Tuesday, December 11, 2007

RECOMMENDATIONS

Continuing my list of books you should be reading, you know Walking Dead is great because it pushes FABLES to the number two spot. Basically the premise of Fables is that all the fairy tale characters are real and used to live in their own realm in the Homelands, in a dimension outside ours. I say used to, because due to an evil conqueror known only(at first) as the Adversary, they have had to flee to safety in our world. The first storyline is genius as it involves a fairly mundane murder mystery, which helps ground the characters in a real world situation making it easier for us to relate to them.

Due to the fact that we are basically already familiar with the characters,(anyone who's ever read a children's tale knows most of the ones we've met ) less time needs to be spent on introductions every time someone new enters the story. Despite a cast numbering in the hundreds, the story moves along quickly.

The main book has since spawned a spin-off, Jack of Fables. Jack of course is a popular name in fairy tales, and this one character is the composite of all the heroes who share that name. I normally hate when a book spits out a character to run in its own title,(this usually just serves to divide the readership) but this time it works well as the main comic has turned towards a more serious storyline, while the Jack adventures remain more light hearted and tongue-in-cheek.

Well written, well drawn, fun month after month, I heartily recommend Fables and Jack of Fables to anyone who comes in the store looking for a great fantasy to read.

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