When I first started my love affair with graphic novels, I went for the safe picks, like Sandman by Neil Gaiman and anything by Alan Moore. I already knew that I loved Gaiman, so therefore Sandman, Sandman created an intense passion for graphic novels, I wanted more. Gaiman loves Alan Moore so therefore Watchmen, V for Vendetta, From Hell, etc. Then one day at the library, I came across Fables Vol 1, and decided to give it a shot. As I developed my tastes in comics, there was always Fables. I wasn’t an early follower of the series, I started reading in about 2010 but a six year relationship with this characters is nothing to scoff at. So being given the opportunity to review the final Fables graphic novel is an honor and sadness wrapped up in one.
WAIT… if you haven’t read Fables, go to your library now, pick up the first few trade paperbacks and enjoy.
Ok, I’ll assume at this point that the folks reading are up to date in the story. When we last left the Fables universe, Rose Red and Snow White were preparing for a war against each other. Neither seemed to actually want the war, it was being imposed upon them, by a force revealed in Vol. 22. Bigby is back from being shattered into a million pieces from Snow’s first husband, however, there is a missing piece through which he is being controlled. He’s roaming around the streets of New York as a feral, deadly killer. In addition to being a danger to the mundies physically, his presence is creating holes in the protective spells that allow Fabletown to be invisible. Finally, the mundies are aware of the presence that has lived among them for generations.
As we pick back up, there is a hodge-podge of activity in the book. Bigby returns to Wolf Manner to kill the cubs. Snow White and Rose Red are on the eve of war with each other. Rose Red learns of the family curse that requires only one sister to live. The action of this book clears up in the first half, then we are told various endings of other fables. This allows the reader to have as much closure as possible. I really enjoyed the ending to this series, it wasn’t all happiness or all sadness, it felt true to the saga.
Fables Vol. 22: Farewell is on sale today.
