Fables
2002
- fantasy comic books, strips
- comic books, strips
- legends
- adaptations
- comics & graphic novels, fantasy
- nyt:paperback-graphic-books=2012-06-17
The story
When a savage creature known only as the Adversary conquered the fabled lands of legends and fairy tales, all of the infamous inhabitants of folklore were forced into exile. Disguised among the normal citizens of modern-day New York, these magical characters have created their own peaceful and secret society within an exclusive luxury apartment building called Fabletown. But when Snow White's party-girl sister, Rose Red, is apparently murdered, it is up to Fabletown's sheriff, a reformed and pardoned Big Bad Wolf (Bigby Wolf), to determine if the killer is Bluebeard, Rose's ex-lover and notorious wife killer, or Jack, her current live-in boyfriend and former beanstalk-climber.
What it’s like
Clean inked linework and muted, rain-dark colour give this comic the feel of a noir case file set in a city of fire escapes, brownstone stoops and overheated apartment lobbies, with fairy-tale figures slipping through ordinary Manhattan streets. Panels are often tightly gridded, with long quiet beats of talk over coffee or cigarettes, then sudden jolts of action. The tone is wry and knowing, a murder mystery played half for melancholy and half for mischief, with dry jokes sitting beside real grief. The emotional arc follows a reluctant lawman trying to keep a fragile community of exiles together, and the way loyalty and old sins keep resurfacing. Violence is present and can be sharp: deaths are shown on the page and fights are brisk and bloody, though never lingered over for spectacle. Sexual content and nudity appear in adult scenes, and the themes of betrayal and cruelty run through the story. It suits a late-night reader who likes mystery with bite and fairy tales that have grown up, not anyone looking for something gentle or cosy.
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