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sharplittleteethI borrowed some of the FABLES graphic novels from the library this week.
FABLES is a comic about a group of fairytale characters who have fled their homelands and are now living in New York. So we have Old King Cole as the elected mayor of this Fabletwon-in-exile, Snow White as his assistant, the now-reformed Big Bad Wolf as sheriff, and so on.
Despite the premise, this isn't a Sandman-style rumination on stories and their archetypes. Writer Bill Willingham mostly plays the fairytale angle for jokes (Prince Charming is a serial philander, Goldilocks is sleeping with Baby Bear). His characters are too busy worrying about love, money, and politics to waste time on metaphysics.
It's a likeable series. Not so brilliant that I want to rush out and buy all the collected volumes right now. But enjoyable enough that I'll read them as the library gets them in.
Except for the cover artist James Jean. His work is just exquisite.
Beautiful linework. Magnificent sense of design. A huge variety of style, yet everything he does is recognisably his own.
His website is all gallery, and all good.
And then you should really take a look at A Polite Winter, which is Jean and another artist Kenchi Hoshine running wild and experimenting.
FABLES is a comic about a group of fairytale characters who have fled their homelands and are now living in New York. So we have Old King Cole as the elected mayor of this Fabletwon-in-exile, Snow White as his assistant, the now-reformed Big Bad Wolf as sheriff, and so on.
Despite the premise, this isn't a Sandman-style rumination on stories and their archetypes. Writer Bill Willingham mostly plays the fairytale angle for jokes (Prince Charming is a serial philander, Goldilocks is sleeping with Baby Bear). His characters are too busy worrying about love, money, and politics to waste time on metaphysics.
It's a likeable series. Not so brilliant that I want to rush out and buy all the collected volumes right now. But enjoyable enough that I'll read them as the library gets them in.
Except for the cover artist James Jean. His work is just exquisite.
Beautiful linework. Magnificent sense of design. A huge variety of style, yet everything he does is recognisably his own.
His website is all gallery, and all good.
And then you should really take a look at A Polite Winter, which is Jean and another artist Kenchi Hoshine running wild and experimenting.
