big fan of the series. this probably has the most luscious art yet! ( )

[b:Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall|21322|Fables 1001 Nights of Snowfall|Bill Willingham|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327870123l/21322._SX50_.jpg|3163819]. One Thousand and One Nights[^funfact], if the storyteller were Snow White, captured on her way to the Arabian Fables to make a pact against the Adversary.



I actually read this slightly out of order, it should have been before [b:Fables, Vol. 7: Arabian Nights|21327|Fables, Vol. 7 Arabian Nights (and Days)|Bill Willingham|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327962799l/21327._SX50_.jpg|2542586] and would have given that story a bit more context, but so it goes. It's mostly a stand alone, so it works.

Overall, the frame story is fairly interesting and we get a bit more about Snow, who's pretty cool in this world. But only a tiny bit. The stories themselves vary widely. I liked the tail of Ambrose (the Frog Prince) a lot--it's so sad :sad:--and the story of Bigby--and all he's done in the past--is fascinating. And apparently Snow White murdered the seven dwarves? Oy.

Otherwise, the main downside--and it was a surprisingly big one--was the art style. The stories each have their own art styles to the point of wondering if they each had their own artist. I have really grown to like the Fables art style and this... this is not that. It's not a deal breaker, but I'm glad to get back to the main plotline.

Spoilers and screenshots:



... oy. On one hand, having a willful wife isn't necessarily a problematic view on it's own, but to directly compare horses and wives? Oy.



Hint hint. It's political to make the problem disappear.



The echoes of the 'real world' in the worlds of Fables--and in a converation between a Troll and a Fox no less is fascinaitng. As is the idea that the Emperor has banned all but 612 winter celebrations across all the world, having that manner of control?



Man. I like Ambrose. He's a fascinating character. Probably neurodivergent--on account of still being as much frog as man, in the way of Fables--it comes across as similar to autism. It's an interesting story--and so sad. :sad:



Bigby is another of my favorite characters. While we previously had known that Mr. North was his father and that he had a rough childhood (to put it midly), but if we previously knew that Winter (a big name in the Adversary's court) was his mother, I totally missed that. That... that will be interesting.

[^funfact]: Fun fact: The stories evolved over centuries and have origins all over Asia and north Africa. But some of the best known stories such as Aladdin, Ali Baba, and Sinbad were not part of the original collection but instead added later by the European translator Antoine Galland, either from other sources or written himself. ( )

Adult graphic novel (probably rated R for nudity, if you want to go by MPAA standards). This is one of those graphix series that comes highly recommended, so I thought I'd give it a try (as part of my summer reading challenge). The twisted fairytales are engaging and the different artwork (by various well-known graphic artists) is refreshing. ( )

Now that I have completed the series, I am branching out in the spinoffs. This one was okay. I didn't bother reading the story with the sultan in the beginning and the end because it wasn't in graphic novel format. Sorry, if I'm reading a graphic novel... all of it should be in graphic novel format. The stories were cool and definitely darker than normal Fables books. ( )

This Fables graphic novel is not part of the regular numbered volumes, but is primarily set before the Fables arrive in Fabletown. It tells the back stories for some of the characters: Snow White, Bigby (the "Big Bad Wolf"), the Frog Prince, the Wicked Witch, Old King Cole...

I really liked this one, it's probably one of the ones I've enjoyed most. It was fun to get the back story for some of these characters, and I do prefer these kinds of stories to stories of war and fighting in some of the regular volumes in the series. For anyone who might want to try the series, you could read this one first, or volume 1 (which is still my favourite). You can read this one without having read the others, though. ( )