Books for Prep | |
 - Perhaps the Best Fables Trade to DateFor a series that continually seems to get better and better, it seems that Fables Vol.10: The Good Prince TPBs is hands down the strongest of the bunch. A great compelling read that captures a years worth of issues in to one neat little book and will keep you so enthralled in the story that you won't be able to put it down until its finished. Finally seeing Ambrose become a major character despite his humble background in the Fables landscape seems to be the most fitting of fairy tale aspects for this series while also remaining relevant to modern times and social climates. If your a fan of the series who needs to catch up or a collector who can't being themselves to open up your bag and boarded issues get this, read it, you won't be disappointed. Rating:  - a betrayal of everything that has gone beforeIn this volume the characters have only to push the I WINZ button and then, well, they win. This has always been a problem with the series which I liked for many books before this, but this one makes me want to throw them all out so much does it poison the whole series. Rating: - Definitely one of the best volumesThis volume pretty much blew my mind away. Flycatcher had usually been such a insignificant character, and now... wow. The whole story was incredible, and I am eager to see what Volume 11 will bring. Rating:  - A satisfying entry in the seriesIn this TPB, the story is centered on Fly, the friendly but simple janitor of Fabletown who was once the Frog Prince. His memories of his slaughtered wife and children have returned to him, and he sets off on a quest down the Witching Well, assisted by the Forsworn Knight. The story relies heavily upon classic themes from the Bible and Arthurian legend, but these are deftly interwoven into the extant Fables mythos. Overall, a good addition to the Fables series. Old characters are fleshed out, and new ones are well presented. Rating:  - Plot, plot, plotI have to agree with the previous 3-star review by Ethan Jennings: this latest addition to the--up to now--consistently excellent Fables series is indeed a disappointment. After Santa's ominous warning in Volume 9 I expected a heart-wrenching story of Flycatcher coming to terms with his long suppressed grief over his family's murder, after which he'd move on to great and valiant deeds... Instead I find a story plotted with a very heavy hand, with most if not all of the seams showing. I'm sorry to say that the really wooden characters in this story arch aren't Pinocchio's siblings but all the others, starting with our ex janitor. He--and the Forsworn Knight, and Frau Totenkinder, and even Bufkin--is not allowed to develop but instead seems a plot puppet that advances a flat and predictable story with leaden steps, from plot point A to B to C all the way to Z. Sorry for the--kind of--spoiler, but the fact that Willingham has resurrected a number of characters long dispensed with makes me wonder if one of the reasons for the below standard delivery is that he didn't want to mess with the real story and the characters driving it. The appearance of a certain grove of trees, however, makes me wonder if he hasn't taken the edge off the upcoming war (I read the damn things in TPBs, since I gave up on individual comics a long time ago, so even though the story is out by now I'll have to wait until November for the next volume). I wonder if another clue can't be found in Willingham's dedication to Buckingham: he confesses that the artist has championed Flycatcher as more than a background character from the start and that "this story is all his fault". Perhaps the writer wasn't altogether behind this one? And yes, on top of all this the dialogue is explicative and repetitive. One of my continued responses to the previous Fables stories has been, simply put, delight: in the inventiveness, the humor, the roundness of the characters, the pacing of the story. I was really looking forward to this one, but sadly these qualities are lacking in The Good Prince. In association with Amazon.com | |