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Fables
Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland
A #1 New York Times Best Seller!
At long last! The long-awaited original Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland graphic novel is here!
Bigby Wolf embarks on a quest through the American Heartland to find a new location for Fabletown, a secret society of exiled fairy tale characters living among the "mundys." In his wanderings, Bigby stumbles across Story City, a small town that seems to be occupied solely by werewolves. Oddly enough, they seem to already know and revere Bigby, but at the same time they've captured and caged him.
Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland tells an epic tale that began well before Bigby Wolf set foot in the bucolic plains of the Midwest. It began long ago when he served in World War II and became mired in a Nazi experiment that would change nations. It's soon evident that murder in Story City is the least of their sins, and unraveling the town's many mysteries may cost Bigby, the seventh son of the North Wind, much more than his own life.
This new hardcover is a must-have for any longtime Fables fan, as well as a great entry point for new readers.
At long last! The long-awaited original Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland graphic novel is here!
Bigby Wolf embarks on a quest through the American Heartland to find a new location for Fabletown, a secret society of exiled fairy tale characters living among the "mundys." In his wanderings, Bigby stumbles across Story City, a small town that seems to be occupied solely by werewolves. Oddly enough, they seem to already know and revere Bigby, but at the same time they've captured and caged him.
Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland tells an epic tale that began well before Bigby Wolf set foot in the bucolic plains of the Midwest. It began long ago when he served in World War II and became mired in a Nazi experiment that would change nations. It's soon evident that murder in Story City is the least of their sins, and unraveling the town's many mysteries may cost Bigby, the seventh son of the North Wind, much more than his own life.
This new hardcover is a must-have for any longtime Fables fan, as well as a great entry point for new readers.
147 pages, Hardcover
First published November 20, 2012
About the author
Bill Willingham
912 books2,801 followersIn the late 1970s to early 1980s he drew fantasy ink pictures for the Dungeons & Dragons Basic and Expert game rulebooks. He first gained attention for his 1980s comic book series Elementals published by Comico, which he both wrote and drew. However, for reasons unknown, the series had trouble maintaining an original schedule, and Willingham's position in the industry remained spotty for many years. He contributed stories to Green Lantern and started his own independent, black-and-white comics series Coventry which lasted only 3 issues. He also produced the pornographic series Ironwood for Eros Comix.
In the late 1990s Willingham reestablished himself as a prolific writer. He produced the 13-issue Pantheon for Lone Star Press and wrote a pair of short novels about the modern adventures of the hero Beowulf, published by the writer's collective, Clockwork Storybook, of which Willingham was a founding member. In the early 2000s he began writing extensively for DC Comics, including the limited series Proposition Player, a pair of limited series about the Greek witch Thessaly from The Sandman, and most notably the popular series Fables
In the late 1990s Willingham reestablished himself as a prolific writer. He produced the 13-issue Pantheon for Lone Star Press and wrote a pair of short novels about the modern adventures of the hero Beowulf, published by the writer's collective, Clockwork Storybook, of which Willingham was a founding member. In the early 2000s he began writing extensively for DC Comics, including the limited series Proposition Player, a pair of limited series about the Greek witch Thessaly from The Sandman, and most notably the popular series Fables
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 338 reviews
January 16, 2022
Blech.
This is one of my least favorite Fables stories so far.
It was a chore to slog through for a go-nowhere plotline. And Nazis. Points deducted for using Nazis in a story...again.
Also, I really didn't like the art style.
This one was a callback to that incredible boring WWII story in Mean Seasons. And if I'd known they made an entire volume out of leftover Nazis-turned-werewolves, I probably would have just googled this to see if anything pertinent happened instead of wasting my time.
I guess there's supposed to be some shock value here because when the werewolves shift to human form there are pages and pages of tits and badly drawn penises all over the place. I wasn't bothered by it, but I know some of you like your comics with less sausage and eggs on display.
Buyer beware.
The whole thing hinges on some Nazi scientist and one of his old war comrades accidentally getting Bigby's blood inside of them during a battle in WWII. And even though Bigby is supposedly a shapeshifter and son of the North Wind, this somehow made them into werewolves.
Hopefully, this is somehow explained somewhere down the line but, regardless, I felt this was a garbage story.
However, quite a few of my friends really loved this one, so check it out for yourself and decide.
This is one of my least favorite Fables stories so far.
It was a chore to slog through for a go-nowhere plotline. And Nazis. Points deducted for using Nazis in a story...again.
Also, I really didn't like the art style.
This one was a callback to that incredible boring WWII story in Mean Seasons. And if I'd known they made an entire volume out of leftover Nazis-turned-werewolves, I probably would have just googled this to see if anything pertinent happened instead of wasting my time.
I guess there's supposed to be some shock value here because when the werewolves shift to human form there are pages and pages of tits and badly drawn penises all over the place. I wasn't bothered by it, but I know some of you like your comics with less sausage and eggs on display.
Buyer beware.
The whole thing hinges on some Nazi scientist and one of his old war comrades accidentally getting Bigby's blood inside of them during a battle in WWII. And even though Bigby is supposedly a shapeshifter and son of the North Wind, this somehow made them into werewolves.
Hopefully, this is somehow explained somewhere down the line but, regardless, I felt this was a garbage story.
However, quite a few of my friends really loved this one, so check it out for yourself and decide.
May 3, 2021
In which Bigby comes across a community of man-hunting Werewolves, of which some he may have met before. It's a perfect small town America, if perfect is a fully Aryan community where when not enjoying small-town life, they are executing each other, or hunting humans. Another 'don't forget he really is a monster' Bigby tale as he deals with a community where some see him as a god, and others see him as a menace. 7 out of 12.
May 8, 2023
Looking at the cover i thought that bigby will fight his brothers but it turned out something else entirely.
A whole town 2400 of werewolves.
They have grown into many bad habits and they kill each others with alarming frequency, also they hunt humans for sport.
Bigby sorts them out, teaches them a lesson and lets them live after getting rid of many bad elements.
Also the origin story is quite disturbing since it reveals that if bigby's blood mixes in with a human wound that human becomes a werewolf which as far as i can remember was never said before.
Also i like that bill took inspiration from a city he happened to drive by a writer should always be on the lookout for something to inspire him to write a great tale.
A whole town 2400 of werewolves.
They have grown into many bad habits and they kill each others with alarming frequency, also they hunt humans for sport.
Bigby sorts them out, teaches them a lesson and lets them live after getting rid of many bad elements.
Also the origin story is quite disturbing since it reveals that if bigby's blood mixes in with a human wound that human becomes a werewolf which as far as i can remember was never said before.
Also i like that bill took inspiration from a city he happened to drive by a writer should always be on the lookout for something to inspire him to write a great tale.
November 22, 2012
Jan. 12, 2013... I've tried giving it a re-read thinking I may have been to rough on it.
Wouldja believe I hated it even more than the first time, as more story errors stood out?!
My original review stands...
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly... and the ewww
The Good
It has a very nice cover...
but as the saying goes, "Never judge a book by its..."
The Bad
Although there are a few good idceas thrown in, overall, the writing is inconsistent. Almost has a feeling of "Hey Bill, here's alot of money, scribble up something quick" to it. An example... the wolfies easily take down Bigby in the beginning without any prep time, muss or fuss. At the end, with all their preperations they can hardly even slow him down... hey geniuses, why not use the same method as you used in the beginning? Another, in one panel, we see Bigby take off at a run in his wolf shape "HAH! They'll never be able to catch me now, they can't outrun moi."... Next panel, they're crawling all over him... WTF???
The Ugly
The art was so basic that it hurt my eyes... remember when you first started drawing and you basically just did the outlines to your buildings, you trees, your people? That what this felt like to me... it was just a step above stick figures... and not that big of a step. If not for hair color and lenght (and sex... we'll get to that later), I don't think I could of told one character for the other. And speaking of color...
The color
I thought pastels went out with the 70s... they made the whole thing look washed out and without character. If they were atempting to have a "suburbia" look, well, they failed.
The ewww
(back to the sex thing) do we really need to see so much werewolf titties and junk? I know sex sells, but come on, at least make them look good.
Wouldja believe I hated it even more than the first time, as more story errors stood out?!
My original review stands...
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly... and the ewww
The Good
It has a very nice cover...
but as the saying goes, "Never judge a book by its..."
The Bad
Although there are a few good idceas thrown in, overall, the writing is inconsistent. Almost has a feeling of "Hey Bill, here's alot of money, scribble up something quick" to it. An example... the wolfies easily take down Bigby in the beginning without any prep time, muss or fuss. At the end, with all their preperations they can hardly even slow him down... hey geniuses, why not use the same method as you used in the beginning? Another, in one panel, we see Bigby take off at a run in his wolf shape "HAH! They'll never be able to catch me now, they can't outrun moi."... Next panel, they're crawling all over him... WTF???
The Ugly
The art was so basic that it hurt my eyes... remember when you first started drawing and you basically just did the outlines to your buildings, you trees, your people? That what this felt like to me... it was just a step above stick figures... and not that big of a step. If not for hair color and lenght (and sex... we'll get to that later), I don't think I could of told one character for the other. And speaking of color...
The color
I thought pastels went out with the 70s... they made the whole thing look washed out and without character. If they were atempting to have a "suburbia" look, well, they failed.
The ewww
(back to the sex thing) do we really need to see so much werewolf titties and junk? I know sex sells, but come on, at least make them look good.
January 19, 2013
The Fables franchise is one of those little things that brings me some happiness in life. It's spawned multiple spin offs including the now cancelled ongoing series, Jack of Fables, several mini-series and one other standalone graphic novel, 1001 Nights of Snowfall. I have read almost everything the franchise has produced, the only exception being a few of the most recent releases. Werewolves of the Heartland is the absolute first time I've ever given a Fables book a negative review.
Snowfall was one of the most important books in the "Legends in Exile" mega arc that pitted Fabletown against "The Adversary." It had Snow White playing a role similar to Scheherazade in an anthology of stories that gave us important backstory to many central members of the cast of characters, with Snow, of course, shining brightest of all. The title Werewolves of The Heartland implied to me, that this would be for Bigby, everything that Snowfall was for Snow. NOT SO!
This is the story of Bigby politicing in a remote town populated by werewolves. I think the idea was supposed to come off like a Leone western, but it's just boring. I can't believe this script came from Fables core writer, Bill Willingham. Even the action scenes in the third act are dull as dishwater, and the characters that populate it are bland, underdeveloped and all the same. It even manages to make Bigby himself boring, and the art is terrible. I can't believe this artist was hired for a "special" GN in the franchise like this one.
I understand the nude humans, but do the werewolves need to have cocks? Apparently not, since they only do in a few panels, which means it's a mistake, and not the only one in this book. The letterer constantly attributes speech bubbles to the wrong characters, and I can see how he got confused. Not only do all the the werewolves look the same, but their blond, aryan human forms are almost as difficult to discern, but why shouldn't they all look alike, since they're written without any personality anyway.
Bottom line, Werewolves of The Heartland is a bad idea, badly realized, and a disappointment to this die hard Fables fanboy.
Snowfall was one of the most important books in the "Legends in Exile" mega arc that pitted Fabletown against "The Adversary." It had Snow White playing a role similar to Scheherazade in an anthology of stories that gave us important backstory to many central members of the cast of characters, with Snow, of course, shining brightest of all. The title Werewolves of The Heartland implied to me, that this would be for Bigby, everything that Snowfall was for Snow. NOT SO!
This is the story of Bigby politicing in a remote town populated by werewolves. I think the idea was supposed to come off like a Leone western, but it's just boring. I can't believe this script came from Fables core writer, Bill Willingham. Even the action scenes in the third act are dull as dishwater, and the characters that populate it are bland, underdeveloped and all the same. It even manages to make Bigby himself boring, and the art is terrible. I can't believe this artist was hired for a "special" GN in the franchise like this one.
I understand the nude humans, but do the werewolves need to have cocks? Apparently not, since they only do in a few panels, which means it's a mistake, and not the only one in this book. The letterer constantly attributes speech bubbles to the wrong characters, and I can see how he got confused. Not only do all the the werewolves look the same, but their blond, aryan human forms are almost as difficult to discern, but why shouldn't they all look alike, since they're written without any personality anyway.
Bottom line, Werewolves of The Heartland is a bad idea, badly realized, and a disappointment to this die hard Fables fanboy.
November 27, 2024
I read this side story out of order, mistaking it as no. 7.5 while it's actually no.17.5, no harm done anyway since it does not ruin what's coming in the next volumes or build on future developments that I haven't reached yet. The only notion of what's to come is Bigby's going on a search for a place to host the new fabletown, whatever the reason may be...
In this story, Bigby finds himself in a town of werewolves, not quite brothers, the are something strange, not wolves like himself, nor mundies, nor fables at all, after a seemingly a wrong start, and a superficial and non genuine trial at amends, events develop quickly, shoving Bigby to act quickly, making decisions and choices on the go, to save himself and the save the towns people from a self destructive path that they have been trodding all along...
All in all, it was a good story, one of the kind which you can read after sometime when you finally finished the main arch, and feeling nostalgic about the series, at that point, this book comes in handy...
Such side stories are usually fillers for gaps in the main story line, and since I read this out of order, I'll keep the thought hanging till I reach vol. 17...
MiM
In this story, Bigby finds himself in a town of werewolves, not quite brothers, the are something strange, not wolves like himself, nor mundies, nor fables at all, after a seemingly a wrong start, and a superficial and non genuine trial at amends, events develop quickly, shoving Bigby to act quickly, making decisions and choices on the go, to save himself and the save the towns people from a self destructive path that they have been trodding all along...
All in all, it was a good story, one of the kind which you can read after sometime when you finally finished the main arch, and feeling nostalgic about the series, at that point, this book comes in handy...
Such side stories are usually fillers for gaps in the main story line, and since I read this out of order, I'll keep the thought hanging till I reach vol. 17...
MiM
August 20, 2015
Bigby follows a lead in middle America, finding a community of werewolves and ties to his past during World War II.
Of course there are problems and of course it means lots of wolf vs. wolf (the cover gives it away some). Artwork varied on this one but I'll still give it a borderline four stars.
OVERALL GRADE: B to B plus.
Of course there are problems and of course it means lots of wolf vs. wolf (the cover gives it away some). Artwork varied on this one but I'll still give it a borderline four stars.
OVERALL GRADE: B to B plus.
August 13, 2016
There seem to be two main complaints about this volume: 1) This is a side story which doesn't really add anything to the main arc of the series and 2) the artwork.
To the former, perhaps because I was aware of this going in, it didn't bother me. I don't mind side ventures every now and again, and it certainly doesn't hurt that it focuses on Bigby, my (and almost everyone's, it seems) favorite character, who has gotten some short shrift in some of the more recent issues, imo.
To the latter, however, I am forced to agree. The coloring, especially, was just horrible. All weirdly washed out pastels which didn't serve the story at all. I'm not sure who thought these colors were a good idea, and I don't know if it's meant to signify anything - like the dusty plains of the heartland, or some such - but I did not like it. The art, itself, was passable (and I do like the suit sporting Bigby of the WWII years, though we've seen part of that story before) - but the colors were blech.
To the story itself, I thought it was a pretty decent story, overall, though I feel like there were some inconsistencies introduced both within this story itself and to the larger story.
Bigby, for instance, seemed a bit overpower in this story, especially when comparing it to the fight in Volume 19, in which Bigby was but, overall, there seems to be inconsistencies in the series about power levels.
Also, a main plot point from this story is that
And, lastly, I'm a bit unclear on the creating werewolf aspect in the first place, 'cause Bigby isn't really a werewolf - he's a wolf (and then some) magiced into the form of a man. We have learned from past stories that, being the son of the North Wind, he always had the ability to take the form of a man, but forsook it because of his issues with his father.
And yet, having your blood mingled with his seems to create werewolves - but "true" werewolves, and lacking in his other powers, such as control of the wind.
And I just don't quite get how that works. I mean, if, say, Snow was to give a blood transfusion to a mundie, would that mundie gain some general Fable like abilities? They seem to be playing up the whole werewolf aspect without really considering that Bigby isn't a werewolf, he's a Fable. (And maybe some of these questions have been answered in other volumes, like the one where we first see the WWII story, and I just forget - which is entirely possible - so I concede that.)
But, anyway, those issues aside, I actually liked the story. So I guess I was able to mostly look past those things. :>
That said, considering this volume is only available in hardback (which is annoying enough), I would've liked some better artwork to go with it.
To the former, perhaps because I was aware of this going in, it didn't bother me. I don't mind side ventures every now and again, and it certainly doesn't hurt that it focuses on Bigby, my (and almost everyone's, it seems) favorite character, who has gotten some short shrift in some of the more recent issues, imo.
To the latter, however, I am forced to agree. The coloring, especially, was just horrible. All weirdly washed out pastels which didn't serve the story at all. I'm not sure who thought these colors were a good idea, and I don't know if it's meant to signify anything - like the dusty plains of the heartland, or some such - but I did not like it. The art, itself, was passable (and I do like the suit sporting Bigby of the WWII years, though we've seen part of that story before) - but the colors were blech.
To the story itself, I thought it was a pretty decent story, overall, though I feel like there were some inconsistencies introduced both within this story itself and to the larger story.
Bigby, for instance, seemed a bit overpower in this story, especially when comparing it to the fight in Volume 19, in which Bigby was but, overall, there seems to be inconsistencies in the series about power levels.
Also, a main plot point from this story is that
And, lastly, I'm a bit unclear on the creating werewolf aspect in the first place, 'cause Bigby isn't really a werewolf - he's a wolf (and then some) magiced into the form of a man. We have learned from past stories that, being the son of the North Wind, he always had the ability to take the form of a man, but forsook it because of his issues with his father.
And yet, having your blood mingled with his seems to create werewolves - but "true" werewolves, and lacking in his other powers, such as control of the wind.
And I just don't quite get how that works. I mean, if, say, Snow was to give a blood transfusion to a mundie, would that mundie gain some general Fable like abilities? They seem to be playing up the whole werewolf aspect without really considering that Bigby isn't a werewolf, he's a Fable. (And maybe some of these questions have been answered in other volumes, like the one where we first see the WWII story, and I just forget - which is entirely possible - so I concede that.)
But, anyway, those issues aside, I actually liked the story. So I guess I was able to mostly look past those things. :>
That said, considering this volume is only available in hardback (which is annoying enough), I would've liked some better artwork to go with it.
December 27, 2012
I have to say at the start that I am a huge FABLES fan, from the first days of the series. The concept hasn't tired for me at all, and I think overall Willingham finds ways to keep the characters and stories fresh -- not an easy thing to do with a monthly on-going series in a field that hates endings and permanent character changes. All of that being said, I felt like this was one of the weaker entries into the series.
There's nothing wrong with the basic concept: Bigby Wolf finding out that there are indeed werewolves in the "mundy" world. There's nothing wrong with the basic problem: as a self-contained and fairly in-bred society with its roots in Nazi Germany, the werewolves are not exactly well-adjusted. And it's not that the story isn't self-contained: the call-backs to previous Fables storylines (including Bigby's World War II service and the early machinations and death of Bluebeard) tell new readers what they need to know without veering off into detailed flashbacks or "you really should read volume xxx" footnotes. Despite all of this, for me the story came off feeling at once too big and too empty. Aside from the always-strong characterization of Bigby (who, let's face it, has been the heart of the Fables story since the beginning, even as Snow White is the soul), the rest of the main characters feel largely interchangeable and stereotypical: the old friend with a secret, the young girl with premonitions, the angry cop, the femme fatale, etc. I found myself not really caring what happened to anyone except Bigby, and I'm pretty sure that wasn't Willingham's intent (considering the strong effort he's always made in Fables to make even tertiary characters stand as individuals).
The cover art is gorgeous. The interior page art is easy to follow, reasonably realistic and but not all that detailed. The story gets the job done and of course leaves room for further complications to arise. I wish I'd enjoyed the book more than I did.
Also: kudos to Willingham for sliding a sly reference to "Once Upon A Time" into the narrative.
There's nothing wrong with the basic concept: Bigby Wolf finding out that there are indeed werewolves in the "mundy" world. There's nothing wrong with the basic problem: as a self-contained and fairly in-bred society with its roots in Nazi Germany, the werewolves are not exactly well-adjusted. And it's not that the story isn't self-contained: the call-backs to previous Fables storylines (including Bigby's World War II service and the early machinations and death of Bluebeard) tell new readers what they need to know without veering off into detailed flashbacks or "you really should read volume xxx" footnotes. Despite all of this, for me the story came off feeling at once too big and too empty. Aside from the always-strong characterization of Bigby (who, let's face it, has been the heart of the Fables story since the beginning, even as Snow White is the soul), the rest of the main characters feel largely interchangeable and stereotypical: the old friend with a secret, the young girl with premonitions, the angry cop, the femme fatale, etc. I found myself not really caring what happened to anyone except Bigby, and I'm pretty sure that wasn't Willingham's intent (considering the strong effort he's always made in Fables to make even tertiary characters stand as individuals).
The cover art is gorgeous. The interior page art is easy to follow, reasonably realistic and but not all that detailed. The story gets the job done and of course leaves room for further complications to arise. I wish I'd enjoyed the book more than I did.
Also: kudos to Willingham for sliding a sly reference to "Once Upon A Time" into the narrative.
October 25, 2013
Gorgeous cover by Daniel Dos Santos. Love the cover.
Don't love the comic. Thankfully it's a self-contained story and doesn't have any impact on the larger Fables story (yet). If you must read it, get it from a library. Otherwise, skip it.
Character design was very poor. Other than Bigby, all of the main characters were uniformly white and blond, as were 99% of Story City's residents. I couldn't tell any of them apart.
Don't love the comic. Thankfully it's a self-contained story and doesn't have any impact on the larger Fables story (yet). If you must read it, get it from a library. Otherwise, skip it.
Character design was very poor. Other than Bigby, all of the main characters were uniformly white and blond, as were 99% of Story City's residents. I couldn't tell any of them apart.
November 29, 2012
I liked it.
A nice little self-contained story in the Fables universe. You don't have to bother reading it in the larger continuity to enjoy it.
A nice little self-contained story in the Fables universe. You don't have to bother reading it in the larger continuity to enjoy it.
November 5, 2024
Now that Fables is in the 'Public Domain', I thought it was time I read the entire series (including all spinoffs and specials) from start to finish in sequential tpb reading order. Here we go!
Fables First-to-Finale reading #28 Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland
Werewolves and Nazis. And we're off. So Story Town is home to Werewolves and deadly secrets. Bigby shows up and all hell breaks loose. That's about it. The story is mostly generic. The characters are even more so. It's not an essential read at all in the grand scheme of things. Let's just move on, shall we?
Fables First-to-Finale reading #28 Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland
Werewolves and Nazis. And we're off. So Story Town is home to Werewolves and deadly secrets. Bigby shows up and all hell breaks loose. That's about it. The story is mostly generic. The characters are even more so. It's not an essential read at all in the grand scheme of things. Let's just move on, shall we?
December 12, 2013
I think I am learning my lesson not to put off reviews. My brain isn't as sharp as I would like, so it works better to write these reviews soon after I read the books. Fortunately, this volume of Fables stands out a bit because it focuses on Bigby Wolf and his solo adventure to Story City, Iowa, a small town with a connection to Fabletown via Bluebeard. We have to go back in time a bit to recall Bigby's WWII adventures, which are highly related. It's no hardship to spend time with Bigby, because he's one wolf I rather like. I have to admit that this story gave me the creeps though. It had a Stepford Wives meets the Young Nazis Association of Weirdness feel. This town that Bigby visits is just wrong! You find out just how wrong it is the more time you spend in the town.
The other thing I would say is if you don't like nudity, don't read this book. A lot of full frontal nudity, because it's about werewolves. It didn't bother me, but certainly there is a lot of violence in this one, and the idea of that town just gave me the creeps.
If you've seen the tv show, Wolf Lake, you might appreciate the strangeness of this town, except it has more of an Aryan feel. I think that the writer/artists did an excellent job of conveying that sense of wrongness of this small community.
Bigby is basically forced into the role of enforcer when things come to a head in the town. They see him as a god in many ways. He's not willing accept their worship, but he does take on the role of an alpha of a sort, enforcing the rules of the pack and a true understanding of what it means to be a wolf, which the people of the town seem to lack.
I didn't like this as much as the other Fables that I've read. I can't really say what I didn't like that much about it, other than it just rubbed me the wrong way. I still love Bigby and his backstory and how it relates to the current situation was very intriguing.
Good story, although I didn't like this as much as I wanted to like it.
The other thing I would say is if you don't like nudity, don't read this book. A lot of full frontal nudity, because it's about werewolves. It didn't bother me, but certainly there is a lot of violence in this one, and the idea of that town just gave me the creeps.
If you've seen the tv show, Wolf Lake, you might appreciate the strangeness of this town, except it has more of an Aryan feel. I think that the writer/artists did an excellent job of conveying that sense of wrongness of this small community.
Bigby is basically forced into the role of enforcer when things come to a head in the town. They see him as a god in many ways. He's not willing accept their worship, but he does take on the role of an alpha of a sort, enforcing the rules of the pack and a true understanding of what it means to be a wolf, which the people of the town seem to lack.
I didn't like this as much as the other Fables that I've read. I can't really say what I didn't like that much about it, other than it just rubbed me the wrong way. I still love Bigby and his backstory and how it relates to the current situation was very intriguing.
Good story, although I didn't like this as much as I wanted to like it.
October 15, 2019
Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland is a "stand alone" tale. Taking place when Bigby was out looking for new places for a Fabletown, he runs across a very strange town deep in the heart of the midwest. A town full of werwolves. Now the werewolves are NOT Fables, thus they are on their own program. Their program consists of hunting humans.
Into this enters Bigby. Technically, the God of Wolves. He runs into an old WWII comrade, who now ostensibly runs this town of werewolves. The entire story of how the townspeople revere Bigby as a messianic figure, while the leadership of the town view him as a threat to be co-opted or removed. Well, let's just say-Bigby shows us why he is the "Big Bad Wolf".
More than that I will not say. This was a very enjoyable Fables tale, set outside the standard Fables volumes, and I really appreciated the emphasis on a town full of werewolves. A very cool idea. Bigby's interaction and the finale of the story only makes my respect for Bigby grow. He is one bad-ass wolf.
If there is any complaint, it would be that the art could have been better. It is not bad, just "decent". I think a better artist would easily have pushed this "horror" tale of Fables into 5 star territory. A great adventure for any Fables, Bigby or just werewolf fan. Though it helps to know who Bigby is, it is not necessary.
Into this enters Bigby. Technically, the God of Wolves. He runs into an old WWII comrade, who now ostensibly runs this town of werewolves. The entire story of how the townspeople revere Bigby as a messianic figure, while the leadership of the town view him as a threat to be co-opted or removed. Well, let's just say-Bigby shows us why he is the "Big Bad Wolf".
More than that I will not say. This was a very enjoyable Fables tale, set outside the standard Fables volumes, and I really appreciated the emphasis on a town full of werewolves. A very cool idea. Bigby's interaction and the finale of the story only makes my respect for Bigby grow. He is one bad-ass wolf.
If there is any complaint, it would be that the art could have been better. It is not bad, just "decent". I think a better artist would easily have pushed this "horror" tale of Fables into 5 star territory. A great adventure for any Fables, Bigby or just werewolf fan. Though it helps to know who Bigby is, it is not necessary.
December 1, 2012
Sad. This is the first time I've been disappointed in one of Bill Willingham's "Fables" books. There's just not much to this. Bigby (the "Big Bad Wolf" from fairy tales) is looking to relocate Fabletown and stumbles across a town called Story. And all its citizens are werewolves!
I think part of the problem is that too much of the main story is told through conversation rather than action. All the talk leads up to a big wolf fight and the story concludes. Meh...
And the artwork is horrible. It's mostly stiff and lifeless except in a few pages scattered throughout the book. In some places it looks like the rough layouts were inked with no effort at all to add any detail.
All in all, a very disappointing entry in the otherwise excellent "Fables" series.
I think part of the problem is that too much of the main story is told through conversation rather than action. All the talk leads up to a big wolf fight and the story concludes. Meh...
And the artwork is horrible. It's mostly stiff and lifeless except in a few pages scattered throughout the book. In some places it looks like the rough layouts were inked with no effort at all to add any detail.
All in all, a very disappointing entry in the otherwise excellent "Fables" series.
May 24, 2013
Generic art doesn't do anything to help out a thin story that expands on part of Bigby's mythology (one of my favorite stories, actually, from the comics) that didn't really need to be expanded on. Honestly, there was no tension; you know they can't win against Bigby so, as a reader I was just waiting for them to make their move on him, and for him to massacre them. And it wasn't very satisfying when it happened. Not bad, but not anything to write home about either.
March 18, 2014
I love the fables series, it's one of my favorites and has a very dear place in my heart. I also love Bigby as a character, he's complex and interesting. The promise of a tale about Bigby discovering a hidden town of werewolves in the heartland of America has so much potential amd for the first 3 chapters this was indeed the case. However, things start going downhill halfway through the book amd does not unfortunately recovers. Without going into spoilers here are my thoughts:
1) I just was not able to get into Craig Hamilton's art, it was many things, the lines, the colour pallet, the framing, it all just was very unappealable to me. Jim Fern's cover (as with all fables covers) was amazing and I was so very put off by the art.
2) I don't want to blame the art but the story was also very choppy and unclear. It felt like scenes were missing and information that Willingham assumes we got in previous pages was not present. Once again not to get into spoilers the entire conflict was very choppy and the characters were never fleshed out, or their motivations never truly explained. The last third of the book is simply chaos and the ending was rushed and just ended.
I wanted to like this book very much but honestly I don't see myself reading it again given that it does not really have any effects on the main fables story and is in my opinion something one can skip (unless you are a OCD like me).
1) I just was not able to get into Craig Hamilton's art, it was many things, the lines, the colour pallet, the framing, it all just was very unappealable to me. Jim Fern's cover (as with all fables covers) was amazing and I was so very put off by the art.
2) I don't want to blame the art but the story was also very choppy and unclear. It felt like scenes were missing and information that Willingham assumes we got in previous pages was not present. Once again not to get into spoilers the entire conflict was very choppy and the characters were never fleshed out, or their motivations never truly explained. The last third of the book is simply chaos and the ending was rushed and just ended.
I wanted to like this book very much but honestly I don't see myself reading it again given that it does not really have any effects on the main fables story and is in my opinion something one can skip (unless you are a OCD like me).
June 16, 2018
Finally got around to reading this volume, which is a stand-alone graphic novel starring Bigby Wolf during the period earlier in the Fables series when Mr. Dark was threatening to destroy Fabletown, and Bigby was looking for a new site.
He comes across Story Town in the heartland of the USA (which Bill Willingham explains in the afterword is a real town he actually drove through, which gave him the inspiration for the setting, though he was disappointed to learn that Story Town was actually named after Chief Justice Joseph Story). Immediately he smells something is off, and being Bigby Wolf, it doesn't take him long to realize what it is - the entire population of the town is werewolves.
This leads to a flashback to World War II, where Bigby had decided for nebulous reasons to go kill Nazis in Europe. (I have always been a bit ambivalent about Bigby Wolf's heel-face turn. He started the Fables series as the most dreaded and implacable of monsters, someone who would kill and eat anyone without mercy, the Big Bad Wolf of legend. Then he marries Snow White, and ever after he's basically Wolverine, a good guy with an edge but who's always fighting on the side of right. Why would Bigby Wolf even care about Mundies killing other Mundies? The Emperor's army was as bad as the Reich.)
Anyway, we learn that Bigby Wolf made friends with an OSS agent, who died in the war, except of course he didn't really, and he and his ex-nemesis, a Nazi biologist war criminal, have gotten married and sired litters and litters of werewolf descendants.
Parts of Werewolves of the Heartland are downright funny, as Story Town is almost a parody of smalltown America. Everyone goes about their business, living life in an idyllic small town, having kids, going to the movies, except, you know, everyone is a werewolf so things are bound to end in bloodshed sooner or later, and the Big Bad Wolf coming to town precipitates that.
This was a pretty good if implausible story (how do 2400 werewolves live unnoticed in the middle of Illinois?). It is definitely R-rated - there is sex and violence, and lots of it. Mostly violence. A story all about Bigby Wolf, and one in which he really cuts loose against other monsters, is bound to be bloody, and the artist probably went through a few liters of red ink for this volume.
Not the best of all Fables tales, but it stood well as a stand-alone and was better than some of the weaker volumes in the regular series.
He comes across Story Town in the heartland of the USA (which Bill Willingham explains in the afterword is a real town he actually drove through, which gave him the inspiration for the setting, though he was disappointed to learn that Story Town was actually named after Chief Justice Joseph Story). Immediately he smells something is off, and being Bigby Wolf, it doesn't take him long to realize what it is - the entire population of the town is werewolves.
This leads to a flashback to World War II, where Bigby had decided for nebulous reasons to go kill Nazis in Europe. (I have always been a bit ambivalent about Bigby Wolf's heel-face turn. He started the Fables series as the most dreaded and implacable of monsters, someone who would kill and eat anyone without mercy, the Big Bad Wolf of legend. Then he marries Snow White, and ever after he's basically Wolverine, a good guy with an edge but who's always fighting on the side of right. Why would Bigby Wolf even care about Mundies killing other Mundies? The Emperor's army was as bad as the Reich.)
Anyway, we learn that Bigby Wolf made friends with an OSS agent, who died in the war, except of course he didn't really, and he and his ex-nemesis, a Nazi biologist war criminal, have gotten married and sired litters and litters of werewolf descendants.
Parts of Werewolves of the Heartland are downright funny, as Story Town is almost a parody of smalltown America. Everyone goes about their business, living life in an idyllic small town, having kids, going to the movies, except, you know, everyone is a werewolf so things are bound to end in bloodshed sooner or later, and the Big Bad Wolf coming to town precipitates that.
This was a pretty good if implausible story (how do 2400 werewolves live unnoticed in the middle of Illinois?). It is definitely R-rated - there is sex and violence, and lots of it. Mostly violence. A story all about Bigby Wolf, and one in which he really cuts loose against other monsters, is bound to be bloody, and the artist probably went through a few liters of red ink for this volume.
Not the best of all Fables tales, but it stood well as a stand-alone and was better than some of the weaker volumes in the regular series.
November 5, 2017
Here's a hard lesson to learn:
Gorgeous cover art does not equal gorgeous inside art.
While I did ooh and ahh over the amazing muscles, the rest of the art did nothing for me. And it was TOO BRIGHT. I'm not talking about COLOR bright; I'm talking about looking like I'm shining my headlight brights on the page bright.
The story was simple but mostly enjoyable. Got to see a few old "friends" and fangirl over Bigby for pages and pages and pages.
3 Stars
Gorgeous cover art does not equal gorgeous inside art.
While I did ooh and ahh over the amazing muscles, the rest of the art did nothing for me. And it was TOO BRIGHT. I'm not talking about COLOR bright; I'm talking about looking like I'm shining my headlight brights on the page bright.
The story was simple but mostly enjoyable. Got to see a few old "friends" and fangirl over Bigby for pages and pages and pages.
3 Stars
January 20, 2016
I read this book back in September but have been putting off reviewing it since then. Originally, it was due to the fact I thought I already had reviewed it. I expressed my opinion of it to Jonas, after all, and likely to several others (I think I mentioned it to Sharon in passing, as she was playing The Wolf Among Us then). Since I was talking about it so often, hadn't I reviewed it?
Apparently not.
Once I discovered my mistake I began putting it off for an entirely different reason. Namely, the fact that this book was remarkably unimpressive.
I'm a big fan of the Fables series. I read through the books up to the most recently published Deluxe edition each year, and have played the Tell Tale game. Intermittently I'm one of those people obsessively checking for the rumors of a sequel. I read through the comics faithfully enough to have won the first-reads edition of The Wolf Among Us book - which was great, by the way. All of that meant little, however, when faced with this book. It's an anomaly of sorts. How could a Bill Willingham authored chapter in the Fables books be so, well, painful to get through?
There are two things that make comics work - a good plot, and good artwork. Werewolves of the Heartland had neither. The plot, while it did tie back to Bigby's WWII days and prove an interesting mystery, in the end went nowhere. It seemed as if the book was more of an excuse to have a massive werewolf fight than to actually be an intriguing mystery or further any sort of characterization of Bigby, or indeed, any other characters.
The artwork, on the other hand, seemed plainly sloppy. While I didn't mind the werewolf nudity, as other reviewers did, I did mind the lack of detailing in the characters overall. The book seemed hastily done, rather than the intricate artwork Fables nearly always has. The Arabian Nights Snow White story had better artwork than this, truly.
So, in essence, while this story has a decent idea at the heart of it the execution of exceptionally poor. It could have been more than a werewolf fight-fest, but it really wasn't. The action of the fight could have been more clearly rendered, the mystery could have been stronger... but it ultimately wasn't. An embarrassing hiccup in Fables history, this is best left only for completionists to read.
Apparently not.
Once I discovered my mistake I began putting it off for an entirely different reason. Namely, the fact that this book was remarkably unimpressive.
I'm a big fan of the Fables series. I read through the books up to the most recently published Deluxe edition each year, and have played the Tell Tale game. Intermittently I'm one of those people obsessively checking for the rumors of a sequel. I read through the comics faithfully enough to have won the first-reads edition of The Wolf Among Us book - which was great, by the way. All of that meant little, however, when faced with this book. It's an anomaly of sorts. How could a Bill Willingham authored chapter in the Fables books be so, well, painful to get through?
There are two things that make comics work - a good plot, and good artwork. Werewolves of the Heartland had neither. The plot, while it did tie back to Bigby's WWII days and prove an interesting mystery, in the end went nowhere. It seemed as if the book was more of an excuse to have a massive werewolf fight than to actually be an intriguing mystery or further any sort of characterization of Bigby, or indeed, any other characters.
The artwork, on the other hand, seemed plainly sloppy. While I didn't mind the werewolf nudity, as other reviewers did, I did mind the lack of detailing in the characters overall. The book seemed hastily done, rather than the intricate artwork Fables nearly always has. The Arabian Nights Snow White story had better artwork than this, truly.
So, in essence, while this story has a decent idea at the heart of it the execution of exceptionally poor. It could have been more than a werewolf fight-fest, but it really wasn't. The action of the fight could have been more clearly rendered, the mystery could have been stronger... but it ultimately wasn't. An embarrassing hiccup in Fables history, this is best left only for completionists to read.
December 4, 2012
The premise: ganked form BN.com: At long last! The long-awaited original FABLES: WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND graphic novel is here!
Bigby Wolf embarks on a quest through the American Heartland to find a new location for Fabletown, a secret society of exiled fairy tale characters living among the "mundys." In his wanderings, Bigby stumbles across Story City, a small town that seems to be occupied solely by werewolves. Oddly enough, they seem to already know and revere Bigby, but at the same time they've captured and caged him.
FABLES: WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND tells an epic tale that began well before Bigby Wolf set foot in the bucolic plains of the Midwest. It began long ago when he served in World War II and became mired in a Nazi experiment that would change nations. It's soon evident that murder in Story City is the least of their sins, and unraveling the town's many mysteries may cost Bigby, the seventh son of the North Wind, much more than his own life.
My Rating: It's a Gamble
It's an underwhelming story, to be honest. I won't say it's bad: it's just a quickie adventure that lacks tension because reader's can pretty much guess how it ends, and the details regarding the residents of the city itself are, well, a non-starter, I guess. We don't know these people at all, so we don't have any stake in their fates. The ending itself is a little odd, raising a question of what's going to happen down the road rather than simply resolving the story. I supposed I'll know how that plays out when it shows up in the series, but as it stands, this story is rather forgettable. Maybe it'll be heightened later down the road, but for now, it was just a quick read that doesn't really add anything to the Fables universe, let alone to werewolf stories as a whole.
Spoilers, yay or nay?: Nay. Honestly, I don't have a lot to say about this, so no need to worry about spoilers. If you're interested in the full review, just visit my blog! You can go directly to the review by clicking the link below, and as always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :)
REVIEW: Bill Willingham's FABLES: WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND
Happy Reading!
Bigby Wolf embarks on a quest through the American Heartland to find a new location for Fabletown, a secret society of exiled fairy tale characters living among the "mundys." In his wanderings, Bigby stumbles across Story City, a small town that seems to be occupied solely by werewolves. Oddly enough, they seem to already know and revere Bigby, but at the same time they've captured and caged him.
FABLES: WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND tells an epic tale that began well before Bigby Wolf set foot in the bucolic plains of the Midwest. It began long ago when he served in World War II and became mired in a Nazi experiment that would change nations. It's soon evident that murder in Story City is the least of their sins, and unraveling the town's many mysteries may cost Bigby, the seventh son of the North Wind, much more than his own life.
My Rating: It's a Gamble
It's an underwhelming story, to be honest. I won't say it's bad: it's just a quickie adventure that lacks tension because reader's can pretty much guess how it ends, and the details regarding the residents of the city itself are, well, a non-starter, I guess. We don't know these people at all, so we don't have any stake in their fates. The ending itself is a little odd, raising a question of what's going to happen down the road rather than simply resolving the story. I supposed I'll know how that plays out when it shows up in the series, but as it stands, this story is rather forgettable. Maybe it'll be heightened later down the road, but for now, it was just a quick read that doesn't really add anything to the Fables universe, let alone to werewolf stories as a whole.
Spoilers, yay or nay?: Nay. Honestly, I don't have a lot to say about this, so no need to worry about spoilers. If you're interested in the full review, just visit my blog! You can go directly to the review by clicking the link below, and as always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :)
REVIEW: Bill Willingham's FABLES: WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND
Happy Reading!
January 31, 2013
This long delayed original graphic novel is a spin off from the long running Vertigo series, Fables. As with the main series, it was written by Bill Willingham. The book has a number of artists - Jim Fern who did layouts, pencils and inks, Craig Hamilton who did pencils and inks; Ray Snyder and Mark Farmer who did inks.
While on a quest looking for a suitable location for a new home for Fabletown, Bigby Wolf drops in on Story City, a town secretly funded by Bluebeard. King Cole has charged Bigby to find out what is there and what Bluebeard's interest in the town could have been. Bigby finds the town populated solely by werewolves whose origin lies in some of Bigby's activities in the Second World War. But the arrival of Bigby acts as a catalyst for change in elements of the citizens of Story City not happy with the way things are being run.
I usually love all things Fables but this book didn't do much for me. Although it is a standalone story it has some ties back to events in the Mean Seasons collection. However, the events in The Mean Seasons are recounted here so it would be possible for someone not familiar with the 120 odd issues of Fables to pick it up and read it. But I would not recommend it as a starting place for new readers as the story is one of the weakest that I have read in the Fables universe. It has been left open for some consequences of Bigby's actions perhaps coming back to haunt him in the main series but unless that happens and is spectacular then this book is a big disappointment.
The book is not even rescued by the art which is pretty sketchy. The large number of contributers seem to be used at random and the art style can change from one page to the next within the same scene leaving the reader confused. The colour palette is very muted with browns and pastel colours tending to dominate helping to make it feel all very mundane. All in all, I'm afraid, I found the book to be a major let down.
While on a quest looking for a suitable location for a new home for Fabletown, Bigby Wolf drops in on Story City, a town secretly funded by Bluebeard. King Cole has charged Bigby to find out what is there and what Bluebeard's interest in the town could have been. Bigby finds the town populated solely by werewolves whose origin lies in some of Bigby's activities in the Second World War. But the arrival of Bigby acts as a catalyst for change in elements of the citizens of Story City not happy with the way things are being run.
I usually love all things Fables but this book didn't do much for me. Although it is a standalone story it has some ties back to events in the Mean Seasons collection. However, the events in The Mean Seasons are recounted here so it would be possible for someone not familiar with the 120 odd issues of Fables to pick it up and read it. But I would not recommend it as a starting place for new readers as the story is one of the weakest that I have read in the Fables universe. It has been left open for some consequences of Bigby's actions perhaps coming back to haunt him in the main series but unless that happens and is spectacular then this book is a big disappointment.
The book is not even rescued by the art which is pretty sketchy. The large number of contributers seem to be used at random and the art style can change from one page to the next within the same scene leaving the reader confused. The colour palette is very muted with browns and pastel colours tending to dominate helping to make it feel all very mundane. All in all, I'm afraid, I found the book to be a major let down.
April 28, 2022
Yay! Always fun to read more Fables. Especially stuff focused on Bigby. Especially stuff focused on providing copious amounts of Bigby fanservice. Bigby spent like half of this naked. I'm not complaining, I just hardly expected this to answer the age old questions: is Bigby cut or uncut?
No, but all jokes aside, this was cool. It spins off and expands on his time fighting Nazis and shows some aftermath we didn't know about. Bigby becomes trapped in a town run by a cult of fascist murderous nazi werewolves who are all blond and blue eyed and it's uncanny and disturbing. They hunt humans for sport because of course they do. Watching Bigby set them straight was satisfying as hell.
It was pretty much what I expected, I think an extra chapter or two to flesh out some of the side characters was much-needed, but other than finding it a teensy bit short, I had fun with this.
Bigby really doesn't fuck around once you're on his shit-list!
December 18, 2016
WARNING! NAUGHTY BITS VISIBLE IN THIS BOOK! WARNING!
Oh, ferfucksake. Why is this important? Well, it's not, really. And this 'review' is more about my experience reading the book than the book itself. Deal.
SO. When I checked this out from the library I discovered mid-read that someone had torn out a page. I kept reading, because the plot is not particularly complex and I could probably figure out what I'd missed. I also hate to stop once I start reading a graphic novel because I consider them one-sitting reads. Then I reached another spot with a missing page. Then I flipped ahead and found another.
I returned the book to the library, letting them know about the damage and requesting another copy. It arrived quickly (because YAY KCLS! They buy multiple copies of popular books!) and I skim-read through it since I'd pretty much read the story. What had I missed? SEXY TIME. And non-sexy nudity. I don't know whether it was a seriously desperate perv or a seriously uptight self-righteous assmunch, but someone had torn out the pages with implied sex and vaguely-drawn penii.
NOW. In a remarkable demonstration of restraint, I am NOT going to spend any more time ranting about how I view those who assume the role of censor without permission or appointment in order to 'protect' society from sexual imagery. Because it's what they left behind that bothers me.
They left the violent images. Dismemberment, disembowelment-- all kinds of bloody violence.
This troubles me.
I really hope it was just a perv.*
*I also hope perv figures out how to use the internet & stops damaging library books.
Oh, ferfucksake. Why is this important? Well, it's not, really. And this 'review' is more about my experience reading the book than the book itself. Deal.
SO. When I checked this out from the library I discovered mid-read that someone had torn out a page. I kept reading, because the plot is not particularly complex and I could probably figure out what I'd missed. I also hate to stop once I start reading a graphic novel because I consider them one-sitting reads. Then I reached another spot with a missing page. Then I flipped ahead and found another.
I returned the book to the library, letting them know about the damage and requesting another copy. It arrived quickly (because YAY KCLS! They buy multiple copies of popular books!) and I skim-read through it since I'd pretty much read the story. What had I missed? SEXY TIME. And non-sexy nudity. I don't know whether it was a seriously desperate perv or a seriously uptight self-righteous assmunch, but someone had torn out the pages with implied sex and vaguely-drawn penii.
NOW. In a remarkable demonstration of restraint, I am NOT going to spend any more time ranting about how I view those who assume the role of censor without permission or appointment in order to 'protect' society from sexual imagery. Because it's what they left behind that bothers me.
They left the violent images. Dismemberment, disembowelment-- all kinds of bloody violence.
This troubles me.
I really hope it was just a perv.*
*I also hope perv figures out how to use the internet & stops damaging library books.
August 27, 2014
Well, i must confess this is the first thing published within the Fables universe that I haven't fallen instantly in love with. Even the obtuse and peculiar Jack of the Fables has its place in my heart.
Good things:
The overall concept was good. As per usual, Willingham does a great job of taking a classic concept, in this case werewolves, and bringing a twisted sort of reality to it.
The colouring was lovely. Subtle and entirely fitting to the themes and nature of the story.
Reasons I didn't love it:
First of all, the overall story felt weak. It was quite one note and focused really around lots of death that had little emotional weight.
Second, as I mentioned whilst reading the book, I didn't quite gel with the art. I still can't decide if this is because I'm so wedded to the wonderful art from the main Fables storyline. Whether or not, though, it didn't work for me. I should mention this isn't a criticism of the quality of the art. I think it's great, it just doesn't work in this context.
Finally, I struggled with the romance between the two main antagonists. Their relationship was interesting and the werewolf 'logic' did help it along, but i still struggled to believe it.
So, if you haven't read Fables, I probably wouldn't start here. If you have, this is nice for further fleshing out Bigby's huge backstory, but by no means essential.
Good things:
The overall concept was good. As per usual, Willingham does a great job of taking a classic concept, in this case werewolves, and bringing a twisted sort of reality to it.
The colouring was lovely. Subtle and entirely fitting to the themes and nature of the story.
Reasons I didn't love it:
First of all, the overall story felt weak. It was quite one note and focused really around lots of death that had little emotional weight.
Second, as I mentioned whilst reading the book, I didn't quite gel with the art. I still can't decide if this is because I'm so wedded to the wonderful art from the main Fables storyline. Whether or not, though, it didn't work for me. I should mention this isn't a criticism of the quality of the art. I think it's great, it just doesn't work in this context.
Finally, I struggled with the romance between the two main antagonists. Their relationship was interesting and the werewolf 'logic' did help it along, but i still struggled to believe it.
So, if you haven't read Fables, I probably wouldn't start here. If you have, this is nice for further fleshing out Bigby's huge backstory, but by no means essential.
December 18, 2012
So... I wanted to like this more than I did. It's not going to be anywhere near my top 10 favorite Fables, or mythic fiction stories. But the story was serviceable and had its moments. The art, however...
This book was delayed for over a year. I actually don't know why, but I'm going to hazard a guess that it had to do something with the art, and that even after a year's delay, there was still an issue getting the art together and they really rushed it out. You have one guy doing layouts but only some finishes along with another guy, and four different inkers. So six people at work on the art, and it shows, because the art style changes from page to page. Some pages look half-finished. The coloring doesn't help much, either. It's all washed out and bland and just plain ugly at times. With the advent of computer coloring we've come to regard colorists as artists in their own right, but here you get the feeling the whole project was dumped in Lee Loughridge's lap at the last minute with the instruction "just get it done." I know he can do better than this, and that's been on monthly issues. Not a prestige hardcover.
I'm glad I didn't pay too much for this book, and it was so not worth the wait.
This book was delayed for over a year. I actually don't know why, but I'm going to hazard a guess that it had to do something with the art, and that even after a year's delay, there was still an issue getting the art together and they really rushed it out. You have one guy doing layouts but only some finishes along with another guy, and four different inkers. So six people at work on the art, and it shows, because the art style changes from page to page. Some pages look half-finished. The coloring doesn't help much, either. It's all washed out and bland and just plain ugly at times. With the advent of computer coloring we've come to regard colorists as artists in their own right, but here you get the feeling the whole project was dumped in Lee Loughridge's lap at the last minute with the instruction "just get it done." I know he can do better than this, and that's been on monthly issues. Not a prestige hardcover.
I'm glad I didn't pay too much for this book, and it was so not worth the wait.
December 7, 2015
Note: I am a big Fables fan and own all the GN's to date, but I found this stand alone story to be a disappointment. Mind you, there's good stuff --- you get a lot of Bigby and some great exposition of his time during WWII. However....
1) You have inconsistent art. The credits mention Jim Fern as doing layouts, Craig Hamilton and Jim Fern as doing pencils, and four people doing inking. On some pages, you have incredible detail --- close to Art Adams or Geoff Darrow level. On other pages, you have what look like rough inks over layouts. And you can turn the page from one style to another (in fact, from one two-page splash to another).
2) There's not really a resolution. Well, there is (a big fight scene with Bigby and some aftermath), but the ending doesn't change Bigby and it's hard to see how anyone else is greatly changed (besides being killed). The exposition is fascinating --- the plotting less so. I've seen these types of endings in the main title and not been that concerned --- you know something else is coming down the pike. I wanted a stand alone story to have more emotional import at the end.
1) You have inconsistent art. The credits mention Jim Fern as doing layouts, Craig Hamilton and Jim Fern as doing pencils, and four people doing inking. On some pages, you have incredible detail --- close to Art Adams or Geoff Darrow level. On other pages, you have what look like rough inks over layouts. And you can turn the page from one style to another (in fact, from one two-page splash to another).
2) There's not really a resolution. Well, there is (a big fight scene with Bigby and some aftermath), but the ending doesn't change Bigby and it's hard to see how anyone else is greatly changed (besides being killed). The exposition is fascinating --- the plotting less so. I've seen these types of endings in the main title and not been that concerned --- you know something else is coming down the pike. I wanted a stand alone story to have more emotional import at the end.
February 11, 2013
In this graphic novel, Bigby Wolf is traveling the earth looking for a new place to build Fabletown after tragedy ruined their home. He wanders across an old ally who survived a catastrophe by getting spattered by Bigby's blood and becoming a werewolf. With another survivor, he has started an isolated community of werewolves where Bigby is considered the God of Wolves. His arrival demonstrates a fissure in the community leading to an all out werewolf fight all across the picture postcard town.
This long-awaited graphic novel is a bit of a disappointment. The themes call back to Willingham's earlier work in COVENTRY and with the CLOCKWORK STORYBOOK. The script has a bit more 'telling' than 'showing', letting the story drag in places.
The art does not help the blandish story. Inconsistent inking by the four listed inkers leads to nice looking chapters banging up against unrealized pages by the same penciler.
This is an interesting sequel to a couple of issues early in the FABLES comic book run, but a book for hard core collectors only.
This long-awaited graphic novel is a bit of a disappointment. The themes call back to Willingham's earlier work in COVENTRY and with the CLOCKWORK STORYBOOK. The script has a bit more 'telling' than 'showing', letting the story drag in places.
The art does not help the blandish story. Inconsistent inking by the four listed inkers leads to nice looking chapters banging up against unrealized pages by the same penciler.
This is an interesting sequel to a couple of issues early in the FABLES comic book run, but a book for hard core collectors only.
December 28, 2012
As tends to be the case with the Fables series, when it isn't the main illustrator of Mark Buckingham, I tend to not like it nearly as much. I've gotten so used to his work and renditions of the characters that anything else feels off. Even still, the artwork is nice enough here, but I think what bothered me the most is the general color scheme, very soft pastel colors that didn't fit the tone of the tale.
Art aside, this made for an interesting "filler" story that added to the world of Fables and what Bigby was doing when he was out searching for a possible site for the new Fabletown. Really, though, more than anything, it serves as another testament to Bigby's badassery. That's not much else here. It's an interesting idea, as all of Willingham's work tends to be, but nothing so epic or mind-blowing as what he's done in the past.
Still, if you like Fables, there's no reason NOT to read this--especially if you like as complete of a story as possible.
Art aside, this made for an interesting "filler" story that added to the world of Fables and what Bigby was doing when he was out searching for a possible site for the new Fabletown. Really, though, more than anything, it serves as another testament to Bigby's badassery. That's not much else here. It's an interesting idea, as all of Willingham's work tends to be, but nothing so epic or mind-blowing as what he's done in the past.
Still, if you like Fables, there's no reason NOT to read this--especially if you like as complete of a story as possible.
January 15, 2013
Public library copy.
Meh. Very disappointing that the most popular character in the Fables-verse got this story treatment in the form of an OGN (original graphic novel.) I thought the book was heavily padded and could have been half as long. After the third issue we thankfully get rid of the needless prose captions so the plot can progress better without interrupting any character dialogue. I can't wait to crack open Fables volume 18 to rid my memory of lackluster let down. If you want to see, as the cover depicts, Bigby fighting werewolves, then you'll get it in spades and not much of anything else. Worse yet, no romance with Snow White. How hard could it be to create a suspenseful thriller with a character reminiscent of Wolverine in the Fables world? I half expected Bigby would be on a new, exciting, wondrous spy mission or something, but instead any hopes of that are gone after only a couple pages.
Meh. Very disappointing that the most popular character in the Fables-verse got this story treatment in the form of an OGN (original graphic novel.) I thought the book was heavily padded and could have been half as long. After the third issue we thankfully get rid of the needless prose captions so the plot can progress better without interrupting any character dialogue. I can't wait to crack open Fables volume 18 to rid my memory of lackluster let down. If you want to see, as the cover depicts, Bigby fighting werewolves, then you'll get it in spades and not much of anything else. Worse yet, no romance with Snow White. How hard could it be to create a suspenseful thriller with a character reminiscent of Wolverine in the Fables world? I half expected Bigby would be on a new, exciting, wondrous spy mission or something, but instead any hopes of that are gone after only a couple pages.
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