Don't read Fables. Seriously. Don't even try.
The central idea is wonderful, if not wholly original:
characters from fairy tales, folklore and children's stories are all real and
have been living in New York for decades. A simple idea that someone even
mildly creative could do spectacular things with. Sadly, someone even mildly
creative didn't pitch the idea to Vertigo. Bill Willingham did.
The first few issues follow an uninspiring murder mystery
setup. Fable policeman Bigby (a human Big Bad Wolf) is roped in as lead
investigator. While it's not exceptional the story does a good job of
introducing the lead characters and the premise of the book. You're left to
assume things will pick up in the next batch of issues.
They don't. The murder mystery is followed by a listless
rehash of Animal Farm, an unengaging Civil War tale, and the story of a journalist
discovering the true nature of the Fables. Along the way hints are dropped as
to the history of all the characters and the hows, whys and wherefores of them
being in NYC. Sadly it all feels cackhanded, forced in because Willingham's
more interested in the backstory that what he's actually writing.
In one sense this isn't too bad. Hints of what's gone
before can often be interesting, fleshing out characters and the world they
inhabit. But Willingham goes too far and leaves you wondering why he just
didn't start the book with his cast escaping from the Homeland. The answer to
that is obvious of course: because it’s not an interesting enough story. It's
the contemporary setting that gives Fables its appeal. That the escape pitch
wouldn't have been enough to sustain the comic in its own right should have
told Willingham to leave it at enigmatic hints.
The biggest failing of the book is Willingham not knowing
what to do with his ideas. He's unsure whether he wants to try writing a contemporary
anthology series starring well known characters with their more interesting
tropes emphasised or a sprawling meta-mythology that encompasses every story
ever told, like a fairy tale League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. That both ideas
can't coexist in one title and he can't choose between the two means he ends up
writing neither satisfyingly.
Artist Mark Buckingham’s artwork is best described as
reliable. It’s not bad but it’s not going to wow anyone who’s ever read a comic
before. It feels workmanlike. Some of the less identifiable characters can
often become muddled with each other. It’s not the book’s biggest problem but
it still makes it tough to enjoy.
I read the first eleven volumes of Fables as well as a
number of its ludicrously abundant spin-off media. It was frustrating. Good
ideas constantly cropped up but went underdeveloped or veered off in ill-conceived
directions. Even though I generally rate good ideas over anything else in a
comic I couldn't stand the approach here. There was nothing to latch onto but
an endless cycle of disappointment.
Please avoid this series. You'll regret reading it.
