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Saturday, April 23, 2011

Fairy Tales + Graphic Novels = WIN, from Kristen!

Mixing fairy tales with graphic novels is WIN!

If you know me at all, you'll know I have a bit of a love for graphic novels. And the reason I love them so much is really thanks to a teacher I had in college who taught a class on Fairy Tales and Mythology. He introduced the class to a series of graphic novels called Fables by Bill Willingham. I already loved fairy tales, but this series of graphic novels really spoke to me and I found myself reading through them quickly and am glad to see the series still going and expanding.
What this series is about is that an evil entity called The Adversary has taken over the Fable Realms and forced the fairy tale creatures to flee into our world - more specifically New York City, where they have had to recreate their lives, put away old differences, and solve any problems that arise. The books mainly focus on Bigby (aka the Big Bad Wolf) and Snow White. Bigby has taken on the role of police investigator and Snow White basically runs the government, working directly below Old King Cole. The first book focuses in on a crime of Rose Red's apartment being trashed and covered in blood and no sign of Rose Red, Snow White's sister. It's a who-dun-it type of story and really pulls you into their world quickly, seeping the back story little bit by little bit into what is happening currently.

As the books go on, there's some other characters introduced, some romance and just a whole lot of awesomeness. Not only that, but there's a spin-off series called Jack of Fables, which is all about Jack, a character who is a scheming, full of himself kind of guy who always gets the girl and always manages to get in and out of trouble. Those books are a lot of fun as well.
Along with that, there's a YA book that was written by Bill Willingham, which I LOVED, called Peter & Max. It has two covers and I'm thinking of buying it in the new cover, because it has cover art that is dead on with the comic books.

Peter & Max tells the story from Peter's POV when he is older and has to find out where his evil brother Max has gone and kill him. It goes back and forth from the present to the past, showing how Max and Peter became the men they are today. It also has some overlapping in characters and plot with the Fables series and was an amazing read.
If you haven't heard of this series, it is a little more adult in nature - more nudity, sex, and other adult themes, but the novel is a bit more scaled back except for in violence. I'd definitely recommend any of the books to upper YA readers and adults.

~Kristen @ Bookworming in the 21st Century



Thanks, Kristen!  That was awesome!
I have to agree with Kristen: fairy tales and graphic novels do play very well together.  I've read the first volume of Fables, but not Peter & Max -- it's definitely on my wishlist.

Oh, and Kristen's not done with the awesome yet...
Ahem:

***GIVEAWAY***

Kristen would like to offer 1 lucky winner a copy of Fables: Legends in Exile!
To be entered, comment on this post telling us why you'd like to read it, or why you think graphic novels make a good format for fairy tales.  Don't forget to leave Kristen some love!
Open wherever Book Depository ships!

Ends May 5th May 8th!


23 comments:

  1. I would love this! I started reading Fables a few years ago, but never found the first graphic novel compilation and would love it to see how their story began!
    rickimc[at]aol[dot]com

    ReplyDelete
  2. i haven't read a graphic book in a long time. I might just pick this one up to get started again, =D

    Thanks for the giveaway!
    claroxide AT yahoo DOT co DOT in

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think graphic novels make a good format for fairy tales because I like to see these in a picture and I don't try to imagine how these will be.
    Your graphic novels seems amazing!!!
    Thanks for the giveaway.

    artgiote at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh my, this looks like a stunner. You need more reasons why I'd love to read this? Gawd, I love fairy tales!

    speak_to_bidisha@yahoo.co.in

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'd love to read this because I like fairy tales and haven't read very many graphic novels.

    ikkinlala AT yahoo DOT ca

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'd love to win Fables because I've heard a little about it (mostly from the neverending quiz on GoodReads, lol) and, as a lover of retellings, I want to see how someone adapts the stories to graphic novel form. Thanks for the giveaway!

    susanna dot pyatt at student dot rcsnc dot org

    ReplyDelete
  7. I haven't read a graphic novel yet, but I can see the appeal of them, especially to young readers who enjoy the graphic element. Thanks so much for the giveaway!

    meredithfl at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great guest post! I sometimes have a hard time reading 'Western-style' graphic novels because I grew up reading tons of Japanese manga. The packed panels and different orientation is sometimes hard to adjust to.

    But Fables does look pretty awesome... the Big Bad Wolf as a police investigator. :D I'd love to win this and give it a try!

    aveelachild@gmail.com

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  9. This book looks like fun! I have read a couple of fairy-tale graphic novels before and I really enjoyed them. Thank you for the giveaway!

    liedermadchen(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love fairy tales. I would love to see them in graphic novel format. I think that would make them look more real. Thanks for the great contest. I would love to read this book. Tore923@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. I must admit to not having bought or read a graphic novel in a very long time.

    I just found them too expensive and as money is short even for normal print books I have bought any.

    I do remember many years ago being an avid reader of a graphic series called Classics Illustrated which covered all the classic literature stories and went on for quite a long time.

    I would be very interested in seeing what had happened to graphic stories over the past few years.

    Thanks for the giveaway and for opening it to worldwide entries.

    Carol T

    buddytho {at} gmail DOTcom

    ReplyDelete
  12. Graphic novels provide a heightened slant which is perfect for the world of fairy tales. To win would be phenomenal.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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  13. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  14. I'd love to read this because I love fairy tales and Bill Willingham :D

    lesly7ch(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  15. Graphic novels are great for fairy tales because they give your brain more fodder to imagine how the stories play out.

    Morganlafey86(at)aol(dot)com

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  16. I think graphic novels make a good format for fairy tales because the illustrations will make our brains grab the concept and storyline better and we tend to remember the story more clearly.

    aikychien at yahoo dot com

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  17. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  18. I would like to read this because I rarely read graphic novels.
    k_anon[at]hotmail[dot]co[dot]uk

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  19. What a great combination! Good stories AND art! :) I only knew of Grimms Manga, but this sounds very interesting.

    kah_cherub at hotmail dot com

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