Today, I'm going to talk about the world of Fables, the concept behind both books and talk a little bit about the recent Great Fables Crossover.
Imagine that every story is true. Imagine that every tale, no matter how tall, is history in places that are both a long time ago and far far away. Imagine that every person who ever existed in a work of fiction is a real person on some other plane of reality.
Now imagine that there is a force of unspeakable evil - one that unites all the other various forces of darkness under one banner and organizes them into an army of darkness the likes of which has never been seen. Imagine that all of these beings - to our minds fictional and in many cases impossible - flee to our world seeking sanctuary against what they now call The Adversary. These beings are Fables. And the world they flee to is our own.
About 400 Years after this occurs is where we first walk into the world of Fables. Where most of these beings who can pass for Human, such as Snow White and Little Boy Blue, live along several city blocks of New York City in an area collectively known as Fabletown. Those who cannot pass for human, such as The Three Bears or The Dish that ran away with The Spoon, live on The Animal Farm - a magically hidden area in upstate New York.
Human or no, most Fables all share a degree of superhuman invulnerability to ordinary weaponry along with whatever magical talents of their own they might have. They can shrug off injuries that would hurt a normal human or animal and even death can only delay the most powerful of them. The Fables theorize this is due to a symbiotic relationship with humanity (or The Mundanes, as they call us), where the more popular a Fable is, the harder it is for them to be killed off so long as humanity remembers them. They have no proof of this but it does fit the evidence at hand.
As the series opens, we are presented with a murder mystery as Rose Red turns up dead. Sheriff Bigby Wolf (gedit?) is quickly on the case, sniffing out clues amongst the numerous suspects. Did estranged sister Snow White get fed up with how her wild sister was ruining their good family name? Did boyfriend and small-time crook Jack Horner (a.k.a. Jack Nimble, a.k.a. Jack Frost, a.k.a Jack O'Lantern) decide to go after bigger stakes than giant-killing and castle-robbing? Did Prince Charming decide to do something about the red-hot redhead, after his affair with her destroyed his marriage? And what about the rumors of a secret engagement to the wealthy Mr. Bluebeard - could he have returned to his old ways and been unable to wait for the wedding night?
The first issue is available for free on the Vertigo Comics website.
Fables has proved to be a critical success, with the book winning multiple Eisner Awards for interior art, covers and writing. It has also been a smash-hit with the fans, being perhaps the most popular series Vertigo Comics has published since The Sandman at its' height. A spin-off was perhaps inevitable under these circumstances so it was no surprise a few years ago when Jack of Fables started.
This book centers upon Jack Horner after his exile from Fabletown in, following an incident involving some stolen treasure, a movie studio and a trilogy of films based on Jack's life. Stripped of his fortune, his name and everything save the clothes on his back and a briefcase full of a cool million in cash, Jack hits the road looking for another adventure. Adventure finds him in the form of a gorgeous redhead, who captures Jack and takes him to a sort of rest home for wandering Fables. Overseen by the orderly Mr. Revise, Jack immediately plans escape and we eventually find out that Mr. Revise and his daughters, The Page Sisters, represent a third faction between The Fables and The Adversary - a group of beings called The Literals.
Literals are living personifications of the elements of a story, similar to The Endless from The Sandman. If the Fables can be said to be characters in a story, the Literals are the parts of the story. The major difference between a Literal and a Fable is that Literals are aware that they are part of a bigger story and can see the readers whereas The Fables do not. The Literals also appear to be more bound toward duty and filling a role in the universe as opposed to the relatively free Fables.
The Fourth Wall. The Deus Ex Machina. Even the various genres of literature are living people, with Comedy looking something like Groucho Marx and Horror looking like an innocent little girl in a pink dress.
The first issue of Jack of Fables is also available for free on the Vertigo Comics website.
The Great Fables Crossover is the first effort to tell a continuing storyline between these two series as well as a three-part mini-series called The Literals. The story starts in Jack of Fables, with Jack having just formed an uneasy alliance with Revise and his team, in the face of a much bigger threat. In this case, Revise's father Kevin Thorn (a.k.a. The Spirit of Creation) has remembered who he is and is now in serious danger of rewriting the universe to "fix" things.
Jack, who has bigger things to worry about (i.e. getting laid and getting out of there) calls Snow White and Bigby Wolf to warn them and "get someone else besides me to solve all the world's problems for a change". (His words, not ours) Eventually they show up, a fist-fight breaks out and Jack abandons his own title in favor of swinging by The Animal Farm just in time to be declared the second-coming of a recently fallen hero and the Messiah of the Fables. And then Jack's bastard son (who is much less of a bastard than his father) shows up...
All of these are long stories that I can't begin to tell, for fear of depriving you of some of the best reading you will ever see in your life.
The Great Fables Crossover is more of the same quality comics we've come to expect of Bill Willingham, Matthew Sturges, Mark Buckingham, Russ Braun, Tony Akins and company. Give the previews above a look-see and start catching up. I suspect you'll be hooked immediately by this wonderful little book that dares ask us all to just imagine.
I have to say that The Great Fables Crossover was in fact the straw that broke the Fables canon for me. I'd previously dropped Fables out of consistent disappointment with it, but caught up on reading and picked it up again in time for the Crossover. My reasons for not reading it were divided between the tendency for the books to be used to push politics that weren't my own (Bigby's long pro-Israel speech being an example) and the way in which female characters who had potential were consistently written. I was down to Jack of Fables on its own, because the humour in the book and the starting point of the flawed narrator made it easier for me to read.
ReplyDeleteThen Jack raped Rose Red and it was all over for me as a fan.
It's a shame, because I really do like the concept. Really. It's just that reading it is no longer an enjoyable experience for me.
Which actually has little bearing on your review, I just wanted to share the bitterness that comes from being a recently-disillusioned fan.
My reasons for not reading it were divided between the tendency for the books to be used to push politics that weren't my own (Bigby's long pro-Israel speech being an example) and the way in which female characters who had potential were consistently written.
ReplyDeleteWell, Willingham IS a right-wing crank. Part of the reason that I'm not getting the JSA trades after they finish collecting the Johns run is because I fear what he'll do to Power Girl after DC Decisions.
That said, I enjoy the book well enough since he does keep it relatively free of - oh, say the blatency of Chuck Dixon making jokes about Bill Clinton being a hen-pecked husband in Birds of Prey or Judd Winick suggesting Gay Marriage can be used to balance the budget before saying "Oh, it really can't. We're just saying it can to get attention."
The lack of strong female characters does bother me but is somewhat explained (not justified, but explained) by the fact that all of these characters do come from traditional fairy tale kingdoms based on medieval standards. So I can see Snow White being readily able to fall back into that wife/mother role and playing house with Bigby.
I'd still much rather be reading about Cinderella: Super Spy, though.
Come to think of it, apart from Beauty, most of the female characters have drifted into the background. We haven't seen Briar Rose in a while. Or Little Red Riding Hood. Or ANYONE except Frau Tottenkinder, really.
Come to think of it, most of the more proactive modern Fables characters, who often have their courage and attitude marginalized in "children's editions" of their classic stories (Dorthy, Alice, Slue-Foot Sue) were being held captive by either Revise or Bookburner. Hmmm....
I was down to Jack of Fables on its own, because the humour in the book and the starting point of the flawed narrator made it easier for me to read.
Same here. I have a weakness for trickster tales, though. And the Babe the Blue Ox scenes were to die for.
Then Jack raped Rose Red and it was all over for me as a fan.
I'm ashamed to admit I didn't even think about this until you pointed it out to me. I wish I could argue that point, but I don't think I can.
Taken from the perspective of "Rose doesn't want to be with Jack when they have sex", then yes - it is rape.
Taken from the perspective of "Rose consents to sex with Jack because she thinks she's a bad person who deserves to be punished by spending the rest of her life with Jack", it isn't, since she does consent to the act.
The bigger question is whether or not Rose is competent enough to make that decision for herself at this time. Given that the last time we saw her clearly she was wasting away like a heroin addict and jibbering about how she deserves to be punished, I don't think anyone can argue that she is. Which brings us back around to Jack being a rapist by virtue of having sex with someone who can't give proper consent.
Of course Jack being Jack, it's hard to hate him for being a selfish jerk who doesn't know when he's not wanted and is so dense as to not notice little things like a woman just lying there while he gets off. It's like being angry at a fox because it is hungry and raids your chicken coop.
I'm far more concerned about the fact that Old King Cole, Beast and Beauty pretty much stand by and do NOTHING as Jack shows up and worms his way into Rose's bed. I think that, more than anything, kept me from noticing that anything was wrong. Like they would have said or done something if Rose was doing anything against her will. Then again, have they even noticed how screwed up in the head Rose is right now? It isn't until later when they are moving everyone into Snow and Bigby's house that anyone questions the wisdom of letting Jack and Rose share a room.
I'm going to have to think about this...
I took her repeated screaming Boy's name and the dialogue beforehand to mean 'Rose isn't sure who's she's having sex with', which answers the mental capability question for me.
ReplyDelete(I'd like to point out that I'm not out to spoil your enjoyment of the book, neither will I press the point if you decide that it wasn't rape in your eyes. I just had a very hard time reading that issue and it turned me off the book)
You make a very good point about Cole, Beauty and Beast, for that matter. My general feeling that Rose has been used as a plot point for Blue to have his heroic death rant to and to set up Jack's heroic crossover antics, and that the other characters' indifference to her was indicative of a writer's indifference. But I haven't read beyond that point.
Red had a pretty large role in "The Good Prince", so even though she left Fabletown, she became an important figurehead.
ReplyDeleteI thought the crossover was cool, if a bit too centered on Jack and his cast. I thought we'd get more insight into Stinky and his philosophy.
ReplyDeleteOddly enough, Matt Sturges is a liberal, and he had a hand in writing those, so I wouldn't attribute it to Willingham's politics.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I'd call it rape, since I don't think Rose Red was in any way mentally competent at the time.
I do expect at some point, this will get dealt with, preferably with Rose Red introducing Jack to the fire-breathing blackbird. Because this feels, in lots of ways, like someone tearing down a character in order to rebuild her, and that the inevitable bad karma is gonna come back and bite Jack in the ass.
I got bored with Fables around the tenth trade. A lot about what innerbrat said, with the female characters being pushed into the background and all that... I might pick up reading again sometime, who knows.
ReplyDeleteFigurehead being the key word. She didn't have that much power, what with Snow and Bigby being there. And even then... what did she do? Tend the farm while everyone else was fighting?
ReplyDeleteI took her repeated screaming Boy's name and the dialogue beforehand to mean 'Rose isn't sure who's she's having sex with', which answers the mental capability question for me.
ReplyDeleteI don't have the issue in front of me (mailed that one to Sierra a while ago), but IIRC, Rose was confused at first but Jack DID correct her and made some disparaging remarks about Boy Blue's sexuality. Jack, of course, being gloriously unaware of the battle against The Adversary, Boy Blue's Heroics and... oh, the last 40 issues or so.
Note that I am not excusing Jack's actions either way. It is skeevy as all get out, either way. It honestly didn't occur to me because...
a) it isn't until later that the fact that Rose has gone past grief-stricken into full blown psychosis is made crystal clear.
b) the fact that nobody else was the least bit concerned about Jack shacking up with Rose... until they try moving her AND Jack to Bigby's house. They make reference later to Rose and Jack's... encounter, shall we say, being clearly audible outside her house, so I'd like to think someone among the human Fables not a part of Stinky's cult would have said something or done something if Jack was unwelcome.
(I'd like to point out that I'm not out to spoil your enjoyment of the book, neither will I press the point if you decide that it wasn't rape in your eyes. I just had a very hard time reading that issue and it turned me off the book)
I know that wasn't your intent and I appreciate you expressing your opinion. But I'm never going to be able to look at this book quite the same away again. I'm not sure whether that's a bad thing or not... they could be building to something truly awesome with Rose. If that's the case, I'll be sure to let you know.
You make a very good point about Cole, Beauty and Beast, for that matter. My general feeling that Rose has been used as a plot point for Blue to have his heroic death rant to and to set up Jack's heroic crossover antics, and that the other characters' indifference to her was indicative of a writer's indifference. But I haven't read beyond that point.
Honestly, I think Willingham IS unsure what to do next. He freely admitted to planning the book as far as the Adversary's defeat but not past that. It seems, on reflection, that the last few months have been a holding pattern as they led up to this crossover, which - as has been pointed out - had a lot more to do with Jack and his supporting cast than the Fables.
That's a fair cop.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I think Willingham ran out of ideas past the planned ending of the series and he has it in a holding pattern now while he tries to figure out what to do with Mr. Dark.
*nods* It's something I didn't notice because - as far as this series has gone, anyway - I've loved so many of the characters I didn't think of them in terms of male and female characters. And The Good Prince was such an awesome and fitting "end of the story" for Flycatcher, I didn't even think about how we barely saw Rose or Snow in all that time, much less Beauty, Briar Rose, Red Riding Hood or Cinderella.
ReplyDeleteActually, Briar Rose and Cinderella had big parts in the final battle with the Adversary... but it's been pretty muted for everyone, of late in all honesty. Beast and Old King Cole haven't been doing much either. It's pretty much just Snow and Bigby's show again...
I meant Little Red Riding Hood, the stuff she does in Haven and whatnot.
ReplyDeleteArgh. Should not have read this comment.
ReplyDeleteI was reading Jack only before the crossover, and following Fables in trades. Have the same issues wrt politics of Willingham as you, but honestly enjoyed the story for a good long while. For logistic reasons, I stopped picking up Jack issues for the crossover.
This does seem to have been a misfire...
Yeah.
ReplyDeleteLike I said, I never even thought about it as rape because of how comically it was presented. Like how Stinky heard Rose shouting Blue's name and assumed he had returned from the dead... I didn't think Rose was confused at first - I thought she was trying to think of ANYONE besides Jack and that she had consented to the whole thing as a penance.
Of course that pretty much confirms that she's not in her right mind and can't really give proper consent, which takes us back to Square One.
Ditto the fact that the rest of the human Fables present (Beast, Beauty, Old King Cole) are more concerned about Stinky's cult and defusing it than they are about their emaciated, crazed friend getting raped. I'd like to think that all of them would have a bit more sense than that and that Beast would have put Jack on 24-hour watch... especially since Beast was the one who put a death-sentence on Jack if he ever came back.
I didn't even remember that she was in Haven...
ReplyDelete