Bibliofreakblog

Fables vol 3: Storybook Love by Bill Willingham

Ah, Love.  I don’t read about you that much, but I’m a sucker for you, when I do (and O.K., sometimes your friend lust, too).

That’s more or less the theme that connects the stories together in the 3rd volume of Fables.

The first story is a backflash of sorts to the Civil War, when Jack met the devil, made a deal with Death and got the girl.  

Then we return to the present in “Dirty Business”.  A journalist is on to Fabletown.  He confronts Bigby and tells them that he knows.  He knows that they’re…

Vampires?

Still, he poses a problem, and Sleeping Beauty might be the secret to saving them.

Meanwhile…or then…I’m not sure, because we’re on to the next issue here…the Mouse Police (Lilliputians riding talking mice) are investigating Bluebeard.  Bluebeard is a man of secrets, not the least of which is that he’s sleeping with Goldilocks.  But you have to wait an issue or two before finding out who put the Mouse Police onto him in the first place.

The next story picks up where that one left off.  Bigby and Snow White wake up together in the Cascade mountains.  They don’t remember how they got there, but before they can figure it all out, the chase is on.

This one, along with its continuance in the next issue, was my favorite story line in this volume.  We learn a lot about the nature of Bigby’s attraction to Snow White, and their characters are developed without losing any momentum to the plot.

The last story in the volume is another flashback story.  While the first one about Jack was just a fun story, this one illuminates a little more about the background story, the reason why the Fables came to our world.  When the Adversary first came around, the men of Lilliput set out to fight him.  When they realized he couldn’t be beaten, they decided not to return to Lilliput for fear that the Adversary would be lead back there.  So how did they procreate in this world?  Thumbalina and the magical barleycorns that first created her.

This ending is a little odd, because all of the cliffhangers come earlier in the volume, but it’s a nice bookend to compliment the first story.
Buy Fables Vol. 3: Storybook Love on Amazon 

If you like this book/author, you might like:

(my reviews in blue)

The Unwritten Vol 1 by Mike Carey and Peter Gross
The Sandman Vol 1: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman
The Sandman Vol 2: The Doll’s House by Neil Gaiman
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Grimm Fairy Tales Vol. 1 by Ralph Tedesco 
Manga Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare and Kate Brown
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire
A Lion Among Men By Gregory Maguire
The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by A.N. Roquelaure (AKA Anne Rice)
Politically Correct Bedtime Stories by James Finn Garner
Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
Feminist Fairy Tales by Barbara G Walker
Politically Correct Parables by Robert Martin Walker
Fractured Fairy Tales by AJ Jacobs 

Other works by Bill Willingham:

Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile
Fables vol. 2: Animal Farm
Fables Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers
Fables Vol. 5: The Mean Seasons
Fables Vol. 6: Homelands
Fables Vol. 7: Arabian Nights 
Fables Vol. 8: Wolves 
Fables Vol. 9: Sons of Empire 
Fables Vol. 10: The Good Prince 
Fables, Vol. 11: War and Pieces 
Fables Vol. 12: The Dark Ages 
Fables Vol. 13: The Great Fables Crossover 
Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall
Peter & Max: A Fables Novel 
Fables: The Deluxe Edition Book One 
Fables: The Deluxe Edition Book Two 
Jack of Fables Vol. 1: The (Nearly) Great Escape 
Jack of Fables Vol. 2: Jack of Hearts 
Jack of Fables, Vol. 3: The Bad Prince
Jack of Fables Vol. 4: Americana 
Jack of Fables Vol. 5: Turning Pages 
Jack of Fables Vol. 6: The Big Book of War 
Jack of Fables Vol. 7: The New Adventures of Jack and Jack 
Day of Vengeance (Countdown to Infinite Crisis)
House of Mystery Vol. 1: Room and Boredom 
Sandman Presents, The: Thessaly – Witch for Hire
Sandman Presents, The: Taller Tales
Ironwood Book 2
Shadowpact Vol. 1: The Pentacle Plot 
Robin/Batgirl: Fresh Blood
Robin: Unmasked!
Proposition Player