Synopsis
When a savage creature known only as the Adversary conquered the fabled lands of legends and fairy tales, all of the infamous inhabitants of folklore were forced into exile. Disguised among the normal citizens of modern-day New York, these magical characters have created their own peaceful and secret society within an exclusive luxury apartment building called Fabletown. But when Snow White's party-girl sister, Rose Red, is apparently murdered, it is up to Fabletown's sheriff, a reformed and pardoned Big Bad Wolf, to determine if the killer is Bluebeard, Rose's ex-lover and notorious wife killer, or Jack, her current live-in boyfriend and former beanstalk-climber.
Fables lives up to Vertigo's high standards of smarts, cool and humour. It manages to immerse you in its own environment, while referring to fairy tales and other fictional characters, keeping you on your toes, laughing along, and even being human enough to relate to.
I read the '0' 'zero' volume before this, the prequel if you like, before the fables came to New York. It was written later than this, which was the first start to the series, and was tighter. This extended story, while smart, and funny, is more of a good start than a classic. I'll be moving onto the later volumes, looking forward to, hopefully, some short stories, tighter stories and scripting, and some slightly better art. Don't get me wrong, this is fun, but once you've seen what someone can do, you expect the same, again and again.
A natural sequel to Sandman, if somewhat a 'Diet' version. But a good start which I hope allows the series to spread its wings and get sharper.