The Great Fables Crossover

[Travis Herrick (Modular Mod)]

Having finished Vertigo's Fables crossover I come away with a big, "it was okay". It wasn't bad or anything, and there were some very cool ideas and moments. Once everything was said and done though I came to the conclusion I would have enjoyed separate stories more.

I think the Literals mini would have been better if they had had their own self-contained story. I would have enjoyed the Fables continuing their own story with the new antagonist, and Jack of Fables just doing his thing. After two mediocre arcs I am this close to dropping Jack of Fables

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

I *like* Jack of Fables -- and this seemed to me to be a Jack-of-Fables level story. The thing about JOF is that it treats its characters more as metafictional constructs (as did The Literals), while Fables tends to treat the characters as people. Which is why I *love* Fables but only *like* JOF: Jack has fun, clever stories, while Fables has fun, clever stories with heart. By interacting with stories where the Fables were seen as story elements (which they are, but that's largely ignored within the series itself), it brought the series down to JOF levels of entertainment. Enjoyable, but not sublime.

I'm looking forward to a return to form today.

[Wandering Sensei: Moderator Man]

I agree that this was definitely a Jack of Fables level story. I think it would be interesting to see the next crossover come up to the level of Fables.

[ClarkKent_DC]

I didn't like this crossover at all. My interest in Jack of Fables was already waning, and this crossover was just a big mess.

[Dagwan]

I thought the crossover was fun. While I really liked the concept of the Literals, I am glad they're gone.

The first post-crossover issue of Fables was awesome.

[Alan M.]

I just finally read The Great Fables Crossover (I wanted to wait until I read the Jack of Fables trade immediately before it, and since I'm not inclined to buy the books in that series, it meant I had to wait until either a library got it or I could find a Barnes & Noble that had it in stock), and I....got bored with it really quickly. The concept of the Literals is entertaining in theory, but in practice they took me out of the story too much. Nigh-omnipotent characters with a winking, metatextual awareness of the comics they're in....it was all just too clever by half. It was a sidetrack in the Fables story that I don't think really contributed anything (besides wrapping up a dangling plot or two).

How have Fables and Jack of Fables been post-Crossover?

[Travis Herrick (Modular Mod)]

Alan M. said:

I just finally read The Great Fables Crossover (I wanted to wait until I read the Jack of Fables trade immediately before it, and since I'm not inclined to buy the books in that series, it meant I had to wait until either a library got it or I could find a Barnes & Noble that had it in stock), and I....got bored with it really quickly. The concept of the Literals is entertaining in theory, but in practice they took me out of the story too much. Nigh-omnipotent characters with a winking, metatextual awareness of the comics they're in....it was all just too clever by half. It was a sidetrack in the Fables story that I don't think really contributed anything (besides wrapping up a dangling plot or two).

How have Fables and Jack of Fables been post-Crossover?

There is a new Jack starring in Jack of Fables, SPOILER WARNING his son. I've enjoyed his current arc quite a bit myself. It is a mixing different genres.

Fables has been alright. It seems to be stopping and starting before getting on with the story of Mister Dark.Still solid, and I still eagerly await it each month. It has fallen behind schedule a bit though.

[ClarkKent_DC]

Alan M. said:

I How have Fables and Jack of Fables been post-Crossover?

Well, even though I said I was dropping Jack of Fables just before the crossover, I held on through a couple of story arcs with the new Jack, but I reached the "I can't stand it any more" point and finally, finally dropped the book. with the third part of a five-issue story. It just didn't hold my interest.

As for the main title, I still like it, but Travis is right; it's been taking side trails instead of telling the Mister Dark story. Like a two-parter set in Haven, where Flycatcher is the king and has a conundrum: The star player on the winning baseball team, a goblin who is drunk from a victory celebration and lost on his way home, eats a woodland critter as a midnight snack. Flycatcher, as the king and judge, has to convict him to keep the peace, but doesn't want to. A nice little dilemma, but it seemed like it was getting in the way of the main story.

[Jason Marconnet (Pint sized mod)]

I've been trying to read the Great Fables Crossover but I'm having trouble getting through it. I would much rather read more about the current conflict with Mr. Dark.

[Mark Sullivan (Vertiginous Mod)]

I'm about to write up a summary of my experiences at Heroes Con the last three days, but I wanted to make sure the Fables news wasn't buried there. I heard Bill Willingham speak for probably three hours altogether, first in conversation with Matt Kindt (creator of Superspy), moderated by Tom Spurgeon. Then he was supposed to just pop in on the regular discussion group devoted to 1001 Nights of Snowfall, but instead the entire session was an open ended Q & A. He has said that he always had an ending in mind for Fables. Turns out the revelation of the Adversary & the war was originally intended to be that ending, with Gepetto signing the Fabletown compact as the final act. After the series had been going on for a few years Willingham realized that postponing that story would stretch on too long, so he decided to tell it. He now has a new series ending in mind, which of course he did not reveal. He also said that the Adversary was originally going to be Peter Pan. He's always thought of Peter as an evil character, a self-centered abductor of children. But the UK copyright issues with the character (which hit the news when Alan Moore's Lost Girls came out) prevented him from using Peter right away, so the puppet master seemed an obvious replacement. He said that his target for the Fables run is 301 issues, one more than Dave Sims' Cerebus, the longest-running comic series.

The reason Peter & Max was written as a prose novel was that it would have run far too long as a comic. Willingham knew he wanted to use the Pied Piper of Hamelin, and concluded the story was too involved for the Fables series. He has another prose Fables novel planned, but there are two (or three? not sure) other novels planned before it. He decided to write prose as a creative challenge after so many years working in comics.

Finally, there are going to be non-Western fables used in the series. Chris Roberson (the writer of the Cinderella miniseries) will probably get there first in another miniseries, but Fables itself will also be looking outside the European tradition for characters.

I would definitely recommend hearing and meeting Willingham if you get the chance. He's a funny and thoughtful speaker, and I enjoyed meeting him and getting some things signed (no cool little drawings, unfortunately, despite his history as an artist). Roberson's a nice guy, too, and I've already said that Chrissie Zullo is a sweetheart (she's the cover artist for Cinderella, and the three of them had booth space together).

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

I'm glad to hear there's be other novels (even though I haven't read Peter & Max yet) -- and even happier that he plans for Fables to go on for a long, long time. Thanks for the news, Mark!

[Chris Fluit]

Yeah, last I heard Willingham was talking 150 issue with the Homelands War serving as a mid-point at issue 75. If he can keep the quality going, I'm in for the long haul.

[Travis Herrick (Modular Mod)]

He also said that the Adversary was originally going to be Peter Pan. He's always thought of Peter as an evil character, a self-centered abductor of children. But the UK copyright issues with the character (which hit the news when Alan Moore's Lost Girls came out) prevented him from using Peter right away, so the puppet master seemed an obvious replacement.

I had heard that Peter Pan was going to be the Adversary originally, but I never knew why ti was changed. I always figured it was because people figured out who it was so he changed it. Now I know the reason.