REVIEW: Fables: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham

Fables: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham
Fables series, 01
Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: Titan Books Ltd (25 April 2003)
ISBN-10: 1840236140
ISBN-13: 978-1840236149

From the back of the book:
Who killed Rose Red?
In Fabletown, where the fairy tale legends live alongside regular New Yorkers, the question is all anyone can talk about. But only the Big Bad Wolf can actually solve the case - and, along with Rose's sister Snow White, keep the Fabletown community from coming apart at the seams.

This is a graphic novel, and very different to what I had expected. As the title suggests, the familiar characters from traditional fairy stories have been exiled from their homeland to New York. Being the first book in the series, Legends in Exile gives us the back story of why they moved to New York but this is secondary to the murder mystery: who killed Rose Red?

Snow White is the Chief of Operations and deputy Mayor of Fabletown, a sharp, hard-nosed businesswoman with no time for sentiment. She is told of her sister's disappearance and possible murder by Bigby, the Big Bad Wolf and Head of Security. Suspects emerge, including Jack (of the beanstalk fame), Bluebeard who had a secret marriage deal with Rose Red and Prince Charming (because Snow White still loathes him despite their divorce). There is a bloody crime scene, twists and turns in the search for the killer, and a classic 'parlour' denouement.

But what makes Legends in Exile so fascinating is the characterisation. For example, Prince Charming is a classic womaniser, divorced from both Snow White and Cinderella, broke and making his living by selling off his titles and sponging off the women he seduces. Little Boy Blue is Snow White's PA, complete with a trumpet on his desk. King Cole is now the Mayor of Fabletown. I found this aspect both clever and amusing. Although the characters were familiar from nursery rhymes and fairy stories, adapting them to the modern world was well done, I thought.

There is a lot of humour in Legends in Exile, from sarcastic comments to visual jokes, all of it very tongue in cheek. However, like the original fairy tales it draws from, this has dark undertones. I liked the artwork, some of the larger scenes were very detailed and merited further examination to check out what was going on in the background. Being fairly new to the world of graphic novels, I was surprised at how enjoyable reading this was. Other than The Furry Freak Brothers, I hadn't read any comics since childhood, but I am glad I read Legends in Exile, and may even check out other volumes in the series.

Plot 6
Characters 7
Style 8

Overall 7/10