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bmg20's review
3.0
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I received this book free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
With the abundant amount of characters introduced throughout the Fables series it can be difficult keeping track of each and every one. The Fables Encyclopedia is a fantastic companion guide to remembering each character and the roles they played in the story. In addition to their Fables role, we’re given a detailed and fascinating history on the characters that existed outside of the Fables universe. Snippets of comics were re-printed from past issues to detail certain characters as well.
I enjoyed reading about several lesser known characters that were only given brief appearances in the comics and finding out more of their backstory but was disappointed by how it wasn’t as up to date as I’d hope. Many of the stories of characters from the spin-off series weren’t elaborated on in particular a character from Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland. Considering that issue was published in November 2012 and this Encyclopedia was published October 2013 I would have expected those updates to be covered. The comic snippets were nice to read again but seemed repetitive and unessential since it wasn’t adding anything new to what the text already disclosed. Clearly not an all encompassing guide, Fables Encylopedia is fairly informative but mostly interesting in regards to the characters lives outside of the Fables universe.
I received this book free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
With the abundant amount of characters introduced throughout the Fables series it can be difficult keeping track of each and every one. The Fables Encyclopedia is a fantastic companion guide to remembering each character and the roles they played in the story. In addition to their Fables role, we’re given a detailed and fascinating history on the characters that existed outside of the Fables universe. Snippets of comics were re-printed from past issues to detail certain characters as well.
I enjoyed reading about several lesser known characters that were only given brief appearances in the comics and finding out more of their backstory but was disappointed by how it wasn’t as up to date as I’d hope. Many of the stories of characters from the spin-off series weren’t elaborated on in particular a character from Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland. Considering that issue was published in November 2012 and this Encyclopedia was published October 2013 I would have expected those updates to be covered. The comic snippets were nice to read again but seemed repetitive and unessential since it wasn’t adding anything new to what the text already disclosed. Clearly not an all encompassing guide, Fables Encylopedia is fairly informative but mostly interesting in regards to the characters lives outside of the Fables universe.
amishriot's review
5.0
I wish I had this when I had started reading Fables, I can remember various times when reading an issue thinking, 'hmmm, I wonder what story that character is originally from'. Although it does contain some spoilers, as it is meant to be read where the series currently is. Loved finding out where some of the lesser known Fable were from.
schottjm's review
5.0
It was helpful getting the backstory on many of the minor and/or lesser-known Fables characters, especially those mentioned in passing or with very brief appearances.
l1brarygirl's review
2.0
I was quite disappointed that not all the characters were included. random characters that just died in battles were included but not some if the best, like babe the blue ox or Gary the pathetic fallacy! there were some mistakes (naming people as dead, when they show up alive in other issues)
did like the background and origins of the fairy tales/fables presented
did like the background and origins of the fairy tales/fables presented
sylvanas's review
2.0
This could have been very good, but it was quite a disappointment. Like I said before entries were very outdated, several characters were missing and many facts were wrong - both Fables and original tale wise. I can also understand why most recent storylines would be outdated - like Prince Charming, although claiming he died on the war while using an image of the one issue that reveals he is still alive doesn't help either. But there's also Harp, whose final fate was revealed on a 2012 GN. The author and artist notes were a nice touch, but boy, Willingham really misses the point of Cinderella.
It is a lovely looking book but not worth the heavy price. They should have waited until the end of all series to release something like this.
It is a lovely looking book but not worth the heavy price. They should have waited until the end of all series to release something like this.
glennisleblanc's review
4.0
This is for someone who is a fan of the Fables series. I've enjoyed the comic series and some of the spin offs and this was a great index to all the characters that have been brought to life in the pages of the comic. You find out which ones came whole cloth out of the writer's mind and what was based off of a fairy tale. As I was reading this I could see someone using it for writing a paper on fairy tales and needing a good cross reference for some of the lesser known characters.
Digital copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss.
Digital copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss.
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