Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall

I recommend this treatment BUT I really hope Willingham had some shame while copying the Brilliance of Sandman (Lucien even appears) without creating any of his own characters- simply putting his spin on infinitely malleable fables. My hesitancy led me to this prequel and I loved it but putting them in 21st century Manhattan seems cheese to me. That's why I'll get the 2nd book (from a Bargin Bin) to see him play with the non-humans on a contemporary farm.

Originally, fairy tales and fables were gore-filled, fantastical stories with dire warnings and messages. What if all those stories were real? The world of fairy tales and "Fables" is the backdrop for this collection. Prince Charming really married Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella (didn't you know it was the *same* Prince?). Snow White escaped not only the evil Queen of her own story, but she had to flee from a greater menace, "The Advesary". This evil tyrant has chased all of the European fables out of their own worlds, and into ours. This story is a bit of a prequel to the series. As such, this book reads very easily on its own. Personally, this was my first book in the series. Although there are several trade paperbacks of the Fables comics out now (seven as of this writing with #8 soon on its way - we hope!), none of those are needed at all to enjoy this book. In this story Snow White is sent from the exiled world of the European Fables to the world of Arabian Fables. Her goal is to speak with their ruler and join forces against "The Adversary". Through her efforts to gain the support of the Arabian King this story unfolds. This book is a collection of stories from the European Fables. We learn much more about many of the faces familiar to those reading the comics. Whether you are a fan of the series, a fan of fairy tales or fables, or looking for a graphic novel that tells a rich, layered story with great depth and beautiful art - this book is for you!

Once upon a time, long before the events of Bill Willingham's ongoing "Fables" series, Snow White was sent on an embassy on behalf of Fabletown to seek an alliance with the Arabian nations. Once there, she found herself trapped by the sultan and scheduled to be married, bedded and executed, all within the next 24 hours. Snow, cunning thinker that she is, distracts the sultan with a story, and her subsequent stay of execution draws out longer and longer as she spins tales of fables behind the fables. Charles Vess, one of my favorite fantasy artists, provides the book's foundation, working with Michael Wm. Kaluta to give brilliant, highly detailed and colorful life to Snow, the sultan and his fantastic court. Each of Snow White's stories features the work of a different artist, and the differing artistic styles provides eye-pleasing transitions between tales. This book is certainly intended for mature readers; youngsters are probably not ready for a naked Snow White, the ugly truth about her time with the dwarves or the fate of the Frog Prince's wife and children. But for adults, whether or not they read the Fables series, this is a masterwork of prose and artistic storytelling. Set apart from the regular series and yet deeply grounded within it, "1001 Nights of Snowfall" is a richer, fuller, more satisfying collection than anything the series has yet produced. Scheherazade herself should envy this treasure trove of stories. I only regret the book held only a handful and not the full set of 1,001. This is easily one of the best graphic novels of the year. by Tom Knapp, Rambles editor

I love Fables. It's tied with Linsner's Dawn as my favorite Graphic Novel series. I am constantly pulled into the Fables' world and am never bored to reread their stories. I didn't think it could get any better than it already was. But this book did. I nearly wept at the tale of the Frog Prince. I found Bigby's origin to be completly inline with his character. And the return to life and subsequent telling of her history of Hansel and Gretel's witch was an amazing story. I think the best way to enjoy this book is to have first read at least a few books of the Fables ongoing (Homelands being my favorite volume) but it is certainly an accessable title to anyone new to the series.

If you have never read Bill Willingham's Fables, you really need to start. It is one of the greatest ongoing series on the shelves today. Willingham imagines a world where the characters of the stories we were told as children, such as Snow White, Prince Charming, the Big Bad Wolf, and Pinnochio, actually exist. The first twist is that they have personalities that are slightly different than what we were told as children. The second twist is that the world they live in is in fact our own. After being driven from their Homelands by the mysterious Adversary, they came to our "mundane" world in order to find shelter from the maniacal conqueror. In this graphic novel, Willingham, along with numerous artists, tells stories of life in the Homelands before and during the Adversary's rise to power, along with a story of the very early days of Fabletown. Similar to the story of 1,001 Arabian Nights, Snow White has been sent to the Arabian Homeworlds in order to secure an alliance between the Arabic fables and the European fables. However, the sultan imprisons her and tries to marry her. However, at dawn, he will decapitate her. To save herself, Snow tells him stories of her Homelands, and promises new ones each night, thus staving off execution for one more day. Some of her tales include her own, which finally states why she can't stand mention of the seven dwarves, the tragedy of Prince Ambrose, the Frog Prince, who is now living in Fabletown and known as Flycatcher, an interesting look at Bigby Wolf's origins, the story of her own escape with her sister and their encounter with Frau Totenkinder, and King Cole's story of escape, ascendancy to the office of Mayor of Fabletown, and the beginning of his demise. All of these stories display Willingham's trademark wit, and the art for all of them is amazing. The only negative thing I have to say about this book is that Fables works best in modern times. The twists on the characters are still fun, but part of Fables' greatness is derived from watching these characters interact in our modern world. But aside from this one criticism, this is a must for Fables fans.

This long-awaited addition to the _Fables_ lineup gives, along with a framing story based on the _Thousand and One Nights,_ background on many of the best-known Fables...as well as some that we haven't met yet. We find out why Snow White is so touchy about the dwarfs, what really happened to Flycatcher's family, why Bigby hates his father and the story of Frau Totenkinder...and that's just the most well-known of the Fables whose backstories are presented. The art is by a stable of guest artists, including James Jean, the Fables cover artist, who does a spectacular job illustrating Flycatcher's story. All of the art is good, and some is better than that. If you're a Fables fan, you'll definitely want this book. It may not be the best place to begin for a Fables newbie, but once you've gotten to know who is who, you'll definitely want it.