| Fables: Storybook Love |
 Fables: Storybook Love is the third trade paperback volume released collecting issues of DC Comics Fables comic book series. I've already read volume one, Legends in Exile, and volume two, Animal Farm and enjoyed them immensely. So I went into Storybook Love with high hopes.
The quick premise is this: The characters of the fables, myths, and legends are real. They were chased out of the homelands by the mysterious Adversary centuries ago and have since settled in New York to live among the mundies (common humans) and wait for their chance to overthrow the Adversary and return to their rightful home. Written by Bill Willingham, Storybook Love collects issues #11-18 of the series and unlike the first two volumes which had only one story per collection, actually has four short stories in the trade paperback. The unifying theme - to varying degrees - is love or romance. An essential aspect of any fairy tale or make-believe. Just like in previous editions, the stories are fresh and fun, the characters engaging, and the artwork is beautiful. Essentially everything I've already said the last two times I reviewed the series (Legends in Exile review, Animal Farm review), so I won't go on repeating myself here once again. Willingham and his creative support team continue to deliver stories that I find entertaining and satisfying. Original work that I can't find elsewhere. I highly recommend this series. There is one thing that I haven't talked about in previous reviews of Fables collections, and that is Willingham's ability to re-envision these characters of myth and legend in contemporary settings without losing their make-believe or magical essence. He and his artists are able to re-create Snow White as a believable woman in modern day New York City, but she still retains that air of beauty and stature that is fitting for her character of fairy tales. Willingham isn't just taking old characters and putting them in modern settings, he's bringing the myth and magic that make those characters who they are along with them. Also, Willingham displays a talent for creating his own fairy tales to feed his stories. The last story in the Storybook Love collection is a tale called "Barleycorn Brides." The story is about how the Lilliputian men who had already fled the homelands but without any Lilliputian women, were able to sneak back into the lands controlled by the Adversary to steal a jar of magic barleycorn. The same barleycorn that Thumbelina had sprung from many years ago. To the best of my knowledge it is an original story by Bill Willingham, yet it successfully captures the magic and wonder of a good fairy tale. I was very impressed. With the story and the collection as a whole. |