Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities FABLES (Spoilers Possible For the TPB Folks)

I'd say Fables has been in a bit of a slump ever since issue 100 when we got what first seemed a rousing end to the Mister Dark saga. When that was revealed to be false, we instead got the ending a few issues later, and it really let us down, imo. "Inherit the Wind" was decent but still lacked a certain something. "Cubs in Toyland" has draaaaaaaagged.

I'd say the brightest spot since 100 was the spotlight on Bufkin. The recent backups have been too short and inconsequential by themselves and haven't delivered on the promise the storyline showed.

I'd say we need more Rose Red. And this series has definitely missed Boy Blue and Prince charming since they exited the stage. And, yeah, we need some new characters to spice things up.

I started getting individual issues (instead of trades) around issue 100. Fables has definitely disappointed since I made the switch.

I got to meet Bill Willingham at NYCC this weekend and I suggested Lucy Clifford's "Anyhow Stories" as something that could be featured in Fables.

A not-too-bad ending for Cubs in Toyland. It wasn't my favourite arc; there's been a lot of focus on Snow and Bigby's kids. Time for some adult Fables.

I've enjoyed Fairest, though, more than I expected. Some good twists on Beauty's backstory and the current Rapunzel arc had a few eye-openers for her history. I enjoy seeing Jack of Fables in a supporting role, as a main character he's just too much the one-trick pony - but great as a sidekick.

The current Rapunzel story in Fairest has actually been pretty good, IMO. I love the twist connecting her to the "ghost girl in the well" mythology of Japan, and the sequence of events shown was incredibly creepy. In just a few issues, Rapunzel has been developed into a fully realized character with several layers to her, and I'm anxious to see more.

Meanwhile, I'm enjoying the Bigby two-parter in between arcs in the main Fables title. I'm anxious to get back to the larger cast of characters but I kind of needed a refresher story after the tedious Cubs in Toyland.

Fables #124 was the best issue of that comic in quite some time. After the anti-climactic conclusion of the Mr. Dark saga, the underwhelming "Inherit the Wind" arc and the borderline awful "Cubs in Toyland", this issue was a breath of fresh air!

124 serves as basically the coda to the Bufkin/Oz saga which has mostly played out in a series of 2- to 3-page backups over the last year. The back-ups suffered, imo, for their brevity and often lack of much story progression from chapter-to-chapter.

But THIS...that it was all leading to this GREAT single issue makes it all worth the while! I expected some sort of status quo-reset here, but without going too far into spoiler territory, we instead get a (apparently) final appearance of a beloved character (or characters) that is just an absolute joy to behold! I really just want to go into how cool mode and list off the many things that were so great about this story, but I certainly don't wanna spoil this great story for anyone that will read it in the trade.

Suffice to say that this was as fun, moving and entertaining a Fables story as I've read in too long a time and one of the best of the series in its own way. I just HAD to comment on it in some fashion after reading it!

Well done, Bill Willingham (and Shawn McManus)! Thanks for showing us you haven't lost your touch!

The Bufkin-Lily story was excellent. I really didn't get into the tale as the backstory, but the wrap-up was interesting, funny and inventive.

I was just about to cancel Fables, but that issue and the last two with Snow and Bigby have picked up the pace a bit.

Agree on both counts. All those backups, which had me hemming and hawing with interest, were worth the absolutely final Bufkin / Lilly issue.

And the subsequent latest story seems to be regaining some lost momentum.

I'm also enjoying the Rapunzel story in Fairest. I like blending her into Japanese mythology and tying her into the "ghost girl in the well" myth (a la The Ring).

Yes, this is more than just a step in the right direction! What do I mean? The new "Snow White" Storyline has everything that made this book so damn awesome! After over a year of mediocre stories, we are now finally back with the big guns - and I'm really on the edge of my seat to see Snows predicament, this story is reaching me on an emotional level like a good story should! Finally, Fables is getting back in shape. I really do not remember where the substory with Ghepetto and the Blue Fairy is coming from, but I don't care that much.

I really did not care at all for the Bufkin backstories, but the solo issue was better, and I currently am reading the Rapunzel storyline and like it so far.

So hey! This book is finally doing well again! Hurray!

Umm...nobody has commented on Fables #129? What's with that?

This is bound to reopen (was it ever closed?) the debate over whether a popular Fable will, by virtue of his or her continued popularity with us Mundy types, always return from the dead or not. So far we've been given examples of one returning (Prince Charming, although it's possible that entire storyline is actually a flashback), but several more have (so far, at any rate) stayed dead.

Personally I'm still in shock over the outcome of the Snow White story (even though it was foreshadowed for the better part of the past year).

Every so often I consider whether I'm really enjoying Fairest, and then when I actually read the issues, I always walk away very satisfied. The current story, centered really around Prince Charming, has been really terrific! I don't mind at all his coming back, as he's written so well here.

Meanwhile, in Fables, I can't wait for the next story arc, which brings back my favorite character of the entire series! I'm hoping it will re-energize my enthusiasm for the series, which is still somewhat strong but not as potent as a few years ago.

From The Beat, Willingham is wrapping up Fables with #150, and Fairest will be ending as well.

I don't know what to say.

I've been following Fables ever since 9th Grade, but I stopped buying it a few months ago after I learned Willingham said something incredibly nasty about a couple of fans at a convention.

Well, the series lately has returned to a real level of quality that has been very welcome. If Willingham and Bucky can keep it up, it'd be great to see them finish on a high note.

Wow...that was hard to hear. That's like saying the sky won't be blue anymore. I've been reading Fables almost from the beginning, so it and Fairest will be missed.

Unless DC puts out another Legion book or Vertigo book that piques my interest, this will be the first time I won't have any DC books in my pull list in 30yrs!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

So, the latest issue. HOLY FUCK.

It's getting serious as we March towards a conclusion.

#144? I've got it sitting at the top of my new comics pile along with Booster Gold: Futures End... trying to get through my buddy Mike's comics before I start my own.

They kinda did this with #100 and it was actually really well done. I remember loving it after complaining about a $7.99 price point.

I have a feeling this one will be worth it too to close out the series.

A long time ago, in a land far away, I read the first Fables trade and was underwhelmed. Lardy insisted I read the second trade because that's where it gets really good.

Earlier tonight, I finally got around to reading the second trade, and I have to say Lardy was absolutely correct. Everything clicks, and a lot of the things I disliked about the first trade (Snow's bossiness, Rose's brattiness) fell away as writer Bill Willingham elaborated on and enriched not only them, but all the characters and made clear the sheer awesomeness of the grand scale and scope of his project.

There is no small irony that I have finally been converted to the ample charms of Fables just as it's heading towards the end. But with fewer and fewer current series appealing to me, I look forward to the pleasure of reading the rest of the series and discovering where it goes from here.

Thank you, Lardy.

It's going to be weird having the final issue on my TPB bookshelf and not with the rest of the series in their DC/Vertigo shortboxes...

Pov, Cobie, anyone else......this was my assessment of Fables to Fanfic Lady in another thread pertaining to when the book is at various states of quality:



For the sake of fairness and to give her more views of when Fables is at its best and worst, can y'all give your own (spoiler-free) assessment for her to consider?

I've been a huge supporter of this series since around #4 or so, and I've basically loved it every step of the way, even when its lost its a way a bit.

My thoughts, boiled down:

- Agree that the entire first 80 issues or so with the Adversary plotline rank among the greatest comic book runs of all time, with just about every issue being excellent.

- Agree on the crossover; I've forgotten almost everything about it.

- I actually think that the next big storyline that carried Fables, "the Mr. Dark storyline" is actually a lot better than it gets credit for. It suffers from being compared to the Adversary storyline, but lets face the facts: the Adversary was part of the entire raison d'etre of the series; it was the driving force of all the early storylines, so of course once the title moves in a different direction it will feel like a certain something is missing. And how could Mr. Dark compete with the Adversary? He couldn't, and I don't think Willingham ever even tried to make him, instead focusing on the individual Fables leftover from the Adversary War and taking them in new directions. When all is said and done, I think these issues were actually quite great.

- I think the 1001 Nights of Snowfall OGN is actually superb, and I highly recommend it. I think its a wonderful work of art. There is one plot point for one of the characters that many people hate, and I can understand why. But given the adult nature of the series, I don't think its out of place and it's actually wasn't surprising, as gruesome and awful as it was.

- The post-Mr. Dark issues caused the series to meander for a time with some bumps in the road. Despite that, there have been occasional moments of brilliance. At least the art by Mark Buckingham has always remained phenomenal, so when you get one of his stories, you're at least getting something amazing to look at. It's hard to recommend these issues to anyone, but if you've read this far, you might as well keep going.

- It's too soon to say how this final storyline will play out. I'm not loving all the choices so far but ending a series of this magnitude isn't easy. Usually, it takes some time to sit back, take it all in and then try to give it the reread it deserves. We shall see.

Thanks, Cobie.

Question for you, Lardy, and Pov:

Is it necessary to read Fairest and Jack of Fables to get Willingham's entire vision? And if not, are those and other Fables spin-offs worth reading in and of themselves?

I don't think either is necessary at all. I mean, Jack's an important character in the early issue, but whatever he does in his book seems inconsequential. I never read any of it (except the forgettable Great Fables Crossover) and don't feel like I missed any of it. I know Matt Sturges co-wrote the whole thing, so it's not all Bill.

As for Fairest, I only read the first arc, which was written by Willingham. By its nature the book is a series of standalone stories, most not written by Willingham--and even that arc was unessential, though it had nice Phil Jimenez art. Same with the various Cinderella minis and specials.

So, though I haven't read most of those, I'd say you're not missing out on Willingham's vision. I'd say they're just there in case you just can't get enough of the Fables world and the characters.