Fables: Legends in Exile (Vol. 1) - Willingham, Medina, Leialoha, Hamilton

As a newly-converted lover of graphic novels, I was pretty excited to see several reviews of this series called "Fables", of which there are currently 15 installments.  Graphic novels are perfect for the reading slump, or when you are deep into a chunkster and need some quicker reads to keep things moving.  I was facing the Spring Readathon and thought it would be the perfect time to give this series a test-drive.


Synopsis:  It is the modern day, and a number of characters from fairy tales (who call themselves Fables) have been kicked out of their homeland by The Adversary and are now residing in a secret community in New York City called "Fabletown".  For those Fables who don't blend (you know, ones with fur or horns or physical peculiarities) must live away upstate at "The Farm".

This installment focuses on the apparent murder of Rose Red, Snow White's wild child sister.  A reformed Big Bad Wolf, known as Bigby, is Fabletown's sheriff, and he intends to crack the case (with Snow White's help of course, if they can get past all their chemistry).  


There are two men high on the list of suspects.  Jack (climber of beanstalks and boyfriend of Rose) is the one who discovered Rose's blood-covered apartment but things don't add up in his story.  Then there is Bluebeard, who is officially engaged to Rose but has some anger management issues and some dead ex-wives.  Clever investigating on the part of Bigby is ultimately victorious in this fun romp.


My thoughts:  Some graphic novels educate and inform on serious issues, like North Korea or growing up in a dysfunctional family, or being a 9/11 widow.  This is not that kind of book.  This is just light-hearted fun.  I was reminded a little bit of an audio I listened to last year called "Gods Behaving Badly", where you take classic fictional characters and pull them into modern society and give them modern problems.  In the story about the Gods, a little went a long way, and I was tired of their antics about halfway through the book.  In small portions, like this graphic novel, it is the perfect antidote for all that ails you.


I consider this a successful experiment, and intend to get a few installments at a time from my library, just in time for the lazy days of summer.


4 out of 5 stars