Why I Asked For A Comic Book For Christmas
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Why I Asked For A Comic Book For Christmas

My review of my favorite comic series, as well as the medium as a whole.

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Why I Asked For A Comic Book For Christmas
Wired

How many of you have succumb to an addiction to a fictional series? Have you ever binged an entire season of one television show in one very lazy day? Have you ever breezed through a five-hundred page book in a matter of hours? This speedy intake of fantastic stories does not correlate to physical or mental abilities to do so, but to deep interest with the series with which you've fallen in love. Last year, I fell in love with a comic series. From here, I will be reviewing the series I am reading, as well as the comic book genre as a whole.

The Series - Fables

The comic series I found is called Fables. Fans of ABC's Once Upon A Time would love this series, as it carries a slightly similar overall plot point (Fables came first, cough, cough). The very general story of Fables is this: A secret magical community hidden within one street block in New York City is home to a multitude of fable and fairy tale characters. These beings, which call themselves "Fables," have fled from their mystical homelands to our human world (called "the Mundane world," where humans are known as "mundys" to the Fables). The community is known as "Fabletown." Fabletown and its citizens face many challenges and trials - everything from the first issue's missing person mystery case, to a much later issue's all out war with the Empire, led by the mysterious and evil "Adversary," for control of their lost homelands. The series, which spans one hundred and fifty volumes, tells fascinatingly deep and complex story lines of hundreds of characters and events within the Fables universe. The overall focus usually shines on who is truly the main protagonist of the series, Bigby Wolf (aka The Big Bad Wolf). Bigby is the sherriff of Fabletown, and is therefore the one who tackles all of the problems that Fabletown faces. He, along with Snow White (who is the assistant to the mayor of Fabletown, but in truth runs it more than the mayor does) and a host of other familiar characters from folklore from around the world have adventures and struggle with their personal existence as well as their responsibility to one another as a community. My favorite theme of Fables is the idea that all of these fantastic, powerful, seemingly familiar fable characters are portrayed to be as human as we are. They are complicated, emotional, mistake-prone, envious, violent, immoral, self-interested, sexual, ordinary beings. This series takes all of the characters that we've only heard a few things about from their own stories, and molded them into a human being with realistic personalities. Even though there are plenty of added doses of magic, powerful abilities, or long histories because of near-immortality, the Fables are in almost every other sense of the word "human".

The books themselves are critically acclaimed and worthy of praise. The mastermind behind the bulk of writing and plotting the series is Bill Willingham, who is also known for writing comics in the DC Universe and another popular series called Elementals, is a true genius in character development and dialogue - two of the most important skills in comic book writing. The art of Fables has been penned by multiple talented artists in various and interesting styles, but the main artist who brings the true Fables feel to life is Mark Buckingham. His art is representative of the mixture of realism and fantasy that Fables shoots for. It sometimes clean and bright, and other times dark and gritty, but always conveys the story very well to fill in any blanks left by the writing. James Jean does breathtaking cover art. Todd Klein is the main letterer, giving it the true comic book look. All of the editing and publication team members, along with guest artists, letterers, and more, are what frame Willingham's story in so pleasant a format to make it that much better.


I am currently reading the eleventh deluxe edition of the series. That puts me somewhere in the range of issues 90-100, so I'm still only about two-thirds of the way done. After I flew through the first ten deluxe editions, I've tried to limit myself and slow down, because I don't want the stories to end. The thirteenth deluxe edition came out this past November, and so I asked for it for Christmas. I hope to continue buying the beautiful deluxe editions as they come out until they reach the end of the series, and I'm forcing myself to wait for them to come out every six months or so from now on, instead of just buying the issues. With all that said, two-thirds of this whole series has changed my life. Seriously. It's made me appreciate comic books more than ever before. It's given me a ridiculous amount of knowledge about fairy tales and folklore from various countries. But, best of all, it's given me an amazing reading experience and for that I am very grateful. It's made me want to laugh, cry, research things, and even write my own comic book. Anything that affects me in such a positive way as this deserves my time and money, and I think it deserves yours too. I can lend you a copy, I promise you'll enjoy it.

Final rating: 9.5/10


Comic Books As A Medium

Comics and graphic novels are a brilliant medium for telling stories because of their ability to tell what is necessary, and show what is auxiliary. This combination of words inside picture panels provides an experience that is easier on the mind and eyes than reading a regular book, and more deep and detailed than simply watching and listening to a film or show because it allows you more time (and usually more content) to get to know the story.

In general, comic books are known for stories and settings which are fantastical in nature. A large reason for this is the ability to draw pictures to help portray the more unknown or odd things contained in these stories. Fables is clearly a prime example of this. However, comics are certainly not limited to fantasy-centered stories.

Comics have often been associated with "nerd culture" or are considered less "mainstream" nowadays. Superheroes dominated the comic book market and made them very popular items for kids before the popular use of television. The Golden Age of comic books, as it came to be known, began in 1938 with Superman. Superheroes have driven the medium of comic books since then, but comic books have expanded to cover many more genres and topics than just superheroes.

The merit of comic books as a medium really comes from the combination of the writing and art in each individual comic. They can say what a regular book says in a simpler, more visual way. They can say what a film says in a more drawn out and developed way. Certain stories, like fantasy ones, do tend to work better as a comic than other genres. So, for a story like Fables, it's hard to imagine experiencing the original story in any other format.


I hope those of you reading have found a new interest in comic books and maybe even try picking one up. If you're looking for options, take a look at Fables!

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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