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~Daya
Fables, myths, legends….there are archetypes that exist in every culture. I remember reading the Brothers Grimm as a child, entranced by Rose Red’s cherry lips and Snow White’s porcelain skin. They were perfect beings, envied by bitter stepmothers everywhere and destined for “happily ever after” with Prince Charming.
Yet still I remember chilling, more sinister versions of these fairy tales, where Snow White is a bed slave to 7 vicious criminals and Beauty’s father happily sells her to the Beast to save his own skin.
Fables, a series of graphic novels, pays homage to those charming stories of old and adds modern twists–Snow White’s cheating ex-husband is Prince Charming. Cinderella is really a spy for Fabletown, rooting out those sympathetic to the Adversary while maintaining the façade of being a ditzy shoe store owner (The Glass Slipper, big surprise). Goldilocks is a sociopath who happens to live with the 3 bears. The “big bad wolf” is fully reformed from his pork (and Red Riding Hood) eating days and acts as Sheriff of Fabletown. He is (usually) in human form but casts a beastly shadow. Other fun cameos include Ichabod “Icky” Crane, the 3 blind mice, and best of all, the Vorpal Sword, “bane of the Jabberwock”. It even goes “Snicker-Snack”!
The basic premise is this: Fables are real and are in exile from the Homeland, which has been invaded by an enemy only known as the Adversary. They currently live in Fabletown, in Manhattan, blending in with “Mundys”, or “Mundanes” (kind of like Muggles). Those fables unable to pass as human live on the Farm, in upstate New York. The series follows the personal stories of several notable Fables, and their fight to remain independent of the Adversary.
Notable lines include “richer than King Midas’ wet dream” and “hung” just right (Goldilocks’ completely valid reason for sleeping with little bear), among many others. This series is excellent because it hearkens back to those darker, more ominous tales…if you’re looking for a “happily ever after”, you won’t find it here.
PS- If you enjoyed my review and want to take it a step further, download the first issue from Vertigo here!
