Fables Vol. 2: Animal Farm

The first stroy arc of Bill Willingham's Fables was very good, though it was also an introduction to the characters. Now that we are familiar with Snow White, Bigby Wolf, Rose Red, and the other prominent members of Fabletown, the story can serve as the focus. That doesn't mean that new characters aren't introduced (they are) or that there isn't any character development (there is), but Willingham has more room to play with his creations.

Set just after the events of Legends in Exile, Jack of the Tales and Rose Red are still making up for their crime. Sentenced to community service, they are doing hard labor. Snow White, the deputy mayor of Fabletown, decides that it would do her sister, Rose Red, good to get out of New York and up to The Farm to do her service. After the various fables were exiled from their Homelands by the Adversary, the human fables took up residence in New York City. In order to keep from being discovered by the "mundys" (non-fables, similar to J.K. Rowling's muggles), the fables that don't appear human were relegated to a "farm" in upstate New York. Every other year, Snow White makes a visit to The Farm to make sure that things are running smoothly.

When Snow and Rose arrive, they learn that the the appointed leader of The Farm is nowhere to be found, and they walk in on a bizarre meeting run by the Three Little Pigs. As the story unfolds, Snow and Rose learn about a revolution, led by Goldilocks, now an "animal rights activist". The revolutionaries plan to take control of both the Fabletown and Farm governments so that the non-human fables no longer have to be confined to The Farm. While Snow White tries hard to keep the revolutionaries at bay, Rose finds out about a further plan to take the Homelands back from the Adversary, which may sway her allegiance.

The arc is a good conspiracy story, and things end with a few changes to the characters. There are also numerous things hinted at that will most likely occur in future arcs, which I am really looking forward to. Animal Farm is superior to Legends in Exile, which was great. If you read the first volume, you'll want to pick this one up, and if you've never read Fables, be sure to change that.

Volume #2 of Bill Willingham's "Fable" series compiles issues 6 thru 10 (the Animal Farm storyline) of the original Vertigo books in one handy volume. While Volume #1 was a good read, Vol #2 has a much better flow with its narrower focus - concentrating on Snow White and her adventures up on the 'farm' where she pays her annual visit to the non-human entities of Fableland living in seclusion from the eyes of humans. Overall this volume encompasses a better sense of whimsy and gives readers a better sense of the fantastical scale that this series will evolve into. If you found Volume #1 even the slightest bit enjoyable certainly give this one a try.

Following on almost immediately from the previous volume 'Legends in Exile', 'Animal Farm' serves as the second half of an introduction to the world of Fables first began in 'Legends' with a tour of Fabletown and its residents and now concluding with a visit to the Farm and the animal or otherwise non-human fables which live there.

In my first review of 'Legends in Exile' I'm afraid I may have seemed a little overly critical and may not have got across the fact that I do actually like this series, just that it took a while to grow on me after an initial sceptical impression.

I do believe however that Fables starts proper a little while after this in Volume 4 'March of the Wooden Soldiers' and volumes 1 & 2 serve as little more than required reading on the background and society of the Fables.

Anyways enough with explanations and on with the review, 'Animal Farm' concerns a sudden (and ultimatly very brief) revolution at the aforementioned Farm in which the talking animals and other non human fables rebel in a bid to march back into the homelands and reclaim them from the adversary, the revolution is lead by the three little pigs and Goldilocks (an adult gun toting revolutionary) caught in he middle of this is Snow White and her sister Rose Red arriving at the farm for an annual visit.

What follows is a typical if somewhat interesting story as Snow White attempts to elude the forces of Goldilocks and the Loyal supporters of Fabletown manage (through the use of a convenient Deus Ex Machina) to quell the rebellion and restore order to the Farm.

As I mentioned before the details of the story don't matter all that much and act as little more than a framework for the introduction of various important figures and landmarks to be remembered for later on.

P.S. Not really important but its an issue to me, The Jungle Book is not a Fairy Tale in my opinion and I don't understand how they fit in with the world of Fables, whats up with that?

In short, this is a refreshing read and worth every penny. If you are testing the waters with the Fables title this is even better than book 1.
The entire story is written in a way that is self-contained and accessible to new readers. Fantasy, humor and politics all come together in this mature but quirky title and you never know what to expect next.
In addition to great writing, the art makes the read seamless and the story believable. Mark Buckingham manages to bring across depth and expressions in talking animals.
This would be the series I use to introduce comic books to non-comic book readers.

Bill Willingham, Fables: Animal Farm (Vertigo, 2003)

After the goodness that was the first Fables book, Legends in Exile, I couldn't wait to dig back into the series. While Animal Farm doesn't quite have the twisted brilliance of Legends in Exile, it's still a worthy successor.

In this volume, Snow White and Rose Red have to travel upstate to the remote farm mentioned in the first book, where the non-human fables are housed. Things have been running relatively well for a while, but suddenly communication is cut off, and on the way there, Snow White discovers some odd things as they're moving into the fables' land. When they get to town, there's no one around. Yep, something very odd is going on.

Where the book suffers-- slightly-- in comparison to the first is that some of the new characters we meet aren't quite as complex or intriguing (I should clarify, however, that many of them are) as those who popped up in Legends in Exile. Everything else about it, however, does absolute justice to the first book. It's delightfully warped, and Willingham has no compunctions about tossing some of fabledom's most beloved characters into the jaws of death without a second thought. The one thing you can definitely say for Fables, at least so far-- it's not predictable. *** ½

This is where the story really starts. The first volume just introduced the main characters and give a decent little murder mystery. Willingham has done so much with these characters you've known since you were a kid and crafts a great story out of them making them feel fresh and brand new.

In this volume Snow White takes off up to "The Farm" where the non-human Fables have to live. When she gets there she finds the farm in the midst of a hostile takeover led by a fairly popular group of pigs. She finds herself backed by a suprising ally in her attempt to strike down the rebellion. The story somewhat reminded me of George Orwell's classic novel Animal Farm.

I liked the formatting of this book more than the previous one. The little summaries at the beginnings of each chapter were really wonderful and cleared up some of the things I'd forgotten since I'd read the first. It's so fascinating seeing them go around copyright law, and basically write an amazing crossover fanfic. This one was somehow more simplistic than the first, but still a good read. I am still intrigued by the overall story, and can't wait to find out who The Adversary is.

This is considerably better. The non-human appearing Fables, banished to living in basically a work farm, are out for revolution. Their targets, are of course, the human looking and free roaming city dwelling Fables.

Snow White vs Shere Khan, is what this means. Rose Red, her sister, is not all she appears, either.

A lot more depth to this, with the obvious and not quite so obvious Orwellian elements and parody.

This arc/trade is well worth the time.

In this second installment of the "Fables" series, we find ourselves on the "Farm" where the Fables who cannot pass as human have to live. Discontent has been brewing up there for quite a long while, and while I don't want to spoil the story, I will say that rebellion does break out.
As always, the look at "modernized" people from famous stories is fun, and I have to say that while I didn't agree with a lot of what the revolutionaries did, I could understand why they finally rose up.
For a little extra spice, there are a lot of references to a famous literary classic scattered through.

Bill Willingham's "Fables" is hands-down my favorite comic book being published today. The first volume in the series was a great mystery (and I urge you to read that before reading any further, since it's impossible to review this book without running the risk of spoiling the outcome). This time out he takes the turn of a political thriller. Snow White and Company visit the Fables farm, upstate, where the non-human refugees from fairy tales and folklore live. She finds herself caught in an uprising, fomented by enraged pigs (shades of George Orwell here) and backed by a surprising ally.
While "Legends in Exile" was a wonderful inaugural story for "Fables," it is here that the series really begins to hit its stride. The artwork is beautiful and the story is imaginative and sharp. This is a series that will take its place next to "Sandman" as one of the all-time greats.

Bill Willingham continues to deliver great reading material in his second storyline of the Eisner Award winning series "Fables".
The story is still about the exiled fable-folk and their community existing alongside the mundanes (non-fable folk).
The characters from the first book are back and they are in for a new conflict.

This time the focus of the book moves away from the mythical city of New York and on to "The Farm", where the unfortunate fable folk who cannot pass as humans live in seclusion.
Snow White heads to the farm to try and teach her sister, Rose Red a lesson and hopefully patch things up between them.
They soon find out that the residents are planning to get out of the farm in an all out rebellion.

Willingham did very good on characterization in this book, he gave the characters identity, there are more fable appearances in this book which makes it more interesting. Mark Buckingham did a superb job continuing the designs drawn by Lan Medina.
And like the first book, this trade paperback offers bonus materials such as Bill Willingham's early designs of the characters, and sketches of the covers done by James Jean.
This is one title that every fantasy, fairy tale, mystery, and even crime enthusiast should have.

You'll find plenty of reviews praising FABLES as one of the great comics of all-time...but not from me. The first volume was an entertaining enough murder mystery that, along with the constant praise for the series, was enough to convince me to try volume two. I'll just say having fairytale characters constantly use profanity and speak in sexual innuendo does not alone make for a great comic book.

Fables, Vol 2: Animal Farm collects Fables #6-10 of the DC/Vertigo series.

"Animal Farm" begins where "Legends in Exile" left off, not so much in plot, but as an exploration of character relationships. Snow White and Rose Red take a trip to "the farm," the sister "city" to Fabletown in NY City. The farm is a place to hide away all the non-human Fables from the prying eyes of the mundies (ordinary people).

While the farm may sound like a good idea that keeps Fables safe, it's viewed by some as a prison that they can never leave. A revolution is forming with an amateur & surely doomed plot to reconquer the Fable Realms from the Adversary that drove all the Fables out. The Three Little Pigs are the ringleaders with tactical support from a gun-toting political extremist Goldilocks, who happens to have a bear for a lover. She's an absolute nut job. Add to the army the little old lady that lives in the shoe and her militia of children, and this is one crazy revolution.

Snow White is on the run. Weyland Smith, the administrator of the farm, is nowhere to be found, and a drunken knight is prophesying about civil war. It's certainly surreal and interesting.

As with Volume 1, I really enjoy Willingham's takes on these Fables. Each one is full of personality. Some are a little silly. I thought the fox was too perverse in Snow's company. It seemed out of character, as if Willingham was just looking for a reason to add some sex jokes.

After the second issue/chapter of this volume, the story takes a bit of a turn for the worse. It's still a good story, but the character development is lost because the radical revolutionaries are obviously over-the-top caricatures, Snow and Rose Red are separated, and most of the story turns to talking animals running around with guns. The last issue/chapter resorts to Bigby Wolf telling the whole story to Snow, while she's recovering from a coma.

I rated this 3 stars. I would have gone with a 3.5, if I could. I rounded down, because in spite of two strong opening issues, the book fizzled a bit after that. Even characters like Blue Boy, Bluebeard, and Prince Charming are incredibly flat compared to their presence in the first volume.

The premise of this wonderful series is to rewrite and expand the world of fairy tales. They characters of which has entered our world fleeing a great evil. Lost of fun, smart and witty, typical american style illustrations for the most part, but nice. Some similarities of premise to the Sand Man series, but not quite as inventive or as extensively research and deep. Start at #1 for the best read.

Fantastic. I found the first book lacking but enjoyed it enough to check out this one. It FAR exceeds the first book. Having read the first four books now. Fables is definitely the best comic if you are looking for something without capes.

Willingham's great mystery was the perfect way to introduce Fabletown and its residents, now we get to see where the Fables who can't pass for human live. And it gets a little Orwellian, talking pigs and all. It's a great political story and we really get to know Snow's dear sister--Rose. This is what really hooked me on the series.

While the first of this series was truly original and the plot engaging, this one doesn't have that 'je-ne-sais-quoi' that made me like the first one. It has some surprising images, but the plot seems to be just a 'draw-the-line-between-dots' from an image to the next one. I didn't like either the climax-before-the-end; the story drags on from there.

All in all, it was a good read, but I expected much more from it.

I was really pretty disappointed by this volume. It was pretty good, but the first volume was really excellent and clever, and this volume was lacking a lot of what made that one special; the story felt very, very average. There were some excellent bits toward the end, but overall it didn't come off. The artwork was also unattractive. Still, I am going to keep reading the series.

Looking forward to Volume 3! Terrific graphics - intriguing story! I really like the ability to double click on a frame and enlarge it, not to mention the convenience of having it on my Kindle Fire.

Vol. 2 does not dissapoint as Snow learns there are many depths to her sister when they find the farm in upheaval. To say more would give away an exciting story that is well worth reading. And as always the story is beautifully drawn and inked.