Status
Available
Call number
Collections
Publication
Vertigo (2011), Paperback, 144 pages
Description
Bigby Wolf embarks on a quest through the American Heartland to find a new location for Fabletown, a secret society of exiled fairy tale characters living among the "mundys." In his wanderings, Bigby stumbles across Story City, a small town that seems to be occupied solely by werewolves. Oddly enough, they seem to already know and revere Bigby, but at the same time they've captured and caged him.
User reviews
LibraryThing member fyrefly98
Summary: Bigby Wolf has ventured away from New York to search for a new location for Fabletown, given that Mr. Dark has destroyed the original. When he runs across a sign for a town named "Story City", and scents something strange on the wind, he can't help but investigate. What he finds there is
Review: I wanted to like this one more than I did. I love Fables, Bigby is one of my favorite characters, and the idea of an isolated midwestern town full of werewolves sounded promising. But I couldn't get into it, for a variety of reasons. First of all, the artwork did not work for me. I don't know that I could have articulated this prior to reading this version, but one of the things that I like about Bigby is that when he wolves out, he actually *wolves* out. Werewolves that turn into actual wolves appeal to me more than werewolves that turn into half-men/half-wolf; I've yet to see the a version of the bipedal form of werewolf in which its posture and movements look menacing rather than just plain awkward.
I also had a hard time keeping all of the new characters straight, not to mention all of their various factions and alliances and schemes. Everything just seemed more convoluted and complex than it needed to be for a relatively short stand-alone piece, which made it hard for me to latch on to any single piece of the drama, other than sitting back and going "oooh, explosions!". As a consequence, I enjoyed the scenes with Bigby in them, where he gets to town and is processing what's going on, more than I enjoyed the backstory of what *is* going on in the town, and much more than the many pages of fight scenes. 3 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: It's Fables, and it's Willingham, so it's not terrible, or even bad, but it's also not one of the stronger entries in the series. Long-time fans will probably want to pick it up, but I think newcomers should start with one of the other books to really get a feel for what this series can do at its best.
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an old friend - and some old enemies - in an entire town that is populated by werewolves. Bigby, the archetype of the werewolf, is welcomed to town as a god, but he soon finds out that he's stepped into the middle of a complex web of factions and alliances that permeate the town... and that his presence among them might be the spark that ignites a deadly conflict.Review: I wanted to like this one more than I did. I love Fables, Bigby is one of my favorite characters, and the idea of an isolated midwestern town full of werewolves sounded promising. But I couldn't get into it, for a variety of reasons. First of all, the artwork did not work for me. I don't know that I could have articulated this prior to reading this version, but one of the things that I like about Bigby is that when he wolves out, he actually *wolves* out. Werewolves that turn into actual wolves appeal to me more than werewolves that turn into half-men/half-wolf; I've yet to see the a version of the bipedal form of werewolf in which its posture and movements look menacing rather than just plain awkward.
I also had a hard time keeping all of the new characters straight, not to mention all of their various factions and alliances and schemes. Everything just seemed more convoluted and complex than it needed to be for a relatively short stand-alone piece, which made it hard for me to latch on to any single piece of the drama, other than sitting back and going "oooh, explosions!". As a consequence, I enjoyed the scenes with Bigby in them, where he gets to town and is processing what's going on, more than I enjoyed the backstory of what *is* going on in the town, and much more than the many pages of fight scenes. 3 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: It's Fables, and it's Willingham, so it's not terrible, or even bad, but it's also not one of the stronger entries in the series. Long-time fans will probably want to pick it up, but I think newcomers should start with one of the other books to really get a feel for what this series can do at its best.
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LibraryThing member Sr_Moreno
Willingham's plots are always a bit shaky, but this is one of his worst. Plot holes abound and significant questions remain unanswered when the story grinds to a very unsatisfying halt. At one point I thought we were going to get a fun Hellboy-style action adventure in Frankenstein's castle. That
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only lasted a couple of pages, unfortunately. One to skip, I think. Show Less
LibraryThing member Capnrandm
Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy
allthingsuf.com
I’ve had a hit or miss relationship with graphic novels, bouncing back and forth between original issues and graphic adaptations of old familiar favorites. FABLES: WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND is a strong vote in the “original content”
I have only passing familiarity with the Fable series as a whole, but that did not detract from my enjoyment of WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND. If anything, this book is an interlude outside other plot lines. The few hints of past Fables that I missed just piqued my interest to go back and read more of the series (Bigby and Snow White’s story in particular has my full attention). WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND is light on romance (which is good, as our hero is married and no where near his wife), but werewolves provide nude eye candy on almost every page. Hairy eye candy at times, but eye candy nonetheless.
WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND employs flashbacks to bounce this story from between present and past. The violence that ensues isn’t necessarily inevitable, but believable enough. One issue wasn’t enough to develop Bigby or his supporting cast as particularly charismatic or nuanced characters either, but I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes peeled for them in the future. WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND is a fun fairy tale to pass the time, and a welcome glimpse of the Fables world. For fans of the series, this should be a must read. For intermittent graphic novel readers like myself, it was a pleasant diversion.
Sexual Content: Nudity, a sexual situation.
allthingsuf.com
I’ve had a hit or miss relationship with graphic novels, bouncing back and forth between original issues and graphic adaptations of old familiar favorites. FABLES: WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND is a strong vote in the “original content”
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category, as I found this story thoroughly entertaining.I have only passing familiarity with the Fable series as a whole, but that did not detract from my enjoyment of WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND. If anything, this book is an interlude outside other plot lines. The few hints of past Fables that I missed just piqued my interest to go back and read more of the series (Bigby and Snow White’s story in particular has my full attention). WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND is light on romance (which is good, as our hero is married and no where near his wife), but werewolves provide nude eye candy on almost every page. Hairy eye candy at times, but eye candy nonetheless.
WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND employs flashbacks to bounce this story from between present and past. The violence that ensues isn’t necessarily inevitable, but believable enough. One issue wasn’t enough to develop Bigby or his supporting cast as particularly charismatic or nuanced characters either, but I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes peeled for them in the future. WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND is a fun fairy tale to pass the time, and a welcome glimpse of the Fables world. For fans of the series, this should be a must read. For intermittent graphic novel readers like myself, it was a pleasant diversion.
Sexual Content: Nudity, a sexual situation.
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LibraryThing member josh314
Not much to see here. I mean that figuratively, though, since everyone is naked on just about every page. But there is very little of interest in this story and the artwork didn't jump out at me. I feel like Willingham just wanted to do a story with a whole town of werewolves and came up with the
If you're a longtime Fables fan, you'll probably want to check it out for completeness' sake. If you are new to Fables, a better introduction would be Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love or just start with the first volume of the main series!
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smallest amount of plot possible to do it with. There is some callback to the history of the series, specifically Bigby's WWII adventures, but this volume is largely disconnected from Fables as a whole.If you're a longtime Fables fan, you'll probably want to check it out for completeness' sake. If you are new to Fables, a better introduction would be Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love or just start with the first volume of the main series!
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LibraryThing member Glennis.LeBlanc
This is a stand alone story that is all about Bigby as he is looking for a place to relocate Fabletown. Turns out Story City is founded by a soldier that Bigby knew back in WW2 and he looks as if he hasn't aged a day. Turns out due to a military operation that went awry he and female Nazi scientist
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were exposed to his blood and now are werewolves. They figured out how to turns others and left Europe to found a place of their own in the USA. At first glance it seems to be be great but of course looks are deceiving and having their "god" come strolling into town shreds the status quo and some decide to take charge instead. A nice complete story that needs no Fables back story to enjoy. Show Less
LibraryThing member Kurt.Rocourt
If your familiar with the Fables series this is another good story.
LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill
I let this sit on my shelf way too long. Bigby wolf is looking for a new place for the fables to settle when he comes to Story City; a town once financially supported by Bluebeard; he decides to check it out hoping that he will find new place for everyone. What he finds is a pack of werewolves that
The new characters were interesting. Bigby's fix is pretty clearly a temporary one so we'll have to see when the author decides to bring it back. Bigby is still one of my favorite characters and I can't wait for them to bring him back.
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is very close to exploding. The new characters were interesting. Bigby's fix is pretty clearly a temporary one so we'll have to see when the author decides to bring it back. Bigby is still one of my favorite characters and I can't wait for them to bring him back.
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LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill
I let this sit on my shelf way too long. Bigby wolf is looking for a new place for the fables to settle when he comes to Story City; a town once financially supported by Bluebeard; he decides to check it out hoping that he will find new place for everyone. What he finds is a pack of werewolves that
The new characters were interesting. Bigby's fix is pretty clearly a temporary one so we'll have to see when the author decides to bring it back. Bigby is still one of my favorite characters and I can't wait for them to bring him back.
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is very close to exploding. The new characters were interesting. Bigby's fix is pretty clearly a temporary one so we'll have to see when the author decides to bring it back. Bigby is still one of my favorite characters and I can't wait for them to bring him back.
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LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill
I let this sit on my shelf way too long. Bigby wolf is looking for a new place for the fables to settle when he comes to Story City; a town once financially supported by Bluebeard; he decides to check it out hoping that he will find new place for everyone. What he finds is a pack of werewolves that
The new characters were interesting. Bigby's fix is pretty clearly a temporary one so we'll have to see when the author decides to bring it back. Bigby is still one of my favorite characters and I can't wait for them to bring him back.
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is very close to exploding. The new characters were interesting. Bigby's fix is pretty clearly a temporary one so we'll have to see when the author decides to bring it back. Bigby is still one of my favorite characters and I can't wait for them to bring him back.
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LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill
I let this sit on my shelf way too long. Bigby wolf is looking for a new place for the fables to settle when he comes to Story City; a town once financially supported by Bluebeard; he decides to check it out hoping that he will find new place for everyone. What he finds is a pack of werewolves that
The new characters were interesting. Bigby's fix is pretty clearly a temporary one so we'll have to see when the author decides to bring it back. Bigby is still one of my favorite characters and I can't wait for them to bring him back.
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is very close to exploding. The new characters were interesting. Bigby's fix is pretty clearly a temporary one so we'll have to see when the author decides to bring it back. Bigby is still one of my favorite characters and I can't wait for them to bring him back.
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LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
This book is a spin-off from the Fables series and I thought it was very interesting as it picked up on Bigby Wolf’s World War II service. The timing of this book is when Bigby is on his quest to find a new site for Fabletown, as far away from Mr. Dark as possible. He stumbles into a small town
Werewolves living in the “mundy” world pose a problem for Bigby, especially as they love to hunt “mundy’s” and sooner or later this practice will call the wrong kind of attention to their kind. While many of the werewolves hail Bigby as their “God” there is a faction that sees Bigby’s visit as an opportunity to overthrow him and take control of the town.
Although this story really adds nothing to the existing series, I liked it and enjoyed learning more about Bigby. I thought the artwork was good, but some of the coloring seemed a little off and there were a few inconsistencies in the story, but overall this was another fun entry in the epic Fables series.
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whose total population is werewolves, and these werewolves have a connection to him.Werewolves living in the “mundy” world pose a problem for Bigby, especially as they love to hunt “mundy’s” and sooner or later this practice will call the wrong kind of attention to their kind. While many of the werewolves hail Bigby as their “God” there is a faction that sees Bigby’s visit as an opportunity to overthrow him and take control of the town.
Although this story really adds nothing to the existing series, I liked it and enjoyed learning more about Bigby. I thought the artwork was good, but some of the coloring seemed a little off and there were a few inconsistencies in the story, but overall this was another fun entry in the epic Fables series.
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LibraryThing member macha
3 and a half stars. not a very significant entry, but fun. some flashbacks to Bigby's WW2 years, and a reversion to Bigby's original shape, are the highlights. and it shows how godlike he really is, a quality Bigby himself more usually plays down.
LibraryThing member devilwrites
The premise: ganked form BN.com: At long last! The long-awaited original FABLES: WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND graphic novel is here!
Bigby Wolf embarks on a quest through the American Heartland to find a new location for Fabletown, a secret society of exiled fairy tale characters living among the
FABLES: WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND tells an epic tale that began well before Bigby Wolf set foot in the bucolic plains of the Midwest. It began long ago when he served in World War II and became mired in a Nazi experiment that would change nations. It's soon evident that murder in Story City is the least of their sins, and unraveling the town's many mysteries may cost Bigby, the seventh son of the North Wind, much more than his own life.
My Rating: It's a Gamble
It's an underwhelming story, to be honest. I won't say it's bad: it's just a quickie adventure that lacks tension because reader's can pretty much guess how it ends, and the details regarding the residents of the city itself are, well, a non-starter, I guess. We don't know these people at all, so we don't have any stake in their fates. The ending itself is a little odd, raising a question of what's going to happen down the road rather than simply resolving the story. I supposed I'll know how that plays out when it shows up in the series, but as it stands, this story is rather forgettable. Maybe it'll be heightened later down the road, but for now, it was just a quick read that doesn't really add anything to the Fables universe, let alone to werewolf stories as a whole.
Spoilers, yay or nay?: Nay. Honestly, I don't have a lot to say about this, so no need to worry about spoilers. If you're interested in the full review, just visit my blog! You can go directly to the review by clicking the link below, and as always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :)
REVIEW: Bill Willingham's FABLES: WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND
Happy Reading!
Bigby Wolf embarks on a quest through the American Heartland to find a new location for Fabletown, a secret society of exiled fairy tale characters living among the
Show More
"mundys." In his wanderings, Bigby stumbles across Story City, a small town that seems to be occupied solely by werewolves. Oddly enough, they seem to already know and revere Bigby, but at the same time they've captured and caged him.
FABLES: WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND tells an epic tale that began well before Bigby Wolf set foot in the bucolic plains of the Midwest. It began long ago when he served in World War II and became mired in a Nazi experiment that would change nations. It's soon evident that murder in Story City is the least of their sins, and unraveling the town's many mysteries may cost Bigby, the seventh son of the North Wind, much more than his own life.
My Rating: It's a Gamble
It's an underwhelming story, to be honest. I won't say it's bad: it's just a quickie adventure that lacks tension because reader's can pretty much guess how it ends, and the details regarding the residents of the city itself are, well, a non-starter, I guess. We don't know these people at all, so we don't have any stake in their fates. The ending itself is a little odd, raising a question of what's going to happen down the road rather than simply resolving the story. I supposed I'll know how that plays out when it shows up in the series, but as it stands, this story is rather forgettable. Maybe it'll be heightened later down the road, but for now, it was just a quick read that doesn't really add anything to the Fables universe, let alone to werewolf stories as a whole.
Spoilers, yay or nay?: Nay. Honestly, I don't have a lot to say about this, so no need to worry about spoilers. If you're interested in the full review, just visit my blog! You can go directly to the review by clicking the link below, and as always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :)
REVIEW: Bill Willingham's FABLES: WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND
Happy Reading!
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LibraryThing member LibraryCin
3.5 stars
Bigby (the Big Bad Wolf) has travelled to a small town in Iowa (Story City) to investigate whether or not Fabletown might relocate nearby. He is surprised by what he discovers there – it’s a town of werewolves! Not only that, the two people who head the town are people from Bigby’s
For those who don’t know, this is a spin-off of the graphic novel Fables series. As with the rest of the series, the colour illustrations are very well done. I have not always been all that interested in Bigby as a character, but I liked this story. It’s been a while since I’ve read any of the Fables series, and it was fun to read another.
Bigby (the Big Bad Wolf) has travelled to a small town in Iowa (Story City) to investigate whether or not Fabletown might relocate nearby. He is surprised by what he discovers there – it’s a town of werewolves! Not only that, the two people who head the town are people from Bigby’s
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past during WWII. Bigby is known (and revered) amongst all of Story City’s residents. But there is dissent within, and Bigby will get caught up in the “disagreements”.For those who don’t know, this is a spin-off of the graphic novel Fables series. As with the rest of the series, the colour illustrations are very well done. I have not always been all that interested in Bigby as a character, but I liked this story. It’s been a while since I’ve read any of the Fables series, and it was fun to read another.
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LibraryThing member lexilewords
First a warning - this is a violent, gore fest more often then not. Bigby isn't a subtle man to begin with and these folks pissed him off something bad and he let's loose on them. Also there is a lot of nudity running around these pages. Male and female. I wouldn't call it explicit persay--girls
FABLES remains one of my favorite comics and barring something slipshod editor deciding to butcher it, that's not likely to change. I've looked forward to this book for a long time mainly because Bigby is my favorite character, bar none (save Snow White and Cinderella), and it promised to give us a bit of back story on the man behind the wolf. In that it didn't disappoint. Bigby has spoken of his time in WWII, when he helped out the Allies (unofficially) to stop the encroachment of the Nazis, but in this he reveals just what he did exactly.
The art isn't anything to write home about, its not up to the usual standards of the comic and part of that may be because most of the story arcs had one artistic team (inkers, layout, pencils) throughout. WEREWOLVES has numerous inkers and in a comic book that can really fudge up the artwork. From a reader's perspective, it made folk hard to tell apart (I kept mixing up Diana and Oda, or Alwin and Carl for instance, which in turn confused me as all four had separate agendas more or less). The werewolves, whether intentionally or not, were all colored basically the same so even though Bigby was going through them wholesale at one point, I had no idea who was dead and who was not.
Story wise this was an interesting conundrum for Bigby. He kind of helped create the mess and was at a loss as to how to finish it. Technically no one in that town is a true Fabletown resident. None of them came from the Homelands, or were born from parents who fled the Homelands (such as Snow and Bigby's children), and thus the charter didn't cover them. On the other hand they weren't exactly Mundys (humans). He basically let it play out, hoping for a graceful outcome, but knowing the outcome would be far worse then anything he wanted to find.
A word to Oda, she tried to seduce Bigby (for what reason is never quite explained, we really only have Bigby's own guess) and he turned her down flat. If she goes prancing off to Fabletown and mentions such a thing to anyone (even in jest), Snow will find out and Snow will put a silver bullet in her chest before Bigby can so much as blink. And I will pay good money to see that.
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are obviously girls, guys are obviously guys, but its pretty clinical overall.FABLES remains one of my favorite comics and barring something slipshod editor deciding to butcher it, that's not likely to change. I've looked forward to this book for a long time mainly because Bigby is my favorite character, bar none (save Snow White and Cinderella), and it promised to give us a bit of back story on the man behind the wolf. In that it didn't disappoint. Bigby has spoken of his time in WWII, when he helped out the Allies (unofficially) to stop the encroachment of the Nazis, but in this he reveals just what he did exactly.
The art isn't anything to write home about, its not up to the usual standards of the comic and part of that may be because most of the story arcs had one artistic team (inkers, layout, pencils) throughout. WEREWOLVES has numerous inkers and in a comic book that can really fudge up the artwork. From a reader's perspective, it made folk hard to tell apart (I kept mixing up Diana and Oda, or Alwin and Carl for instance, which in turn confused me as all four had separate agendas more or less). The werewolves, whether intentionally or not, were all colored basically the same so even though Bigby was going through them wholesale at one point, I had no idea who was dead and who was not.
Story wise this was an interesting conundrum for Bigby. He kind of helped create the mess and was at a loss as to how to finish it. Technically no one in that town is a true Fabletown resident. None of them came from the Homelands, or were born from parents who fled the Homelands (such as Snow and Bigby's children), and thus the charter didn't cover them. On the other hand they weren't exactly Mundys (humans). He basically let it play out, hoping for a graceful outcome, but knowing the outcome would be far worse then anything he wanted to find.
A word to Oda, she tried to seduce Bigby (for what reason is never quite explained, we really only have Bigby's own guess) and he turned her down flat. If she goes prancing off to Fabletown and mentions such a thing to anyone (even in jest), Snow will find out and Snow will put a silver bullet in her chest before Bigby can so much as blink. And I will pay good money to see that.
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Language
Original publication date
2012-11-12
ISBN
1401224792 / 9781401224790
Local notes
Sent out into modern day America at large, Bigby’s on a quest for possible locations for a new Fabletown. In his wanderings, Bigby stumbles across a small town named Luperville, somewhere in American’s vast heartland, that, amazingly enough, seems to be populated by werewolves. These werewolves are descendants of a World War II German project to create an army of werewolf super soldiers, some of whom who were infected with Bigby’s tainted blood. And even more unfortunate the fact that they’ve captured, caged and tortured the most popular and important canine in history: Bigby Wolf.