Reviews

Fables, Vol. 12: The Dark Ages by Bill Willingham

danoreading's review

4.0

Yay, Fables!

christianholub's review

4.0

I really liked this. As usual, the fallout from a big event (in this case, the war against the Adversary) is infinitely more interesting than the event itself.

zchaira's review

adventurous dark inspiring lighthearted mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

brendalovesbooks's review

3.0

I've lost a bit of my love for this series as it has gone on. The first one was just magical, but whether I'm just getting tired of the characters or the writing, I'm not sure. I think if this were more about the fables themselves, and maybe their interactions with each other instead of about a war (and now a new big bad they have to deal with) I might like it better.

I really liked the first issue, "Around the Town" the best, and the rest was just okay. I enjoyed both the story and the artwork. Most of this volume was illustrated by Mark Buckingham, who is the regular illustrator, but I actually liked the work of Michael Allred, even if I didn't recognize Pinocchio at all at first.

I would still recommend the Fables series as a whole, especially if you like fairy tales.

wildcard_vi's review

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

odin45mp's review

3.0

This was letdown after the last several volumes, which built up into what could have been an almost-satisfactory end to the series. Instead we move on to What Happened Next, and as is the case with most sequels, there are some bumps along the way. Parts of the story I really enjoyed; parts of it may be good in the long run, but in the short time feel cheap and unnecessary.

tessaf's review

2.0

Hopefully this gets better again, but I would have kind of been okay with the series ending before this point. I'm not sure I like the new villain. They got rid of all of Rose's character growth (honestly this could have gone down the depression route in a not shitty way but clearly better to just treat her like a nymphomaniac) but I was kind of expecting it after the way Blue blew up at her for not feeling that way about him anymore earlier on. Not a fan of how Snow and Bigby act about Rose's clear depression. Particularly frustrating given that King Cole is allowed to keep his character growth, when he has a similar crisis in response to the loss. I often miss Snow, but in a way I am glad her character has basically disappeared because I don't want to see that torn apart again. Also I am not comfortable with how the jungle is handled, there was space to address the racism of Kipling's work with something, anything really (but to be fair Willingham has already shown a not great ability for reflection with the Arabian fables so...).

loper100's review

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A good middle step between the previous saga and what lies ahead. 

clairedrinkstea's review

5.0

Very good post-war story and set up for the next phase of the Fables. It's full of sadness, unhappy truths, a dark new Villian and of course old friends and favourites.

Once again Willingham delivers a fantastic story embroiling all the Fables and able to include the usual Fable players.

Mark Buckingham's art work remains beautiful and perfectly descriptive of the narrative.

A firm favourite in the series.

erratastigmata's review

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

3.5