This summer, I read comics

I've been reading a lot of comics this summer, and it's the greatest.

I just finished Ms. Marvel Vol. 3: Crushed and the series continues to be fun, as was Rat Queens Volume 2: The Far Reaching Tentacles of N'Rygoth. I love to read about girls kicking ass! (See also, Nimona) One thing I really appreciate about Rat Queens and Nimona is that it's fantasy kick-ass fun, but there's underlying basis of pain. It's not always there or the focus of the narrative, but it bubbles up to color the story in a way that's really compelling. (Plus, now I have an excuse to yell I'M A SHARK! and see who laughs--new bestie test)

Oh, and I also read Lumberjanes which I loved for it's kick-ass girls and silliness, but also its friendship and their long-suffering camp counselor. I love these girls as an ensemble and their relationships. FRIENDSHIP TO THE MAX for reals.


Also in ongoing series... Fables Vol. 22: Farewell happened. The final Fairest, Fairest Vol. 5: The Clamour for Glamour comes out on Tuesday, but Fables is done. This is the series that turned me onto comics and my feelings about it ending are so bittersweet. I'm going to miss these characters and their stories and their lives and how Willingham played with meta-fiction and what happens when you put fictional characters in the real world. At the same time, the final volume was wonderful. I think it was a fitting tribute and end to the series and, in many ways, it was a farewell. It wrapped up the narrative arc nicely, left some loose ends, but not ones that will drive me batty, and let the characters say goodbye (sometimes very literally). I have been nervous lately because the last few volumes have been a bit of a blood bath, and there is some of that here, too, but... it's good. It's really, really good. My only complaint is that it's done and I very selfishly want more, more, more, more. (Also, I asked my friends at Secret Stacks what I should read to fill the Fables void, and they got Bill Willingham himself to answer and zomg.)

But also, I've been reading some new series!

I read the entirety of Y: The Last Man because Bellwether Friends did an episode about it. I am in love with Saga (which was also a Bellwether recommendation) which is also by Brian K Vaughn, so I thought I'd pick up all the Y before listening to their episode, so I'd be able to better understand. Y is the story of what happens when suddenly, all males (human and animal) drop dead. Except for Yorick and his monkey Ampersand. Science and governments want Yorick, but he just wants to get from New York to Australia where his girlfriend-maybe-fiance was when the gender-cide hit, but it also explores what happens when a gender dies. You get radical feminist movement burning sperm banks, countries that had higher gender equality do better than those who had more men in charge, and also a lot of people in deep morning. Plus little things-- it hit at rush hour so a lot of the highways are clogged with cars and what do you do with that many dead bodies? It was really interesting and good. I like the way it explored the different aspects of this new world as well as all the different theories people had for what caused it. (People have feelings about the ending. It wasn't the ending I necessarily wanted, but I think it was good for the story, if that makes sense. Fangirl Jennie was "eh" but literary critic Jennie was "oh, yes.") Also, let's talk Saga. I've read the four volumes that are out now and so good. It's about love and family and survival against the backdrop of intergalactic war! And their nanny is a ghost. (Basically, star-crossed lovers from opposite sides of this inter-galactic war have a kid and everyone wants them dead because there can't be proof that the two sides can get along and all they want to do is live and survive as a family, but always running puts strain on a relationship!) Also, let's just talk about how the romance novels are also political tracts wrapped in love story, because a romance reader, YES. There is meaning and metaphor and all the other trappings of HIGH LITERATURE in romance (and really, all genre) but it gets written off so often, but not here. That warms my heart.

I've also picked up the first four volumes of East of West. It's this story of a futuristic alternate history US where the country's fractured into several other countries and there's a religious cult and Four Horseman of the Apocalypse are reborn, except for Death, because he's left them for love and it all ties back to this religious cult and a prophesy and it's weird and not quite my usual thing, but really good at the same time.

Also for something amazing, but a little different than my usual fare, Secret Stacks also recommended I check out Pretty Deadly which is also about Death falling in love with a person. But this time it's Death's Daughter who's riding for revenge. And there's a girl in a feather cape and old man who travel from town to town to tell her story. It's hauntingly surreal and I cannot wait for more. (Please tell me there's more!)

What comics are you reading?


Books Provided by... my local library, except for Fables, which I bought.

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Fairest: Return of the Maharaja

Fairest Vol. 3: The Return of the Maharaja Sean E. Williams, Bill Willingham, Stephen Sadowski, Phil Jimenez

Check it out! Prince Charming is alive! And back!

And that’s the best thing I can say about this volume.

After dying in the battle against the adversary, Prince Charming comes back (which we all knew he would eventually, right? He’s much too powerful) but doesn’t want to go back to the mundy and instead becomes a ruler in an Indus fable world. There he meets a woman, Nalayani, who’s come to ask for help. Her village lost all its men to the adversary and is now constantly being attacked by roaming bands and they’re about to be wiped out. Charming is also facing issues as there are those who aren’t fond of having a white foreigner ruling them.*

I do like Nalayani because she’s awesome, but she’s also a new character and not having lived with her for years, I just didn’t care as much about her as I did about Charming or some of the other Fables characters.

Charming… has lost a lot of character growth. When we first met him, he was an arrogant ass, but over the series he had mellowed and matured, but he’s reverted back to all jack-ass charm and lost what made him a deeper, more likeable character.

But here’s my real problem-- the great romances of Fables have all been a slow burn building up through multiple story arcs. If Charming is *finally* going to meet someone for him, someone “better” than Snow or Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty, we need the slow burn. We need to get to know Nalayani, we need to see them get to know each other and fall in love. The whole execution seemed rush and I never bought that Charming liked her more than he likes most awesome women, and Nalayani’s affections seem to turn on a dime. Overall, its was just really disappointing.


*this is problematic, as Charming is set up as the good guy, and those who aren’t into colonization are the bad guys. It's kinda worked out in the end, but ergh. But this whole issue is ergh, so...


Book Provided by... my wallet

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Fairest: Hidden Kingdom

Fairest Vol. 2: Hidden Kingdom Lauren Beukes, Bill Willingham, Inaki Miranda

This is a bit of a jump-back in time from where the main series is. With the “present day” happening in 2002, so the action is pretty firmly at the beginning of the series, with lots of flashback to Rapunzel’s back story.

So, like most fairy tales, Rapunzel has a dark edge that we tend not to retell. In the original, the witch discovers the prince because Rapunzel is pregnant. She casts Rapunzel into the desert where she gives birth to twins. The prince gets tangled in brambles trying to climb the tower, is blinded by the thorns and is also cast into the desert. They all wander around for like 20 years before they find each other, Rapunzel’s tears of joy cure his eyesight and only then do they all live happily-ever-after.

In the Fables world, Frau Tottenkinder is the witch that imprisoned Rapunzel. She casts her out, Rapunzel gives birth, and she’s told her children die during childbirth. She’s always known that they survived and has spent centuries searching for them. At one point, she tries to drown herself but washes up on the shores of a Japanese fable kingdom (named the Hidden Kingdom).

In the present day, she gets a message via attacking crane origami that there is news of her children. She meets up with friends and enemies from her old adopted homeland, and Tokyo’s version of Fabletown where the present is tied with the fall of the Hidden Kingdom to the adversary's forces.

I loved this one. I loved the look at Japanese mythology and fables, how they played in their homeland and how they survive in the modern Mundy world. I liked the old school “present day” with Jack running his schemes, Snow and Bigby in the business office and Frau Tottenkinder doing her thing on the 13th floor of the original building. It was a nice return to the beginning. But more than that, I loved Rapunzel’s story and her strength. We don’t see a lot of her, as she’s not allowed to leave Fabletown because of her hair and she’s been kinda shoved to the side in this series.

There’s also a tantalizing clue about the truth about her daughters, that I don’t believe we’ve seen the answer to yet. (I’m trying to rack my brain, as this happens so far in the past to see if we’ve seen them and not known it, or if they have yet to come up.)

This is my favorite volume in the Fairest spin-off series.

Book Provided by... my wallet

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

The Unwritten Fables

The Unwritten Vol. 9: The Unwritten Fables Mike Carey, Bill Willingham, Peter Gross, Mark Buckingham

I was so excited for the one. Tom Taylor is trying to fix Leviathan and ends up in the middle of the witches from the 13th floor of Fables (which is my favorite comic) But, in the end… ugh.

Basically, it’s an alternate Fables universe where Mr. Dark has won and the Fables are barely hanging on (most won’t survive.) This is how alternate it is--Snow White is married to Mr. Dark and they’re keeping Bigby prisoner (and Mr. Dark has conquered all of Earth and is moving on to other realms.)

As such, the witches summon the “greatest wizard who never was, but might be” and end up with Tom Taylor as a stand-in for Tommy.

Now it’s a great concept--Fables who know they’re fictional, but they’re real and living in our world intersecting with this story about the power of story and where the line between fiction and reality is, and where it blurs. And it kinda touches on it, but not nearly as much as it could have, or should have. Instead, it ends up being a dark AU piece of Fables story, in which they get Tommy, Sue, and Peter to help fight their battles. It’s a rather horrifying look* at what could have happened in Fables, and it’s so Fables-centric, I’m not really sure what’s the point of having it as an Unwritten story instead of a Fables one. The only thing it really does is end in such a dramatic fashion to set up the Unwritten reboot. Not sure what this does to all the stories and threads that we still have resolve. I kinda wonder if Carey and Gross wrote themselves into a corner and this was the only way to get out.

That said, this series has kept me guessing the entire time, so I’ll withhold final judgement until we see what happens with the reboot.(But at the moment, I'm rather discontented.)

*And given how dark Fables has been recently, that’s really saying something. ALSO, when announcing the upcoming end of Fables Willingham has said that what comes up in the Unwritten crossover has consequences and now I’m really scared.

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Graphic Novel Week: Fables

So, I think the last two volumes of Fables really work together, as they have overlapping timelines for the main story, so I'm going to review them together.

Fables, Vol. 18: Cubs in Toyland Bill Willingham

Fables Vol. 19: Snow White Bill Willingham

Cubs in Toyland starts in the with main story right away. Therese has a toy boat that takes her to be the Queen of Toyland, but Toyland is a dark, twisted place. It's the island of Misfit toys-- toys that were all involved in the death of a child. They have hopes for a Queen that will restore them, but there is no food to sustain Therese. Meanwhile, Snow, Bigby, and Therese's brothers and sisters are frantically searching for her. One will find her, with devastating consequences.

It then moves onto some back story on Bigby Wolf, and destiny.

The first third of Snow White takes place in Oz, wrapping up the storyline of Bufkin. It's a good end to the story, and it was dragging a bit there and needed to be wrapped up, but I will miss him greatly in the lost business office of the Fabletown.

The last part of the book is where the "Snow White" title of the Omnibus comes from and covers the same amount of time, showing what's happening in New York when Therese goes missing. Now, here's a very cool thing-- the magical car that we got out the end of Fairest: Wide Awake has appeared-- so Bigby and Stinky are off through worlds, tracking the missing cubs. Meanwhile, the fencing instructor from Castle Dark? The one that Mrs. Spratt/Leigh was into? Turns out, he's Snow White's fiance, pre-Prince Charming days and he's come to claim her. Snow's having none of it, but he has some powerful magic working there. This, too, has devastating consequences.


So, I wanted to look at these together, partly because I'm super-behind on reviewing, but this time it works out, because these volumes play out so well. The main storyline in each volumes actually ends with more-or-less the same panel. (The "camera angle" is a bit different, but the scene, and dialogue, are the same.) Both storylines are heartbreaking and they both bring back some of the magic that's been lacking a bit. I wasn't a huge fan of the whole Mr. Dark storyline (I just don't think it every really got going or had the same gravitas as the Empire in terms of the Big Bad.) I think this hits at a much deeper, more emotional level in a way I think is a first for the series.

I read Cubs in Toyland a full year ago, and Toyland is so creepy, it still gives me the heebie-jeebies. I love the way the storylines play on each other-- ending Snow White with that same panel is the ultimate gut punch in a gut punch of a book. I don't know if this series has every really made me cry, but both of these did.

Also, let's give a shout-out for Ambrose Wolf. He's obviously the "loser" or the pack, but adult Ambrose plays a large narrator role in these stories, and it's great to see a glimpse of who he's going to grow into. Maybe not a hero, but a pretty great stand-up scholarly guy (with a wife I have suspicions about. Check out the color of her skin--is it because it's nighttime and it's shadow? Or is she actually green, and quite probably the Lady of the Lake?)

And, I love that the Fairest series is weaving in a bit right now. In general, I like that Fairest is about stuff outside of Fabletown, but it's weaving in in small, interesting ways. I'm intrigued.

Anyway, this whole set is super powerful and moving and I need to TALK ABOUT IT. Hit me up if you want to discuss.

Question-- the cover artwork for Snow White looks a lot like it was probably an alternate possibility for the cover artwork for the new edition of Legends in Exile (aka, Fables #1). What is the symbolism there?

Also, I had forgotten about the end story in Cubs of Toyland until I started working on this review. I have some hope about things now. If you haven't read them yet, it's very relevant to what happens in Snow White. I think. I hope.



Books Provided by... my wallet

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Fairest: Wide Awake

Fairest, Vol. 1: Wide Awake Bill Willingham

A new spin-off series, this one focusing on the princesses. The main story arc picks up with a character who's been asleep for many, many issues.

Part of Fabletown's plan during the final showdown with the Adversary was putting the Imperial City of sleep with an ancient curse. All Sleeping Beauty had to do was prick her finger and the entire city would fall asleep until she was awoken with true love's kiss.

Enter a Bottle Imp with a master plan, a master thief (Ali Baba), a newly awoken Princess, and a newly awoken Snow Queen. The Snow Queen likes stories, and the Bottle Imp has one-- Sleeping Beauty's.

Y'all know how much I looooooooooove back story. And so much back story! I love how this one ties Sleeping Beauty's backstory with her newly awoken life. I love the mix of the Snow Queen with Ali Baba and the Bottle Imp. I love the look at what true love can mean in different circumstances--it's not always the fairy tale ending we wish for. And oooooo.... all the fairies! A great addition.

I also just really love what Willingham has done with princesses in general in this universe. Snow White is the tough as nails administrator who tamed the Big Bad Wolf. Beauty can't quite fill her shoes, but is no slouch. Cinderella seems all beauty and nice, but is a kick ass spy. Ozma looks like a child, but was able to step into Frau Tottenkinder's roles. So far, Sleeping Beauty has fallen asleep (but was willing to do so when strategically necessary). This one fleshes her out a little more.

And then, something that looks like a fun 50s comic noir, but turns into a SHOCKING revelation about one of our princesses.

I am looking forward to see where this series goes-- it's gotten off to a wonderful start.

Book Provided by... my wallet

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Werewolves of the Heartland

Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland Bill Willingham

Bigby is looking for a new place for Fabletown, someplace away from too many Mundys. On a tip from King Cole, he checks out Story City, Iowa, a place where Blue Beard had many investments. As he gets closer, he smells something in the wind that he recognizes, but can't place, which is troubling, but not as troubling as what he's about to discover.

Werewolves. Werewolves that are built from a Nazi experiment and faces from Bigby's time in WWII.

Ugh. Guys. I ordered this book over two years ago, as the release date kept getting pushed back. I had HUGE hopes for a hardcover one-off special story, all about Bigby.Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall is the only other hardcover one-off, and probably my favorite book in the entire Fables world. I was hoping for something of that caliber.

Sigh, it was not to be. The art is very pale and washed-out and that reflects the story, too. The political situation is not fleshed out enough, nor is the culture of Story City. There's lots of shape-shifting (werewolves!) so lots of nudity. To the point where it gets excessive. Overall, I just wanted so much more from this, and it failed to deliver. Maybe if it had been part of the regular arc, an omnibus of a 5-issue story arc with some other issues thrown in, it would be "not my favorite" in the series, but as a separate thing, it was disappointing, especially with all the build-up to it.

Book Provided by... my wallet

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Cinderella: Fables are Forever

Cinderella: Fables Are Forever Chris Roberson

Yay! More adventures in Cinderella's double life as one of Fabletown's spies! I love this other side to her!

As I mentioned on Monday, the closing scene of Inherit the Wind sets up the story for this one (although we start with a flashback, so it doesn't appear right away.)

The person who killed Kadabra is an old, old nemesis of Cindy's--one she thought she buried a long, long time ago. We start in the USSR, in the early 80s. Lots of sexy ladies in hot tubs. That was the last time Cindy met her old advesary.

Remember how I said we were going back to Oz? Meet Dorothy Gale, mercenary. We get some good backstory on her, too.

With Mr. Kadabra's death, many old secrets and enemies are coming home to roost, with issues involving the other Fable communities around the world. I like the backstory that flushes out these characters that don't quite fit into the main Fables narrative. I also love the deeper look at the international Fable politics.

PLUS! Anansi! ANANSI! What a wonderful surprise to see him turn up as a character.

I hope we see much more of Cinderella's adventures, as she really does open up the the Fables universe.

Plus, she knows how to fight.

Book Provided by... my wallet

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Fables

It's Fables week! I am horribly behind on reviewing this series. There are several spin-offs in this sprawling universe, so we can cover a different aspect every day this week. We're starting with Fables proper, and I have four omnibus editions to look at, so let's get started.

Fables Vol. 14: Witches Bill Willingham

Fabletown is destroyed by Mr. Dark. Some are trapped in the business office, but most have evacuated to the farm. The first issue focuses on Mr. Dark and a bit of his backstory. The main story arc involves the witches trying to find a way to defeat Mr. Dark. We get into the witches politics and there's a lot of Frau Tottenkinder, which is always WONDERFUL. Ozma and Buffkin also play a big role, setting up the rising role of Oz coming up. (It's kinda fun reviewing these books so late, because I've read other books in this series and other spin-off series, I can see the set up and how odd things come into play later... Willingham is a master at the slow, twisty plot that eventually all ties together.

The end is a story in about a baseball game in Haven. We get some of Fly's personal life and the tough choices of justice that a leader has to make. I love Fly so much. So very, very much.

Fables Vol. 15: Rose Red Bill Willingham

Things are getting complicated. More Dunstan and Bellflower. Promises between the Beast and the Blue Fairy that's going to cause MAJOR drama in the future (not that we've seen yet, but it's going to come 'round.) But the main focus is Rose Red. She's spent the past few issues in bed, depressed and guilty and unable to lead when the farm and the community needs her most. We get A LOT of backstory on Rose and Snow. I love backstory. There's a throwaway about a world in a teacup on the back of a turtle-- remember this.

There's so epic battling. I really like how this battle ends. A lot of little stories, a new enemy made AND! some fun bits at the end-- fan questions, a prose story, a game... lots of fun little bits for fans (because let's face it, if you've made it this far, you're a fan.)

Fables Vol. 16: Super Team Bill Willingham

This is pretty light-hearted compared to the last volume. Pinochio thinks he has the answer, found in the comic books he loves so much. Too bad he's more into the costumes and names than an actual plan...

But, the Dark storyline wraps up, but how it ends opens up a new can of worms, and we're brought back the heart of the Empire, to wrap up some sleeping ends that were left there in the war. And here's something that happens in the master plotting-- one of these storylines picks up in the next issue of Fables. The other picks up in the new series, Fairest, which I'll review in a few days.

Fables, Vol. 17: Inherit the Wind Bill Willingham

BACK TO OZ! Buffkin leads a band of rebels, but not too well. Shocking ending that has me waiting at the edge of my seat for Fables Vol. 18: Cubs in Toyland (comes out at the end of January.)

This big storyline is that one of the cubs has to be chosen as a successor for the North Wind. Bigby and Snow aren't happy about this, and either are the other cardinal winds who want to chose the successor--one they can control.

Christmas opens up a whole host of other issues and questions. One leads directly to Cubs in Toyland, one opens up new questions about Rose Red's new role, and I'm just waiting to see what happens with Nurse Spratt. That's something that's been simmering for a long time and I can't wait for that to explode.

Remember that turtle and teacup? We get a whole issue about that.

There's a backstory story about a magician in the Empire, back when the Empire still ruled the home worlds. He ends up dead on the farm, which seems odd, until you realize that the discovery of his body is the first scene in Cinderella: Fables Are Forever, which I'll review later this week.

Stay tuned for more of the Fables universe!

Books Provided by... my wallet

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love

Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love Chris Roberson

Here we go! This is the first Fables-verse story where Bill Willingham doesn't get top billing. In fact, he's not even on the cover. He's listed as a consultant on the title page...

Long-term fans of the series know that Cinderella appears as a flaky socialite, but is really one of Fabletown's top spies. Sometime after the war, before Fabletown is destroyed, Cinderella is sent on a mission to see who is smuggling guns into the Homelands and smuggling magic items into Mundy.

She has to team up with Aladdin and face some demons from her past...

Meanwhile, there's her cover life back in Fabletown, as the owner of a shoe store that she's too busy jetting around the world to actually work in. Crispin, her poor abused employee has some own ideas up his sleeves about what type of shoes they should be selling...

Very fun. I liked the adventure of it-- I fun spy story with some fun twists. I also liked the world of Ultima Thule (think East of the Sun, West of the Moon). The art was a little weird-- for the most part, it looked like most of the Fables art, but the Beast was a little off as was Cinderella in profile. BUT! I did like all the pink and how it was used to outline certain frames and panels.

And, of course we get more Frau Tottenkinder-- just what types of favors is she asking of Cinderella and will we ever find out?

Book Provided by... my wallet

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Fables: The Great Fables Crossover

Fables: Great Fables Crossover Bill Willingham

So, this collects not just the next few issues of Fables, but also the next few issues of Jack of Fables, and all four issues of The Literals. Over all 9 issues, we have the entire story where Jack and the literals end their battle once and for all.

Some updates on the Fables story-- Mr. Dark is still wrecking havoc in Manhattan and his evil presence if felt up on the farm-- Bigby, the Beast, and Clara are crankier than normal and we finally see Bigby and Beast throw down.

Jack gets the Fables to help in his fight, but first beds Rose, who refuses to get out of bed and run things because her depression over Blue's death. And many of the animals think Jack is Blue come back.

Jack's son, Jack Frost has come back to help and in order to get rid of him, Jack Horner sends him on a quest to prove his worth. (Waaaaaay too many Jacks here!)

Of course, my favorite bits are the the parts with Kevin Thorne and the literals. There's the comedic value of how Kevin keeps trying to write Bigby out (and turn him into a pink elephant) but I most enjoyed the gathering of the genres and the roles they play in the battle.

I just like meta-fiction, and when meta-fiction elements go into battle against what they've created... well... it's pretty fun. Especially because if Kevin wins, he wipes us all out so he can rewrite the story from the beginning...

A really fun way to do the crossover-- a good flavor of both series and a good finish to the storyline...

Book Provided by... my wallet

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Peter and Max

Peter & Max: A Fables Novel Bill Willingham

This is a new one for the fables-verse... a novel. There are a few black-and-white illustrations by Steve Leialhoha-- more than you usually get in an adult novel, sure, but not nearly as many as we're used to because this is a comic book series...

So, how does the jump to straight prose work? Really, really well.

You don't have to be a Fables reader to enjoy this one (although after the epilogue, there are 8 pages of comics, an epilogue to the epilogue if you will, about the war, so if you want that to make sense, you should be up on your Fables. Or ask me. I'll explain it to you. But you should really just go and read the series, ok?) If you are a Fables reader, this book takes place in the two years leading up to the war against the Empire.

Anyway, you know Peter as the boy who ate a peck of pickled peppers and who kept his wife in a pumpkin shell. Both of which aren't true, of course, but have their roots in reality. His older brother, Max, is the piper who stole all the children of Hamlin.*

Peter's family were musicians and Peter was the most gifted. His father gave him Frost, a magical pipe that plays beautifully, but will cut your lips with its razor-sharp mouthpiece. It must stay in the family and can, for each owner, drive away danger three times.

Max never forgave his father for for giving Frost to Peter, the younger son. When the Empire's forces come knocking, the family is scattered and Max's heart is twisted to a point of no return-- so horribly that he can make a mildly magic flute into an instrument of pain and suffering.

Peter ends up as a thief in Hamlin, his long-lost friend Bo Peep, one of Hamlin's deadliest assassins. But Max and Empire are looking for them, and they have to find a way to escape to the Mundy world, our world.

The book flips back and forth between their story in the Homelands and the Mundy world in the modern day, for Max has come to the Mundy Hamlin, and it's time for Peter to end this for once and for all.

Exciting and heartbreaking, a very in-depth story about life in the Homelands and life under the Empire and how two Fables escaped, and how, despite the amnesty, fleeing to the Mundy world doesn't solve everything, even centuries later...

Really, this is up there with Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall for my favorite Fables book.

*What is it with Frau Tottenkinder and the children? I really want more of her story. Hopefully in Fables, Book 14: Witches?

Book Provided by... my wallet

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Jacks' Big Book of War

Jack of Fables Vol. 6: The Big Book of War Bill Willingham

Basically, this is just a lead-up to the Fables Vol. 13: The Great Fables Crossover which will deal with those literals once and for all.

I don't enjoy the Jack spinoff series nearly as much as I enjoy Fables, but I do like the concept of the literals-- characters populating the world who have the power to delete and rewrite.

In events that have been twisting for a few volumes now, Mr. Revise and the Page sisters are on the same side as the Golden Boughs Fables in their battle against the Book Burner.

Lots of battle in this one. But, really, it's a place holder book, helping build up to the final battle.

Although, I did like the twist at the end when we find out who Jack's parents are. HA! HA! HA!

I also enjoy all the forgotten Fables that have been locked up at Golden Boughs.

Book Provided by... my wallet

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Fables: The Dark Ages

It's Fables week here at Biblio File!

I love this series and the various spin-offs. I'm also really, really behind in reviewing it, so let's take the entire week to head down to Bullfinch Street and up the farm and maybe even back to the Homelands to see how things are going ok?

First up is...

Fables Vol. 12: The Dark Ages The Dark Ages

I just cannot talk about this book without MASSIVE SPOILERS. So sorry, but. I'm also not going to hide the spoilers because this book has been out for a year now, longer if you read them issue by issue instead of omnibus form, like I do.

So, if you haven't read it yet, what are you waiting for? I've read other reviews that didn't like it that much, while I absolutely LOVED it, so... go read it and then come back.

Now, down to business...

So, we have 4 stories in this one, but I'm really only going to talk about the 5-issue "Dark Ages" arc which sets up Fabletown's next crisis-- with the Empire fallen, dark forces are loose and Fabletown's in more danger than ever. We also say goodbye to some pretty major characters here.

1. Prince Charming's funeral. Interestingly, there's no talk of him coming back, although he's a very important fable, having a staring role in many very popular stories.

2. KAY! Poor Kay. He was never a major character in the series, and I'm not sure he's entirely dead, because Mr. Dark is pretty scary and weird, so... I'm more than a little worried about what it means that Kay's now under his control.

3. Blue. Blue dies horribly and it's sad and awful. There is a lot of talk about him coming back-- everyone's worried because while he was very important to Fabletown, in the mundy world, he just got 1 minor nursery rhyme. No one knows if it will be enough.

With everyone now living on the farm, there is also more to the discord that led to the problems in Fables Vol. 2: Animal Farm. There is also a lot of discussion on who gets to come back and why.

Sadly, none of these issues has been touched on again in what's come out in the last year. (To be fair though, we've only gotten 1 volume of Fables proper since then, and it was a cross-over with Jack and solves Jack's major storyline. But I'm hoping we'll see more in Fables, Book 14: Witches, which comes out in December.)

So many interesting questions raised in this issue concerning the nature of the Fables.

Because, looking back at the series, we never see any Fables come back from the dead, the popular ones are the strong ones and they're just really, really, really, really hard to kill. So they never die in the first place.

So, what do we think? Are Charming and Blue gone for good? Or will we see them again? And what about Kay?

Book Provided by... my wallet

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Bigby Wolf is my HERO

The song for today is I Don't Care (Live) by Draco and the Malfoys. Yes, it's a wizard rock song! And today, it makes me happy.

You look like a fool
No you don't look cool
When you're running around, caring about stuff

I don't care about the world
(some line I can never understand)
I only care about myself
And my family, 'cuz they give me stuff.

So, that's not related to my post today, but I wanted to share it.

Anyway, welcome back to Graphic Novel week! Today, we're going to catch up on the Fables series (and its spin off, Jack of Fables) by Bill Willingham. I have a lot to review. I'm mixing the 2 series up, reviewing in order of publication.

Jack of Hearts (Jack #2)

Um, I read this like, a year and a half ago. We start with a story about how Jack seduced the Snow Queen and became Jack Frost. Then a story arc about Jack's adventures in Vegas. Lots of gambling and women. Jack loses his money, regains it. My favorite part was Lady Luck, personified.

The Good Prince (Fables #10)

Oh, this has to be one of my favorite volumes so far, after 1001 Nights of Snowfall. This is King Ambrose's story (you may know him as Fly Catcher. After Santa made him remember, he knows what he has to do, and shoulders the burden. I don't want to get too much into it, but... oh. It's wonderful and heartbreaking and if you like this series at all, you must get at least as far as this volume! I also really liked the page borders in this story arc--very well done, especially the candy canes and cookies whenever Frau Tottenkinder was on the scene!

The book does take a break in the middle for an interlude with Snow and Bigby's kids turn 5. It was a cute story that comes up again in the next Jack volume, but... my characters look a certain way. This issue was drawn by Aaron Alexovitch. It threw me at first because that's now what Snow White looks like! (Although I did like her curls...) I'm a big Alexovitch fan, but I do get set in my ways. What I did like though, is this story made me expose my first symptom of comic book geekery-- I knew Alexovitch drew it as soon as I saw the first few panels. After becoming familiar with his style for what he drew for Minx (Kimmie66, which wrote and drew, and Confessions of a Blabbermouth, which he drew) I can now spot his distinctive style at 20 paces.

The Bad Prince (Jack 3)

Given the parallelism in titles, I did want more parallelism in stories between this and The Good Prince, which came out around the same time this omnibus did. But, this does tie Jack back into Fables. Something minor that happened in the birthday party issue has major consequences for Jack.

Even better, remember a really long time ago (Volume 5, The Mean Seasons) when there was that guy who remembered the invasion of the wooden soldiers? (Not the reporter that thought they were vampires, the other Mundy who seems to have a clue) Well, he's back, with back story.

Anyway, I'm still trying to figure out the significance of the tie-in (I don't want to spoil it--sorry for being cryptic). I still haven't figured out how I feel about the Jack spin-off yet. It's not as strong as Fables, but I think it has hope, but I'm afraid that might just be wishful thinking.

War and Pieces

After being built up for so long, even though it takes a full volume, the coming war finally came and was... a little anti-climactic. But, I think the only way they could have made it not so would be to stretch it over several omnibus volumes, which means a million individual issues (Fables, is, after all, still published as your standard comic book.)

I'm glad though, now that the war is over, that this isn't the last of the series, I want to see what else happens to these people.

Also, one word on one of the casualties, here at the spoiler blog.

Americana (Jack #4)

So, after the promise of the last volume of Jack, I thought this would be full of the war. Nope, just Jack running around various pockets of American mythology and urban legend, trying to stay ahead of Revise. Babe the Blue Ox, however, was quite hysterical.

New volumes of each series are coming!

Jack of Fables Vol. 5: Turning Pages is scheduled for March 10th (That's Tuesday!)

Fables Vol. 12: The Dark Ages is scheduled for August!

Way back in July, Weekly Geeks was having people ask questions about our unreviewed books. Jack of Hearts was on my unreviewed list, and I got some questions!

Nymeth asks:
What did you think of Jack of Fables? Do you recommend being up to date on the Fables series before picking it up?

I'm still torn on it. For the first few, it's ok if you're behind on your Fables, but don't read The Bad Prince without being up to The Good Prince!

The Books with the Pretty Pictures

I can't believe that I forgot to mention one minor highlight of my time at ALA. The one time I really, really wished that I had my camera on the exhibit floor was when I saw Matthew Lesko. And yes, he was wearing the question mark suit. It was kinda awesome. Times like that make me wish I had a camera phone, but for my birthday, I'm holding out for a hammock and a new messenger bag, because mine's lived a good life but is falling apart...

Me: I want a hammock for my birthday
Him: A hammock? All you're going to do is lie in the backyard all day with a cold drink, reading
Me: Exactly...
All laugh

Anyway, back on the topic of books? I'm over at Geek Buffet today talking about dumbing down the classics for kiddies.

And because what sparked the post was a graphic novel of Beowulf I thought I'd talk about some more graphic novels.

I've been really, really looking forward to the new volume in the Fables series, Fables Vol. 9: Sons of Empire, as regular readers are well aware. I got in on Wednesday night, and read it right away. I was not disappointed.

If nothing else, it's pretty long-- it might be the longest volume in the series and is definitely longer than the last few installments. The Adversary is trying to recover from Bigby's attack on the sacred grove. They have terrible plans to destroy Fabletown and the mundane world where it's found. Several of the small, tangent, one-off stories from the past are being worked into the main plot. For instance, Rodney (from "The Ballad of Rodney and June" from Fables Vol. 7: Arabian Nights (and Days), is now being worked into the main plot. Several of the back stories from Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall are now becoming important...

There are also several little short side stories-- not full plots, but a few pages here and there about residents of Fabletown we haven't quite met yet, and, it looks like another human might be gumming up the works. I'll be honest, the bulk of this book is short little asides, not the main plot. But it sets up a lot of tension for what's to come. This is the calm before the storm, but the storm clouds are there and the wind is whipping up...

There are a few Christmas stories (which pretty much meld into one long story arc). We find out why Santa lives at the North Pole and how he manages to hit everyone's house on Christmas Eve... and I have a feeling the Christmas stories are going to become very important later on-- something big is brewing.

At the end, we get a short little section where the writers answer some reader's questions...

My only complaint is that the last half of the Christmas stories and the reader's questions is drawn by a different artist than normal. It was a little jarring because it wasn't a reinterpretation of the characters like in Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall but everyone, especially Snow White and Bigby, just looked a little... off. A minor quibble though.

Fables continues to deliver high quality and smart stories. If anything, the series continually gets better-- now onto the agonizing wait for the next one.

GRAPHIX

So, I was really, really, really looking forward to coming home from class tonight and reading Sons of Empire. But it wasn't waiting for me on my doorstep. Publication is getting pushed back to August. UGH. Don't the good people at Vertigo know that I was counting on that to hold me over until Love Is a Many Trousered Thing comes out in early July? Which was in turn holding me over until THE BIG ONE?

sigh

Well, to commemorate my misery, here's a post of graphic novels and similar...

Jack of Fables Vol. 1: The (Nearly) Great Escape by Bill Willingham

Jack is a new Fables spin-off series. Jack was too big for Fable Town and was living the high life in LA, but now he's been kidnapped and forced into retirement by Mr. Revise-- the head librarian. Mr. Revise doesn't like Fables that are too big for their britches and holds them in his compound until the Mundies forget them, thereby stripping them of their power. This is where Mother Goose now lives. But, we know Jack, and nothing can hold him.

If you like Fables, you'll like Jack. It's along the same lines with the same new spin and smart humor.

I also want to add that I spent the entire book trying to place Sam the maintenance main. It wasn't until the end, when he did his thing with the tigers, that it clicked.

Miki Falls: Spring Mike Crilley

I don't read a lot of manga. It tends to not be my thing, but there was a question about this at work, so I picked it up. Now I can't wait until Miki Falls: Summer

So, it's Miki's first day of her senior year in high school when she meets the new boy in town, Hiro. Hiro pushes everyone away and doesn't want to make friends, or fit in. Miki knows there's something behind his tough exterior and wants in. Slowly, she starts chipping down his walls, only to find a really deep, big secret.

I was kinda blase on this until I found out what the secret was. Which I can't say, because that would totally ruin the book. But it's a really interesting concept that has me enthralled. Definitely on the girly side of things, I'm hooked.

Chicken with Plums Marjane Satrapi

I fell in love with Marjane Satrapi's work this spring. Chicken with Plums is a short book looking at an Iranian musician's final days. After his wife breaks his tar during an arguement, Nasser Ali Khan can not find a new one he likes the sound of. Eventually, being unable to find a new instrument to play, he loses the will to live, and decides to die. In the eight days until his death, Satrapi (his great-niece) chronicles his dreams and hallucinations, illuminating his past and the future of his family.

The same elements that make Satrapi's previous works great are at play here, with the element of mystical realism, and heartbreak. Her art tends to be stark, which adds to the bleakness that Nasser Ali, and the reader, feels as he waits for Death to come to him.

You Can Never Find a Rickshaw When It Monsoons - The World on One Cartoon a Day Mo Willems

Those of us who are hep to kidlit best know Mr. Willems from such fantastic titles as Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, and Leonardo, the Terrible Monster. That last one is one of my favorites for storytime-- especially that temper tantrum bit in the middle. I really get into that one.

Anyway, back in the day, before he started writing hilarious children's books that adults enjoy almost as much as children, but on a whole different level, back when Willems was just a recent college grad not entirely sure what to do with this life... he took a trip around the world. Instead of keeping a traditional travel journal, at the end of each day, Willems drew one cartoon. His cartoons tend not to cover the big tourist things, or the splendor of a country, but rather those little moments that make travel so awesome and perfect. Most cartoons had a caption and Willems has added modern day captions and commentary as well.

Some of my favorites were from December 9th, "While ordering lunch, make a mental note to learn the Thai word for 'chicken'" or July 3, "Old enough to smoke, young enough to play hide and seek."

Dave Barry's introduction is also hilarious and sets the book up perfectly.

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl Barry Lyga

Donnie's the geeky scrawny kid who's always getting picked on in dodgeball with the gym teacher never noticing, or caring. His best friend is a super-cool jock, so they can't hang out together at school (even though I got the feeling this is mor Donnie's imagining of an unspoken rule that his friend really didn't care about). His mother is pregnant and won't let anyone come over to the house, and he hates his stepdad. The only real comfort he gets is from reading comic books and drawing his own. Then, one day, the goth girl, Kyra enters his life and everything changes.

Boy meets amazing/weird girl who changes everything has been a trend I've noticed a lot in YA books recently. Maybe this is the boy equivelent of the girl story of girl cruches after hott popular guy and never realizes until the end that her best guy friend is her prince charming after all...

I liked this book. Donnie's voice is sharp and authentic. And Lyga's love of comic books shows through, which is why I'm including it in this post, even though it's not a graphic novel.

Also, I have 17 books checked out from the library and another 6 borrowed from other people. So, the first part of my "read what you own, doofus" challenge is to, well, read those 23 titles. I'm halfway through the biggest, slowest going one, Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France.