I realized something a few days ago. Many of my friends and relatives always get upset when something they like gets redone and the story changes slightly. I heard a never ending stream of annoyed people when it came to the Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland. People felt betrayed and hurt by something they loved being changed that way. I on the other hand had a ball of a time at that movie because it was a lot like a series of books called The Looking Glass Wars that I love that twist the Alice in Wonderland tale into something different.
Here is the thing, I love fairy tales. I know a crazy amount of small facts about the older versions. The fact is that fairy tales get twisted by every generation. The stories my mom read are completely different than what the oral tradition for the stories were before Grim. In fact the Grim brothers made major changes to many of the tales so that they would be better to read to children. And we thought Disney was bad. The point is that I don't have that inner rage when something I love gets messed with because I like fairy tales and that means a great deal of changes along the way.
This incarnation is no exception. Here we experience the fables and fairy tales of old living in modern day New York City. King Cole is the mayor of Fable Town as they call themselves. Snow White is the deputy mayor. The big bad wolf has changed and now looks human and goes by Bigdy Wolf and works as the sheriff of Fable Town. Prince Charming it turns out is a sleazy womanizer who has been divorced three times and continues to use women as a way to get things done. Cinderella works as a secret agent for Fable Town trying to make treaties with other Fable kingdoms. Rose Red even is in the series, who only hard core fairy tale readers will recognized as Snow White's sister.
The fables have been pushed out of their home land by some one they call
The Adversary. There is even mention that Oz and Narnia have fallen as well to this Adversary. The over arching theme of the first ten or so comics has to do with the Fables trying to find ways to live in New York as well as their desire to return to their homelands.
The second story arch has to do with some stuff that makes very little sense if you don't read it. I am not going to touch that. I don't want any exploding heads.
The main point is this series is not only well written is takes characters we all know and gives them lives beyond what we know. This series is my own personal version of Christmas.
I highly recommend for anyone that even once enjoyed The Three Little Pigs or the Old Lady Who Lived in a Shoe. Or for anyone that thought Disney's sterile world was not what really happened.
