Fables: The Mean Seasons by Bill Willingham, 166 pages
Fables: Homelands by Bill Willingham, 190 pages
Fables: Arabian Nights (and Days) by Bill Willingham, 143 pages
I don't know how, but I just keep liking this series more and more. The Mean Seasons starts with a look into Bigby's past, which seems somewhat similar to that of Wolverine (of X-Men fame, naturally). But still, it's nice to see where the guy's coming from, and to meet his dad, the North Wind (yeah, seriously). Anyway, this installment also introduces the reign of Prince Charming as mayor of Fabletown, something that proves over the next few books to be a monumentally bad decision by the residents of the secret community.
Homelands takes us back to, shock of all shocks, the Homelands, as Boy Blue goes back to do a bit of reconnaissance work and rescue Red Riding Hood while he's there. It's an interesting view, again, into the backstory of the fables and into what the Homelands are experiencing while the fables live in secrecy in New York. This book also serves as the launchpad for Willingham's spin-off series, Jack of Fables. The side story into Jack's foray into Hollywood is interesting enough, but somehow I'm skeptical about a whole series based on this guy that I really don't care that much about. So we'll see if I read it.
Arabian Nights (and Days) introduces the idea that the fables of different cultures have separate homelands, and are dealing with the Adversary individually. This volume includes a visit from Sinbad, the temporary unleashing of a genie, and show Prince Charming in a rare moment of humility as he's forced to admit that his predecessor, Old King Cole, had some political skills after all. This volume ends with a story about a couple of the Adversary's wooden puppets falling in love and becoming human, with the caveat that they have to do some wicked deeds in the mundane world. I'm curious what becomes of this couple, and I hope Willingham continues to check in on them from time to time.
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