Should have been so good
I wanted so badly to love this. I absolutely expected to. I've heard great things about Fables, especially with the popularity (and similarity) of the show Once Upon a Time. I love updated fairy tales. I love reconfigured tales. Heck, I love graphic novels.
And I could get into the (rather OUaT-esque) concept of crossover or exile between the world where fairy tales are real and this world. It has a lot of scope, and using the idea in a murder mystery setting seemed like a great idea.
But I hated it. I just hated it. The artwork was rather nice… but I loathed what was done with all of the characters. I disliked the apparent offensiveness for offensiveness's sake in the depiction of a couple of characters. (Also, of course, the feeling of "They're fairy tale characters! Let's make them swear and have sex! People will be shocked! It'll be great!")
Most of all, I despised the "Ha-ha-fooled-you" trickery the plot indulged in; there's misdirection, and then there's outright lying, and by the end of this I had the nasty feeling I'd been lied to. There are ways and ways to mess with a reader, and this is not one I enjoy.
And I could get into the (rather OUaT-esque) concept of crossover or exile between the world where fairy tales are real and this world. It has a lot of scope, and using the idea in a murder mystery setting seemed like a great idea.
But I hated it. I just hated it. The artwork was rather nice… but I loathed what was done with all of the characters. I disliked the apparent offensiveness for offensiveness's sake in the depiction of a couple of characters. (Also, of course, the feeling of "They're fairy tale characters! Let's make them swear and have sex! People will be shocked! It'll be great!")
Most of all, I despised the "Ha-ha-fooled-you" trickery the plot indulged in; there's misdirection, and then there's outright lying, and by the end of this I had the nasty feeling I'd been lied to. There are ways and ways to mess with a reader, and this is not one I enjoy.
5
