Fables: Legends in Exile

After reading Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall, I was intrigued by its awkward premise and decide to read the real series. Actually, I liked Legends in Exile more than 1001 Nights, for its more stylish presentation and dialog.

Like 1001 Nights, Fables is the story of classic Fables, years after their prospective stories took place. The fables in the story now live in New York, since they were brutally driven out of their homelands by The Adversary. They occupy two main hubs: one is in upstate New York, called the Farm. The Farm is a place for fables who didn't want to be in the city, and for those whose appearance in the city would not be beneficial for the fables (monsters included). The second hub is in the city itself. Legends in Exile takes place in the city, and makes brief mentions of the Farm.

The fables in the Fables series are immortal. Every fable, since the invasion of their home, has magically retained their age. For example, Snow White is still a young woman, Pinocchio is still a small, real boy, and Jack who climbed the beanstalk is still his young impish self. While their ages have remained consistent since the invasion, their flaws, the ones that were featured in their stories, somehow diminished. They referred to this period of change as the Post-Amnesty. Their personalities and lifestyles too, changed during the Post-Amnesty. For example, the Big Bad Wolf, known as Bigsby, gained the ability to freely transform into a human and wolf, and became a detective of sorts to cope with the new life in the city. Other characters like Snow White became involved in the fable's government; she took the position of secretary for Old King Cole.

One of the concepts illustrated in the story that stuck out to me was that of the fable's agelessness. Snow White is some several hundreds of years old. But time has treated her well. She's an attractive looking women who looks like she's in her twenties, with a modern sense of style. Others like Bigsby were caught at a late age. Bigsby, the wolf who blew the pig's homes down, assumes a human form who looks roughly 40, despite that he, like Snow White, is several hundreds years old. The character I found the most comedic out of the entire cast of ageless fables was Pinocchio. Pinocchio, a real boy, is far beyond the age he looks. Mentally, he is an adult, but physically, still a child. When Snow White strikes up a small chat with the boy sitting on the couch, he complains that the fairy ad been too hasty in granting him his wish. Apparently, Pinocchio's wish to become a real boy really meant him becoming, and staying, a real boy. He then goes on to say that he is forever stuck in the body of a boy, and will never get laid.

This is just the background story. Legends in Exile's plot deals with the mysterious, and utterly brutal murder of Rose Red, Snow White's sister. Jack of Jack and the Beanstalk, Rose Red's girlfriend, was the first to find the aftermath: pools of blood spilled all over Rose's room. Beyond that, the rest is spoilers. It is a well thought out story, with a murder shrouded in mystery however woven in complexity, and a resolution that, while I did see it coming, it was shocking nonetheless.

The artwork was very detailed. It had the typical comic book art style, coloring and the form of the characters and all, but the level of detail was insane. From urban sprawls to dank prisons to exuberant dance halls, Legends in Exile has it all fully fleshed out and looking good.


Stats
Presentation: A+
Story: A+
Art: A+
Overall(not averaged): A+