Review of Fables: Legends in Exile

After hearing people go on and on about its awesomeness I finally gave award-winning comic series Fables a shot. I got my comic-lovin’ hands on the first volume, Fables: Legends in Exile, and instantly got to reading. Check out my thoughts on the hit series below!

When a savage creature known only as the Adversary conquered the fabled lands of legends and fairy tales, all of the infamous inhabitants of folklore were forced into exile. Disguised among the normal citizens of modern-day New York, these magical characters have created their own peaceful and secret society within an exclusive luxury apartment building called Fabletown. But when Snow White’s party-girl sister, Rose Red, is apparently murdered, it is up to Fabletown’s sheriff, a reformed and pardoned Big Bad Wolf (Bigby Wolf), to determine if the killer is Bluebeard, Rose’s ex-lover and notorious wife killer, or Jack, her current live-in boyfriend and former beanstalk-climber.”

Written by: Bill Willingham
Pencilled by: James Jean, Alex Maleev, Lan Medina, Bill Willingham
Inked by: Craig Hamilton, James Jean, Steve Leialoha, Alex Maleev, Bill Willingham
Painted cover by: James Jean

Artwork: 3 out of 5
The artwork in this volume wasn’t impressive in the least. It was pretty much classic comic book artwork. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t fantastic either. Just blah. The artwork in future Fables comics is amazing, but these first 5 issues aren’t memorable.

Story 3 out of 5
I love the idea of all fairy tale people living in the modern world, it’s a fun idea. But the actual story in this volume was about the disappearance of Rose Red, and well, like the artwork, it wasn’t all that memorable. It was just an overdone story of who-done-it. We got to meet Bigby Wolf, the shapeshifting Big Bad Wolf, but that was the only awesome thing in the story. His transformation in the comic was badass, but following him and Snow White as they try to solve the mystery of Rose Red wasn’t all that great.

Overall, I was a bit disappointed by Legends in Exile. Will it stop me from reading more Fables? Probably not. But this first volume was a downer.

Have you read Fables: Legends in Exile? What did you think?

– Moonlight

About the Author
Moonlight (aka Amanda) loves to write about, read about and learn about everything pertaining to werewolves and other supernatural beasties. She writes for top genre sites like Vampires.com and Werewolves.com. You will most likely find her huddled over a book of folklore with coffee in hand. Touch her coffee and you may lose a limb. You can stalk her via her Twitter.

 

By moonlight

One of the writers for werewolves.com, as well as vampires.com.

4 comments

  1. I first became familiar with Fables after picking up the first graphic novel at my local library. I totally agree with you on the art work. It was very bland and standard issue comic work. The story line was slow in places and I found myself bored with Snow more often than not. I’d give it a 3.5 because I found the overall story fascinating, with the exception of Snow White. Like you, it didn’t stop me from reading further Fables issues.

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