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Comics: “Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall”
Man, DC Comics/Vertigo straight knocked it out of the park with this thing, the first original hardcover graphic novel for the “Fables” comic book.
For those unfamiliar, “Fables” takes the fairy tales and folk stories of old and crams them into a coherent universe, sort of the way sci-fi writer Philip Jose Farmer linked Tarzan and Sherlock Holmes in his “Wold Newton” stories. Veteran comic book writer (and former Austinite) Bill Willingham has made a concept that could go horribly wrong work brilliantly- it’s easily one of the most consistently excellent title DC/Vertigo publishes.
I’m not a huge fan of the original hardcover graphic novels format; there is rarely enough story-bang for your buck. But with a host of artists, including the first seqential story by increasingly god-like “Fables” cover artist James Jean, Charles Vess, Mark Buckingham and Jill Thompson, Willingham has delivered the goods with a series of tight, sharp, thematically linked short stories illustrating the secret history of the Fables universe. Just what happened to Snow White with those dwarves? How did Reynard the Fox aid his fellow Fables during the great crisis? Why is the Big Bad Wolf so big and bad?
Nice job.
For those that would like to meet WIllingham, Austin writer Matt Stuges (with whom Willingham writes the “Fables” spin-off title “Jack of Fables”) and “Jack” artist Tony Akins, they will be hanging out at Austin Books from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Oct. 21 for the “Fables Remembrance Day Celebration.” (Remembrance Day is a holiday in “Fables.”
Tickets are $5 or free with the purchase of “Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall.” Food, drink and Vertigo sale items will abound.
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