She-Geeks discussion

Everyone reading this for the first time is in for a treat! That being said, imo this series gets better as it goes along. So, first question...

What are your first impressions of the characters? How do they compare to your preconceived notions of Snow White, Rose Red, Bluebeard etc?

(Long time reader, but...)

I loved how they all clash with my pre-conceived notions. The first volume was hard for me to swallow, but since I had the first 6 on hand (illegal download--since then remedied) I got through it. I really liked the hard-boiled detective that Bigby plays, it was a cool twist on that genre, and was a funny way for that character, whom I'm sympathetic toward, to get introduced. (Anyone who has read The True Story of the Three Little Pigs will agree with me)

It doesn't get into in this book, but I liked Snow White's new backstory in 1001 nights of snowfall

I first read this a couple of years ago, but this time I really READ it.The art is just amazing, not only in the pages of the volume, but the cover and insert pages as well. As Anna and Josephine said above, the characters quickly shake off any ideas the reader had about them coming into the story. I am super impressed with the levels in the personalities of so large a cast of characters. Overall, I connected with this emotionally. I could feel how said the characters are about their exile, and how tired they are of doing the same thing for centuries.
And there is a great deal of humor. I didn't mean to laugh, but Pinocchio cracked me up. And I had severe empathy for Rose Red (who could live under Snow's shadow for so long)?
Great stuff.

Loved 1001 Nights of Snowfall! I esp liked the story of Totenkinder, but I enjoyed all the backstories of Snow and others.
I'm curious which characters throughout the series you guys do and don't like.

I HATE JACK. Most annoying character. I refused to read the crossover trade.
Bigby is my favorite.
I really like Kay as a minor character. His introduction inspired me to look up the Snow Queen story, which is so bizarre.
Rose Red - that girl has issues, but I do like her. (view spoiler)[ All the crap with Boy Blue annoyed me. They would have been a nice couple. (hide spoiler)]
I wish they'd done more with Bluebeard. That's one of my favorite fairy tales ever.
Goldilocks is (view spoiler)[ such a femi-nazi! (hide spoiler)]
Loved the reveal of the Adversary. Just perfect. :)
Flycatcher is so loveable. (view spoiler)[ Really like him with Red Riding Hood to. (hide spoiler)]

Ohhh! I haven't read 1001 Nights yet... Just added it to my list!

I just finished #6 in the series, so I'm just getting to the beginning of things when the shift in characters happens - I thought that was really smart. (view spoiler)[ Take that Snow! You go live on the FARM! (hide spoiler)] hehe. I agree about Jack, too. So many of the characters are so lovable, even with their faults (view spoiler)[ Like you pointed out, Goldi had her faults, but you could understand where she was coming from! (hide spoiler)]

I was actually embarrassed I hadn't figured out who the adversary was... DER! Once I finished reading that one I checked Goodreads and sure enough it seemed everyone else had already figured it out. I'll be more thoughtful going forward. hehe

Anna (Bananas!) wrote: "I HATE JACK. Most annoying character. I refused to read the crossover trade."

OMG I WAS SO GLAD WHEN HE LEFT.

I've been wondering a long time where Kai comes from, that makes so much sense now though.


I recently read an article about why there is such success with remixing old fairy tales in various media: The Wicked book, then musical, all the comics and books and movies... And while it is only one theory, the reasoning lends itself well to this discussion.

Any characterization we get in these stories is in addition to what we already know. We have ideas about what these fables are like as people, and anything Willingham has to do is just tweak, add another layer beneath to make what we already know more poignant and interesting. It's not too much work because these characters are, for the most part, very familiar to us. And if not, a little reading online will get you caught up in their adventures. It's really a brilliant way to get us introduced to, as you say, Kwinks, so large a cast of characters. And then, as the comics go on, our views of them are just molded and warped. It's smart and well done.

@Rabbit: I did not see the adversary coming at all.

Out of curiosity on this thread who hasn't read the series yet? I just noticed a trend in the first few comments.

I actually just started this series earlier this year. I'm waiting on #6 from the library... patiently (not really). I have no ideas who the Adversary is. I hope to read it very soon.

I loved the first book though. I thought it was a great introduction to the series and its characters. I have also been enjoying the resurgence of modern day fairytales.

It's been interesting in the US at least that over the last few years NBC and ABC tried to develop a tv show based on the series. Last year NBC premiered Grimm and ABC premiered Once Upon a Time, both shows based on fairy tales.

I don't see a lot of similarity to Grimm, but I think there are a fair amount between it and Once Upon a Time. Granted, the overall storyline is very different, but I do like how both take such interesting takes on combining the stories like Rumpelstiltskin/Beast in OUAT and Prince Charming in Fables (who btw I love/hate).

I found it interesting how both feature Snow White. To me she always had the weakest story of all the Disney princesses so it's interesting to see her in such a leadership role in both series.

Rabbit, your first spoiler made me laugh. :)

Josepine, I'm so glad you hate Jack too, lol. Good point about writers adding an extra layer to characters we already know and love. We relate to the characters automatically because they're so familiar to us. Willingham does a great job of altering every character a bit, making them his own.

Natalie, I wish Fables had become a TV show! I would have loved that, even though Grimm and Once Upon a Time are both decent shows. It seems like everyone on the thread so far has read the series before.
Snow White is such an iconic character though! Hunted by her stepmother, the magic mirror, the merciful huntsman, the seven dwarves, the poisoned apple - there's so much to love.

The fairy tale I'd really like to see made into a book or movie (and maybe it has been for all I know) is The Juniper Tree.

I left out Charming from my list. What a cad! And yet I still love him. I also like that Beauty and the Beast are the only traditional couple that are actually together in the series.
This part was a great idea: (view spoiler)[ That the fairy tale characters are only as strong as they are poplular with regular people. Snow White is all but invincible because she's so loved, but Boy Blue has very little hope of coming back from the dead. (hide spoiler)]

Thanks Anna :)

I believe I had read somewhere that OUAT is actually based on Fables, but that the authors and the TV people couldn't agree on it, or something of the like, but I can't seem to find that article.

I did find this, http://www.comicbookresources.com/?pa..., which has the author of Fables talking about how there is no relation at all. He says, "Perhaps it's time to quit rising up in public venues to accuse these folks of Grand Theft "Fables," even if you still think it's so.". So, Natalie, I have to agree! This is a strange coincidence that this phenomenon is becoming so prominent. I wrote about it on my blog not too long ago - I think we're such an inquisitive society that just knowing that Snow White Snow White's step-mother hates her because she's beautiful isn't enough for us. We need to know "why" that is. http://nerdylooksgoodonyou.blogspot.c... In case you're interested!

Interesting info, Rabbit. I like OUAT just fine, but it bums me out that it probably ruined Fables chances of ever getting their own TV show. Maybe hold out for a movie? One can hope.

I started reading this series earlier this year, and I"m currently trying to read enough of the Jack spinoff to be caught up enough to read the great crossover fables, but I'm starting to wonder where Jack's spinoff connects. Jack is most definitely not my favorite character. It is interesting to see how they weave him in and out of tales though, and how he is treated as a character. Some of the stuff in his comics raises a lot of questions about the world.

I really like this series and how the fairy tales connect with each other. I love fairy tales and retellings, so this was already up my alley, but when I started reading it I couldn't stop smiling. I think its really interested how they combine the two Snow White tales, and how they fix the whole Prince Charming thing, and all that.

I also had no idea who the adversary was, but it was done really well. Apparently my mother could tell right away when she started reading the series. I'm glad I wasn't the only one to not see the signs.

Speaking of spin-offs, I heard that there was going to be one based off the princesses. I am really excited to read those if that is true.

I loved the art and the different personalities and quirks that each of the characters has. Volume one hooked me right away, with the hardboiled detective, nourish plot underlining all of the intros to the world and characters. I liked it so much that I went out and bought and read the second volume ASAP. I loved that, too, even as things got darker and I missed a few references, so I felt a bit less "in the know."

Unfortunately, when I picked up the third volume my enthusiasm sort of stalled. I want to read it, but I got very attached to certain characters and would be miserable if(/when) they get a bad ending (which is also why I can't follow ASOIAF).

It's good to know that the series keeps getting better as it goes, though, and maybe that will encourage me to get over my fear for the characters and to just dive in.

I've been reading FABLES for a while now and I'm convinced that this series has the BEST art out there. And even if the art wasn't so incredibly beautiful, I would still love what Bill Willlingham has done with the characters that we all know and love.
As a comment on just the first volume and not the entire series, I do admit that it tends to be a bit slow in plot development but one has to keep in mind that there's a massive amount of characters that need to be re-introduced into this new scenario.
I agree with all of you on how great 1001 Nights of Snowfall is and I'd like to recommend
Cinderella, Vol. 1: From Fabletown With Love as another book that delves into a specific character's story.

Josephine wrote: "(Long time reader, but...)

I loved how they all clash with my pre-conceived notions. The first volume was hard for me to swallow, but since I had the first 6 on hand (illegal download--since then ..."

A couple of people that I recommended this series to also felt like you and had a hard time liking it at first. I guess most of us have a set image of our fable characters and like them as is, but if you give the series a chance (like you did) you find that there's so much to explore in this retelling.

@Morgan, in opposition to that book series, all these characters get their due. No one is exited without the necessary pomp and circumstance. I'm thinking of one of the villains deaths earlier in the series, (view spoiler)[Goldilocks (hide spoiler)], it was epic and so gory. While that one death (view spoiler)[Blue (hide spoiler)] was dragged out a bit, I think Bill Willingham, the other writers and the artists are doing justice to such a large cast of characters.

It's handy when the characters are generally known to us already. :D

I've only read the first volume, finished yesterday (my 99th book of the year!) and it was ok. I've heard it gets better so I will stick with it and catch up eventually.
I didn't really like Jack but I lived Bigby and Snow. The Pinocchio reference made me laugh a lot. Other than that I thought it was pretty average, I could tell the plot twist a mile off and didn't really like Rose as a character.

@Stefani, I didn't like Rose either, and Jack bugged me so much that when he left for his own spin-off, I hated how much attention he was getting until I realized it was a set up to make him leave. Yay!

As a sort of teaser to make you want to read more, Bigby and Snow are major characters, arguably main characters for a lot of the comics, but but look forward to the stories with Fly Catcher, who was the frog who turned into a prince, and a wayward flying monkey who works in the library. These are minor characters who really shine. Prince Charming, naturally as nauseating as we cynics believe him to be, has some good stories as well, as the serial-monogamist of ALL the fable-town princesses. It adds a nice twist when you think of Snow as his first wife, Red as his second, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, etc. :D

Bad guys are also worth mentioning. The adversary has a lot of build up, they don't battle him until the forth collection. He is terribly well built up to, it was a great time when you finally got to meet him. But, other villains include Baba Yaga, if you remember she was the witch with the house that walked on chicken legs, Mister Dark who is a fable of immense power, he represents every single version of the boogeyman... That's just the tip of the iceburg.

CC, It really does get better the further you get into the series. I was hooked by the third trade.

Josephine, Snow and Bigby are just fantastic! I even like the kids, especially Winter.
I was disappointed by Baba Yaga. I wanted her to be creepier.

Did anyone not like Mark Buckingham's art? Don't get me wrong, he's a good artist and conveys everything that he needs to. I just don't like the shape of his drawings, for lack of a better way to put it.

This series made me a Michael Allred fan. I loved how he drew Kay especially but also Snow and Bigby.

Thanks for the encouragement guys! I will definitely get my hands on later trades when I can.