Rating: 
Summary: New Vertigo renaissance?
Review: Along with "Y: the last man," Fables is part of what looks like a second renaissance at Vertigo, and with no must-have titles since Preacher ended, it needed it.
This volume deals with a murder mystery, set in a NYC where fairy-tale characters have secretly come to live, after being expelled from their homelands by a creature known only as "the adversary." The story drives the background, which is introduced without the need for heavy-handed exposition.
The art is good, with keen attention to background and detail, but, as in most Vertigo books, it's there mostly to supplement the writing, which is fresh and imaginative.
Rating:
Summary: New Vertigo renaissance?
Review: Along with "Y: the last man," Fables is part of what looks like a second renaissance at Vertigo, and with no must-have titles since Preacher ended, it needed it.
This volume deals with a murder mystery, set in a NYC where fairy-tale characters have secretly come to live, after being expelled from their homelands by a creature known only as "the adversary." The story drives the background, which is introduced without the need for heavy-handed exposition.
The art is good, with keen attention to background and detail, but, as in most Vertigo books, it's there mostly to supplement the writing, which is fresh and imaginative.
Rating: 
Summary: Clever, but uninvolving
Review: Basically, this is an okay episode of Columbo set in a world of storybook characters. There are many witty inversions, like how one of the little pigs crashes on the wolf's sofa, or how Prince Charming is a deadbeat, but it's so self-conscious that there's always a wall between the reader and the characters. Extremely postmodern types will probably like it more.
Rating:
Summary: Clever, but uninvolving
Review: Basically, this is an okay episode of Columbo set in a world of storybook characters. There are many witty inversions, like how one of the little pigs crashes on the wolf's sofa, or how Prince Charming is a deadbeat, but it's so self-conscious that there's always a wall between the reader and the characters. Extremely postmodern types will probably like it more.
Rating:
Summary: The best new comic of 2002!
Review: Bill Willingham is brilliant. Here he's taken two of the artforms most often thought of as being just for children and crafted an amusing, gripping and wholly satisfying tale for adults -- easily one of the best comics in some time.In "Fables," a long time ago a mysterious "Adversary" invaded the lands of all the fairy tale characters we've known and loved -- Snow White, the Three Little Pigs, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, etc. Many of these fables were killed in battle. The rest fled to our world, where they have established an underground society hidden amongst the normal humans, or "mundanes," of New York City. Snow White has been the leader behind the throne of Old King Cole for some time when our story begins, and Willingham kicks off this first "Fables" volume with a great mystery. Snow's sister, Rose Red, is missing. Her apartment is soaked in blood. There are a lot of suspects and a lot of motives, and no one is even sure if Rose is alive or dead. Enter Fabletown's top detective, Bigby Wolf. (Get it?) Willingham's Wolf is an old-school gumshoe, a fantasy Sam Spade, and this book is the perfect blend of magic, mystery, humor and drama. You like "Sandman"? Get this book. You like "Into the Woods"? Get this book. You like good stories in general? Get this book.
Rating:
Summary: The Truth About Fairy Tales
Review: Fairy tales are real. They have a life of their own. Unfortunately, most of the fairy tale lands have been taken over by a villain known as the Adversary. As a result, the characters have fled to our world where they lead a hidden existence in New York. Most have been here for centuries. The main settlement is a colony on Bullfinch street. King Cole is in charge but Snow White really runs things. The sheriff is the Big Bad Wolf (a.k.a. Bigby).
At the start of the story, there is a crisis. Snow White's sister Rose Red has been murdered. Bigby must try and solve the murder while the community is planning for their annual festival where they raise the money needed to operate for another year.
Jack the Giant Killer, Prince Charming, the Three Pigs, Bluebeard. Little Boy Blue, Beauty and the Beast, and many others come together in this wonderful treatment of fairy tales. It doesn't hurt that the mystery is well plotted and developed. A very entertaining read.
Rating:
Summary: Fables is a good read
Review: I really liked this book and I was very excited when I got it. It was so good I even did a book report on it. The book takes old ideas about fairy tales and flips them upside down giving them a very realistic spin. I highly enjoyed the book and thought the art was lovely and I recommend it to anyone in 13 or older.
Rating:
Summary: Great Concept, Better Execution
Review: I was a bit hesitant to pick this up -- it seemed like too much an adult version of Roger Rabbit or Shrek. However, the murder mystery in an expatriate community of fairy-tale characters quickly drew me in. Each character blends our preconceptions from stories we've heard (almost invariably a watered-down version of their original tale) with an edge they must've evolved after being forced from their homes. And none of them are one-sided, even those who appear such at first -- the one-dimensional ones grow and change as the series continues. Pick this up and be prepared to pick up the subsequent volumes!
Rating:
Summary: Great Concept, Better Execution
Review: I was a bit hesitant to pick this up -- it seemed like too much an adult version of Roger Rabbit or Shrek. However, the murder mystery in an expatriate community of fairy-tale characters quickly drew me in. Each character blends our preconceptions from stories we've heard (almost invariably a watered-down version of their original tale) with an edge they must've evolved after being forced from their homes. And none of them are one-sided, even those who appear such at first -- the one-dimensional ones grow and change as the series continues. Pick this up and be prepared to pick up the subsequent volumes!
Rating:
Summary: Love at first sight!
Review: I've always loved Fairy Tales, but sometimes the ending of those tales just isnt enough. We all want to know what happens after "Happily Ever After", don't we? This series, in pursuit of that question, has seriously revitalized my love for comics! I love the characters - this work plays upon the well-known and not-so-well-know aspects of faery tales throughout the ages, and then expands, charting favorite characters in a New World, where they've been forced into exile from their Fable homelands. Characters once so different from eachother now must set old grudges aside to join forces and forge a community for themselves amongst ordinary New Yorkers. Some have changed for the better - others...well, as you'll see, they arent exactly the heroes and heroines they used to be. From a Marxist Goldilocks to wild child Rose Red (I was beginning to believe I was the ONLY one who remembered Red Rose!!) - this is NOT your Disney remake! One thing I do like about Fables - its a series for almost everyone. Many comics I've felt to be strongly orientated for either just males or just females, but this has strong characters that capture the interest of both sexes. There's something for everyone here.
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