Fables Volume 2: Animal Farm [Paperback]

 

 

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This was a fun read - I thought that this was rather clever, and I enjoyed reading it. No real surprises or sublety though, of the kind I've come to expect from authors who bring the world of myth and fairy tale into modern life. The illustrations were of a high quality in terms of the general run of comics, but nothing much beyond that.

I would have expected more from Vertigo, but perhaps I've been spoiled by Neil Gaiman's Sandman series. Fans of Gaiman will probably be disappointed with Fables. I had fun with it, but won't go looking for any other books in the series.

Bill Willingham veers away from the hard-boiled mystery in the second volume of the Fables series, "Animal Farm" -- it's all about expanding the mythical world of the refugee Fables, and showing just where the Fables who don't look so human (the Three Bears, Chicken Little, etc) go. It's a somewhat weaker story than its predecessor, but it's still a pretty solid, gory, action-packed fantasy adventure... with a twist.

Snow White takes a trip with Rose to the Farm, hoping to repair their damaged relationship. The Farm is basically a secret little town for Fables who are unable to pass for humans -- but they're acting very strangely, with secret meetings and claims that they want to reclaim the Homelands from the Adversary. Then the head of one of the locals turns up on a stake outside the women's hotel -- and the Farm Charter keeps Bigby from coming to investigate.

What Snow doesn't know is that the rabid communist Goldilocks is staging a violent rebellion, claiming that the animal-type Fables are "enslaved." While Bigby and Boy Blue try to figure out what's going on, Snow sets out across the dangerous countryside with only one unspelled ally by her side. To reclaim the Farm and quell the bloody rebellion, Snow must call on the help of some very unusual Fables... but that doesn't mean she's out of danger yet.

Bill Willingham is an expert in taking beloved characters from legends, fairy tales and nursery rhymes... and then turning our perceptions of them on their heads (example: Goldilocks is a radical communist who blows away anyone who gets in the way of the "revolution"). He's also created a pretty unique fantasy concept -- the Fables have been driven out of their fantastical homeland, and live as secret refugees in the middle of New York City. And in this volume, we also discover that the less humanoid Fables live in a secret rural Farm.

And in this volume, he shifts from hard-boiled mystery to a full-out civil war among the Fables, with plenty of backstabbing, gory death and violence (including a certain piggy losing his head), magical bindings and a thoroughly loathable villain. Willingham seems to have been still feeling his way to what he wanted the Fables series to be (mystery or thriller?), but the storyline is a good combination of colorful fantasy and gritty action adventure. And he still has a very odd sense of humor (a singing drunken suit of armor).

With Bigby Wolf forbidden to come to the Farm (and thus out of most of the story), Snow White takes center stage in "Animal Farm. And she makes a good heroine -- she's tough, resourceful, smart, capable of taking care of herself and whipping up some potent counterattacks. What's more, she's still hashing out her rocky relationship with her sister Rose, who may not be as flaky and shallow as she appears. She also has an old grudge that has nothing to do with Snow's ex.

Willingham also adds in even more characters to his enormous cast. The creatures of the farm are from from fairy/folk tales, myths and older books, such as animals from "The Jungle Book," the three Little Pigs, and the mythic smith Weyland Smith.

It's a bit less engaging than the first volume of the series, but "Fables Volume 2: Animal Farm" is a solid action-adventure story with an entertainingly tight story and a likeable heroine. And it gets better after this.

Now having read this second book in the series I am officially a fan and can't wait to get my hands on the next volume. This is very different from the first one which had a classic noir feel to it. This time around Animal is indeed an Orwellian reference. The non-human fables and those unable to to take human form live on a large plot of land that has been enchanted with a spell to keep humans away. This is called "The Farm" and a large amount of the population is unhappy with the rather prison like conditions. Though the place is nice enough and not lacking in any way there is still the fact they can't leave. I loved the thematic cross between Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies. Lots of new characters were introduced while Snow White and Rose Red remained main characters as from the first volume. In this book we meet the three little pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, giants, a dragon, several animals from The Jungle Book including Baghera and Shere Khan plus many others.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Really great read!
In short, this is a refreshing read and worth every penny. If you are testing the waters with the Fables title this is even better than book 1. Read more

Published on May 24 2004 by Tin Pham

4.0 out of 5 stars The Fables Team Has Done It Again!
Wow! When I heard all of the buzz around Fables (starting many months ago), I was skeptical. I thought it was a silly idea for a story, and had no chance of surviving very long... Read more

Published on Oct 24 2003 by Dan Ryno

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant fairy tale thriller
Bill Willingham's "Fables" is hands-down my favorite comic book being published today. The first volume in the series was a great mystery (and I urge you to read that before... Read more

Published on Oct 8 2003 by Blake Petit

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, Innovative Title
Trying to patch up their strained relationship, Rose Red and Snow White travel upstate to visit the Farm where the nonhuman Fables are forced to live; but they run into trouble... Read more

Published on Sep 20 2003 by B. Bukowski

5.0 out of 5 stars A worthy addition, with literary references
In this second installment of the "Fables" series, we find ourselves on the "Farm" where the Fables who cannot pass as human have to live. Read more

Published on Aug 4 2003 by Eric Oppen

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceeding The Hype
Bill Willingham continues to deliver great reading material in his second storyline of the Eisner Award winning series "Fables". Read more

Published on Aug 1 2003 by J_M

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