All Purpose Fables Thread

[noh-varr]

This is the thread to discuss all things Fables, Fables itself, Jack of Fables, minis and the upcoming Fairest. New issues, old story lines, character discussions, or just random questions. This is the place to post and discuss!

[snarkbunny]

Thanks, noh-varr.

Folks, We have a lot of people who read Fables via trades, so how do we want to handle the spoilers in here? I personally think anything that is in a trade should be fair game, but I'm torn on the individual issues.

What are other folks thoughts on this?

[Samorai_black]

I think new issues should just be marked as spoilers without using tags. It would seem like a lot of extra work if we get a long discussion on current issues.

[Armadillo]

Read only the first trade, thought it was pretty good, enjoyed it a lot. Does it maintain the quality throughout the series?

[snarkbunny]

Read only the first trade, thought it was pretty good, enjoyed it a lot. Does it maintain the quality throughout the series?

Pretty much. Some volumes are better than others of course, but I've found the entire series quite enjoyable to date. The second volume introduces you to the art of Mark Buckingham, who is the regular Fables artist (The original plan was apparently to have different artists on each arc a la Sandman, and they offered Mark the choice of the first two arcs and he chose the second arc to do. Somewhere in there there was a mutual decision that Mark would remain on as primary artist.)

I adore Buckingham's work. The details and cleverness of the background characters he fits in makes the art of Fables a joy for me.

[The Adventurer]

Read only the first trade, thought it was pretty good, enjoyed it a lot. Does it maintain the quality throughout the series?

Only goes up from there.

I've been reading Fables since issue 6 (when it launched I sort of misinterpreted what it was ABOUT, also I was very young in terms of experience with independent, non-super-hero comics. So I missed out on the first arc, but picked it up in TP when the next arc started. Fables probably did the most good with broadening my horizons in terms of comics as a whole) and am still at it today. I can safely say that the title has never wore thin with me, its always been a very strong title in my general reading list, and the fact that it has now made it to 110 issues is a hell of a feat.

I've recently been replacing my single issues with the Deluxe Hardcovers, and experiencing these early story arcs for the first time in years. Love those Deluxe Editions. Great for posterity.

[skylight]

How many deluxe editions do they release per year? It'll be a long wait if I decide to just get those editions. I am now waiting for #4 next year.

[snarkbunny]

How many deluxe editions do they release per year? It'll be a long wait if I decide to just get those editions. I am now waiting for #4 next year.

One deluxe per year. I think the trades average out to slightly less than two per year.

[The Adventurer]

It felt like the turn around between Deluxe HC 3 and the solicitation for Deluxe HC 4 felt shorter. But that may only be my perception and not the actual fact. But yes. It may take a little while to get up to current.

[svp]

I have a mismatch bunch of trades of Fables. I love them. I plan on getting them all.

[echo_808]

Fables is the only title that i actually buy the individual comics and the trades (and the only TPB that i kept buying when i stopped buying comics for a while). Other than Age of Apocalypse, Fables is the only title that i'll go back every so often and read from issue 1 again.


The only one i couldnt get into was Jack of Fables when little Jack took over. I enjoyed the Cinderella minis and cant wait for Fairest to come out.

[The Adventurer]

The only one i couldnt get into was Jack of Fables when little Jack took over.

You mean Jack Frost? Personally I thought his adventures were a breath of fresh air. I thought the title had gotten a little stale coming out of the The Great Fables Crossover (which, to be honest was wearing a little thin toward the end. I'm glad the Literals all got put to bed at the end of that), and when Jack's kid took over and we got all sort of adventures in the Homelands it was very cool. That arc that took place in the science-fantasy world was AWESOME.

But I am glad they put Jack to bed. I think its title did what it set out to do, it didn't need to keep going.


I am glad Fairest is coming, to give us another regular Fable title though.

But am I the only one would have paid through the NOSE for a Bufkin of Oz on-going series? Instead of having his story be told in tandem in the main title, spin it off into its own series!

[Samorai_black]

Fables is the only title that i actually buy the individual comics and the trades. Fables is the only title that i'll go back every so often and read from issue 1 again.

I do the same and I get any extra Fables related works like the James Jean cove books. This is the only comic that I tell people who are not into comics to read and so far everyone has loved it.

[snarkbunny]

But am I the only one would have paid through the NOSE for a Bufkin of Oz on-going series? Instead of having his story be told in tandem in the main title, spin it off into its own series!

Nope, I would totally be behind a Bufkin the Brave series, documenting his great labours to become King of the Business Office.

[Confuzzled Mutie]

Once upon a time I was a religious Fables fan and consumed every Fables and Jack of Fables TPB that I could come across. But I stopped at The Dark Ages when my favorite character was put to bed in the finale of that TPB. I just lost the will to continue after that(Americana happened to be my last Jack TPB).

This was also the time that I discovered Vaughan titles like Y and Ex Machina and suddenly, Willingham's writing didn't seem all that impressive anymore (and when directly compared to BKV, all the sexist and stereotypical aspects of Willingham's work suddenly shone like oil spilled garbage washed upon shore). Now I didn't set out to deliberately compare the two writers, it just so happened that I immediately started to read Y post The Dark Ages. After getting spoiled by Vaughan's brilliant characterizations, I just didn't have any desire to revisit Fabletown (or The Farm rather because that was where I last left the Fables). Also, in order to get back, I needed to get 3 TPBs (2 Jack TPBs and 1 Fables)in quick succession as I quit just before the cross-over. I just felt it was too much effort and too much investment with not enough pay off.

Wanted to ask you guys whether it is worth plunging back into the series. Will I be able to enjoy the cross-over TPB if I don't follow upon Jack and the Literals post Americana? Also, I felt the series had past its prime (for me it was the Animal Farm to Homelands era, though I was intrigued by the Hansel character and the two war-centric TPBs which came after). Is anything after The Dark Ages as strong in quality as the TPBs I mentioned? One of the main reasons I want to return is for all the Roberson penned Cinderella related spin-off minis. Could I directly pick From Fabletown, With Love off the racks and understand what is going on without reading the cross-over and the Fables TPBs which came after? Questions, questions.