Admittedly, Fables is a book I was never interested in reading. Fantasy just does not appeal to me, which is funny because of how much I immerse myself in comics. But after thoroughly enjoying ABC's Once Upon a Time and NBC's Grimm, I figured I'd try out the book that influenced those shows. Some would say those programs flat-out ripped-off Fables, but that is not for me to say. If those shows get people to read Fables, then the reader can make up their own mind.
If you've never heard of Fables, the premise is basically what if the characters of the stories we were told as children were real, and they lived in our world after being forced from their own. It's not as straight forward as you think, though. To adapt to our world, these iconic characters have changed their looks to blend in with modern society. So there are no talking wolves or a trio of pigs running around freaking everybody out (they get shipped up north of the city to live in seclusion). They've even set up their own community called Fabletown. Half the fun of each book is trying to figure out who the characters are before they're revealed. Some are obvious, some unfold in time.
Bill Willingham himself has said his idea isn't exactly an original one, but I feel the way it's presented surely is. He gives each well-known character a new attitude that makes each seem new to us. Some have very unexpected modern attitudes. The art in volume one by Lan Medina is an exquisite mixture of childhood tales brought to life with modern stylings. Elegant is a word that fits so many of the pages, especially two-page spreads.
The opening arc ended up being a bit predictable, but I'm not entirely sure if that's because I had heard how it ended already or not. After all, this is not a new series. I hear the series picks up mightily around volume three or four. Sufficed to say, volume one was enough of a treat to keep me coming back already.
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