Collection
Publication
Titan Books Ltd (2007), Paperback, 128 pages
Description
After earning a fortune by cashing in on his own legend, Little Jack Horner--a.k.a. Jack B. Nimble, aka. Jack the Giant Killer--is stripped of his wealth, banished from Fabletown, and tossed into a gulag filled with other renegade fables.
Language
Original language
English
User reviews
LibraryThing member EJAYS17
If you've read much of this blog you know that I am a huge fan of Bill Willingham's Fables comic. I'm also a bit of a completist when it comes to my book and graphic novel collections. Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges spun Fables character Jack Horner (aka Jack the Giant Killer, Jack and the
The cover of the collection has a picture of a running Jack complete with briefcase and a protest of the Fables demanding he leave Fabletown, Jack is wearing a t-shirt bearing the legend: Ensemble Books are for Losers. It's typical of the wit readers have come to expect from the books.
Jack probably had to be moved out of Fables. He claims he's too large a character to be held by a book of ensemble characters, but the character is obnoxious, narcissistic, selfish, self destructive and abrasive. He tends to distract from the main story by being himself.
The (Nearly) Great Escape contains the 1st 5 issues of Jack of Fables. The opening finds him with briefcase in hand trying to hitch a lift by the side of the road. He's picked up by a van in the control of Priscilla Page, after a struggle Jack is taken to The Golden Boughs Retirement Community. For the uninitiated some explanation is required here. A group of characters known as The Literals (Fables readers who do not read Jack's book met them in the Great Fables Crossover) use their powers to control stories. As a result they have taken a number of storybook characters prisoner at their retirement community of Golden Boughs.
Although none too happy at being confined against his will once Jack's fallen into bed with Goldilocks (yes, she survived her encounter with Snow and Bigby way back in Fables collection #3 Storybook Love, and no she has not changed) he thinks it may not be so bad, but being Jack is drawn into an escape attempt masterminded by Goldilocks.
The Literals managed to prevent or recapture most of the escaping inmates, although Jack remained at large at the end of the book.
There were some wonderful new characters introduced in Jack of Fables: the old Colchester cannon; Humpty Dumpty, Paul Bunyan and his daydreaming blue ox Babe and the Literals, especially their patriarch Gary the Pathetic Fallacy, who will become important later on.
Tony Akins art is a particular highlight. If anything it is cleaner and brighter than Mark Buckingham's work on Fables, as with Fable, though, the pencilling suits the book perfectly.
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Beanstalk, etc...) off into his own book at the beginning of the Fables collection #6 (Homelands) after the character had stolen money from the Fables, and set himself up as a movie mogul, making 2 blockblusters about himself (naturally). Sherrif Beast tracked Jack down, and after informing him that his actions had not only betrayed his own kind, but could have blown the Fables cover to the Mundane world gave him an ultimatum: take the briefcase full of money that Beast was offering, and hit the road or refuse and be arrested, and face execution for his actions. Jack took the first option and this moved him out of the parent book and into his own spin off.The cover of the collection has a picture of a running Jack complete with briefcase and a protest of the Fables demanding he leave Fabletown, Jack is wearing a t-shirt bearing the legend: Ensemble Books are for Losers. It's typical of the wit readers have come to expect from the books.
Jack probably had to be moved out of Fables. He claims he's too large a character to be held by a book of ensemble characters, but the character is obnoxious, narcissistic, selfish, self destructive and abrasive. He tends to distract from the main story by being himself.
The (Nearly) Great Escape contains the 1st 5 issues of Jack of Fables. The opening finds him with briefcase in hand trying to hitch a lift by the side of the road. He's picked up by a van in the control of Priscilla Page, after a struggle Jack is taken to The Golden Boughs Retirement Community. For the uninitiated some explanation is required here. A group of characters known as The Literals (Fables readers who do not read Jack's book met them in the Great Fables Crossover) use their powers to control stories. As a result they have taken a number of storybook characters prisoner at their retirement community of Golden Boughs.
Although none too happy at being confined against his will once Jack's fallen into bed with Goldilocks (yes, she survived her encounter with Snow and Bigby way back in Fables collection #3 Storybook Love, and no she has not changed) he thinks it may not be so bad, but being Jack is drawn into an escape attempt masterminded by Goldilocks.
The Literals managed to prevent or recapture most of the escaping inmates, although Jack remained at large at the end of the book.
There were some wonderful new characters introduced in Jack of Fables: the old Colchester cannon; Humpty Dumpty, Paul Bunyan and his daydreaming blue ox Babe and the Literals, especially their patriarch Gary the Pathetic Fallacy, who will become important later on.
Tony Akins art is a particular highlight. If anything it is cleaner and brighter than Mark Buckingham's work on Fables, as with Fable, though, the pencilling suits the book perfectly.
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LibraryThing member fyrefly98
Summary: The self-proclaimed best of all Fables, Jack of the Tales (also known as Jack the Giant Killer, Jack Horner, etc.), is back with his own series. After briefly summarizing Jack's Hollywood adventures (from Volume 6 of the main Fables series), this story picks up with everyone's favorite
Review: I was a little bit leery about starting the Jack of Fables series - although I love the Fables universe, Jack was just about my least favorite character, and I didn't miss him at all once he was gone from the main series. However, I've read through all of the main series books that are out, and needed another dose, so I picked it up... and I needn't have worried; Willingham works his magic just as effectively here as in the main books. Jack's actually easier to take when he's narrating his own story, and his macho swagger and bravado goes from obnoxious to funnily obnoxious to almost endearingly obnoxious. I also enjoyed the introduction of the "nearly-forgotten" Fables, and seeing how many folklore details you can pick out of the background is one of the joys of any Fables installment. This hasn't gone rocketing to the top of my list of favorite Fables volumes, but it was a fun little adventure that satisfied my craving, and made me excited to read the rest of Jack's books.
Recommendation: I don't know that this would be understandable without having read the main series books first; a lot of the history and details about what Fables are and how their world works is taken for granted. For Fables fans, though, it's certainly a worthy addition to the universe.
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ruffian turned out of his life as a media mogul and hitchhiking with a briefcase full of cash. However, Jack gets picked up by some folks from the Golden Boughs retirement center, where Fables are taken until they're forgotten about. Jack's not going to stand for imprisonment, though, so he orchestrates an escape plan... taking some new friends and familiar faces with him.Review: I was a little bit leery about starting the Jack of Fables series - although I love the Fables universe, Jack was just about my least favorite character, and I didn't miss him at all once he was gone from the main series. However, I've read through all of the main series books that are out, and needed another dose, so I picked it up... and I needn't have worried; Willingham works his magic just as effectively here as in the main books. Jack's actually easier to take when he's narrating his own story, and his macho swagger and bravado goes from obnoxious to funnily obnoxious to almost endearingly obnoxious. I also enjoyed the introduction of the "nearly-forgotten" Fables, and seeing how many folklore details you can pick out of the background is one of the joys of any Fables installment. This hasn't gone rocketing to the top of my list of favorite Fables volumes, but it was a fun little adventure that satisfied my craving, and made me excited to read the rest of Jack's books.
Recommendation: I don't know that this would be understandable without having read the main series books first; a lot of the history and details about what Fables are and how their world works is taken for granted. For Fables fans, though, it's certainly a worthy addition to the universe.
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LibraryThing member Arctic-Stranger
Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack gets to star in his own epic.
Jack makes off on his own, leaving Fabletown, and gets picked up by an evil editor, who wants to totally delete him. We learn what happened to Goldilocks after Snow takes her. Of course Jack plans an escape, and being Jack, manages
Another Fables hit.
Jack makes off on his own, leaving Fabletown, and gets picked up by an evil editor, who wants to totally delete him. We learn what happened to Goldilocks after Snow takes her. Of course Jack plans an escape, and being Jack, manages
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to get in all sorts of trouble. Another Fables hit.
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LibraryThing member aliciamalia
The Fables universe recently spun off this new series, featuring Jack (and the beanstock, the candlestick, Jack Frost, etc. - all the same guy). It's great. There's energy in the storytelling that has been lacking in the main series for awhile. Perhaps the creators just needed the freedom to create
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a new world. Show Less
LibraryThing member Magus_Manders
Bill Willingham (or as I like to call him, Willy Willy), is just a clever, fun, inventive author. He has managed to rewrite the fairy tale not by updating them, but just following the time line a few centuries, and thus we get 'Fables'.
'Jack of Fables' is an extension of that, taking into account
'Jack of Fables' is an extension of that, taking into account
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that the aforementioned scoundrel has supposedly slain more giants, wooed more maidens, and terrorized more London children than any of his fellow Fables before or since. Thus, combined with the fact that he has been exiled from the sphere of the core title, a spin-off was born. If your favorite part of 'Fables' was trying to spot what character came from where, you are in for a treat as a whole new territory of misplaced legends inhabits this book. It also gains the advantage (or, well, at least distinction) of being privately narrated by a complete and utter megalomaniac who thinks that he is not only the best thing since slice bread, but invented the innovation and seduced the baker. Hence, the many serious overtones often dominant in the parent title tend to be tempered with a startling sense of invulnerability and non-nonchalance. This first volume is at it's heart a relatively simple adventure story, but it has a huge cast of bizarre characters and strange set pieces, making 'Jack of Fables' a very fun and often unexpected read. Show Less
LibraryThing member MeriJenBen
As it has many times in the past, Jack of the Tales luck has finally run out. The ne'er do well Fable, after creating his own media empire, and making himself a household name, finds his assets frozen and is ordered to run by the Fabletown sheriff, Beast. To add insult to injury, the poor (in
This book has evil Librarians. It gets a star just for that. However, I might have expected too much from this title. While I enjoy Jack, and it was fun to meet more Fables, I was left with to many questions at the end of this book to give it an unqualified rave. I would have liked more about the Head Librarian, Reprise, and why it was so important for him to rid the world of Fables. I'm sure that will come in later books, but a little back story would have helped this arc tremendously. Although not as rich as Fables, this book continues in that title's high standards, with complex and interesting character designs and beautiful artwork.
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proportion) and homeless Jack is soon seized by evil Librarians from the Golden Boughs Retirement Community, a community where imprisoned Fables are held until the Mundy world forgets about them. Jack, being Jack, has no intention of going quietly into the night, and with the help of the criminally insane Goldilocks, he plans a daring escape. This book has evil Librarians. It gets a star just for that. However, I might have expected too much from this title. While I enjoy Jack, and it was fun to meet more Fables, I was left with to many questions at the end of this book to give it an unqualified rave. I would have liked more about the Head Librarian, Reprise, and why it was so important for him to rid the world of Fables. I'm sure that will come in later books, but a little back story would have helped this arc tremendously. Although not as rich as Fables, this book continues in that title's high standards, with complex and interesting character designs and beautiful artwork.
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LibraryThing member pandoragreen
Definitely recommended. A little more tongue in cheek then the original Fables series. Quite amusing. The story line is also captivating. I am left truly wanting to know what exactly Revise and the rest of the literals are up to.
LibraryThing member knielsen83
Loved this book. It picked up nearly right after the Fable series and it goes along with the same tempo as the other books. I can't wait to read the second one.
LibraryThing member TerryWeyna
Unfortunately, though, this spin off from the popular Fables comics series isn't my cup of tea. I couldn't even tell you why I read all five volumes, except that I have a weird completist gene in me somewhere that doesn't let me not finish books. The "Jack" of these books is the Jack you read about
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in "Jack the Giant Killer" and "Jack and the Beanstalk" -- the "Jack" of any fairy tale or fable is apparently all one and the same. In the first volume, Jack is thrown out of Fabletown and promptly falls into the hands of Mr. Revise, a very bad man who is trying to rid the world of all notions of fairy tales and fables. In the second volume, he has an unfortunate encounter with Lady Luck -- a literal Lady Luck -- in Las Vegas. The third book finds him in the Grand Canyon with a sword through his chest that somehow doesn't kill him; I guess you can't kill a fable. Americana, a sort of fairy tale America, is the setting of the fourth book, where we meet Mr. Book Burner, who is apparently somehow a rival to revise, who, we learn, is somehow related to the Pathetic Fallacy, who we know as Gary. Yes, things are getting pretty complicated. The fifth book has us in Western Americana, and tells us more about the Page sisters, who are Revise's henchwomen. All of it gives me a great big feeling of "Eh!" Maybe I just don't like Jack, a classic anti-hero who treats women like dirt and cares about nothing but money. Or maybe the weavings of the plot, which appear to be trying to say something about literature -- something that would normally fascinate me -- just fall flat here. In any event, this is one series I won't be following any further. Show Less
LibraryThing member JapaG
Jack of Fables is the spinoff from one of the best Fantasy comic series today, The Fables. It tells of the forays of one Jack (of the Beanstalk) among the mundies. The art is great as ever in this first installment, but the stories are not quite up to par with Willingham's work in The Fables. I
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will probably get the next one as well, though, if not for anything else, then just to learn some more about the fascinating lives of the fables... :) Show Less
LibraryThing member bookgirlokc
I didn't think I would like the Jack of Fables spin-off as much as Fables, as Jack was one of my least favorite characters, but I am loving it! Jack is a riot and I love seeing him leap from one madcap predicament to the next. And I love all of the new Fables that we get to meet!
LibraryThing member renrav
3/5
And so Jack's tale begins. I didn't dislike Jack in the Fables series but I didn't particularily like him either. I am surprised that he was picked for his own spinoff. Anyway, I did enjoy this book and am intrigued by Revise and the Page sisters.
And so Jack's tale begins. I didn't dislike Jack in the Fables series but I didn't particularily like him either. I am surprised that he was picked for his own spinoff. Anyway, I did enjoy this book and am intrigued by Revise and the Page sisters.
LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
Jack of Fables, Volume 1: The (Nearly) Great Escape by Bill Willingham is the first volume in this off-shoot series from the Fables. I think that if you are a fan of Fables, then you will certainly enjoy Jack’s story as well. Jack is a bad boy. Handsome, arrogant egomaniac Jack is fun to follow
Overall I prefer Jack in smaller doses but although he himself isn’t all that likeable he is humorous and highly readable. This story opens new avenues that will impact all the Fables and I am sure we will be exploring more about Golden Boughs and Mr. Revise in the future. I have already requested Volumes 2 and 3 of Jack’s adventures from my local library and I am looking forward to continuing with the fun.
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as he gets himself kidnapped to a strange prison called the Golden Boughs Retirement Home. This volume introduces some new Fables that we haven’t met before and catches up with one or two that we do know. Overall I prefer Jack in smaller doses but although he himself isn’t all that likeable he is humorous and highly readable. This story opens new avenues that will impact all the Fables and I am sure we will be exploring more about Golden Boughs and Mr. Revise in the future. I have already requested Volumes 2 and 3 of Jack’s adventures from my local library and I am looking forward to continuing with the fun.
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LibraryThing member LibraryCin
Jack Horner/Jack the Giant-Killer is a big shot in Hollywood, but when he walks away from it, he is captured and brought to a “retirement home” for Fables. Really, it’s a prison and they aren’t allowed to leave. Jack manages to convince the others to try to escape.
I quite enjoyed this! As
I quite enjoyed this! As
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with all the Fables graphic novels, the illustrations are amazing. I enjoyed the little gallery at the end of various sketches of some of the characters, as well. I liked the new characters at the prison, the Page sisters (called “librarians” but really, their jobs have them in “Retrievals”, “Security” and “Research”). I will definitely be continuing this spin-off series! (Now, if only I would go back and finish the original Fables series – I only have a couple more to go!) Show Less