. One of the first rules we learn is: to live in the city, they must look normal. Glamours are available that will make a creature look human. The creatures who can't afford a glamour are shipped off to a place called "The Farm" because there is no way to hide them from the mundanes, and many of the folk have lost their fortunes due to having to flee their homes. So, many of them don't have the resources to help.

I enjoyed the story. I wasn't bowled over by it, but that's often the case with many introductory comics. There's a little bit of build up that has to go into getting a story like this one running. However, while introducing readers to some key players and elements in the comic, Willingham does incorporate a story that showcases the personality of the characters by having Snow's rebellious sister, Rose Red, disappear with the presumption that she may be dead. Bigby Wolf (the Big Bad Wolf glamoured and I already have a soft heart for the redemption angle that's been alluded at with him) is the acting sheriff for the folks and investigate's Rose's death.

I enjoyed what Willingham did with some of the characters I met. Jack of the Jack and the Beanstalk fame is a con artist. I can't help but like him, though. He's that petty con that always gets into a scheme when it's too late to be profitable. He's more bumbling than dangerous, and it seems that him and Rose Red, who loves to party, often get into trouble together if I have to go by Snow's exasperation.

I really loved what Willingham did with Prince Charming. So many princesses in fairytales marry a Prince Charming. In this story, he's the same person and has been married multiple times and could charm the venom from a snake if you left him at it long enough. One of the three little pigs, the one with the straw house, regularly crashes at Bigby's place when he escapes The Farm as a "reminder" of Bigby's strive toward redemption. Snow is just all around great. Smart as a whip and willing to make the hard decisions as fairly as she can even if she has to tread some vague lines.

There's something dated about the art to me, though. I keep having 80's comics flashbacks. It's not bad, but it just sometime made me feel like I was reading a story that's much older than this really is. Anyhow, I'm intrigued at this point, and I will continue to read the series and see if it becomes a "must read" for me.

Final Verdict: 

3 of 5 stars