Book: Fractured Fables from Image Comics

 

I never wrote about this Fractured Fables (Hardcover), first because I came to it late, second because I am not at all well-versed in current comic books,* and lastly because I didn't look past the cover when I saw it, which to me, hate me if you want, looked very generic, like cheap fairy tale books at the dollar store. Nothing wrong with that, but not my usual interest or what I assume to be yours.

Then recently I stumbled across some sample pages from the book and I can fully admit I was wrong. I should know well enough by now to not judge a comic book by its cover, but at least I didn't suffer for my prejudgment forever. In other words, there is some great stuff within this innocuous looking cover. In fact, I learned that two of the pieces inside were nominated for Will Eisner Awards: Best Short Story Nominations--"Cinderella," by Nick Spencer and Rodin Esquejo & "Little Red Riding Hood," by Bryan Talbot and Camilla d'Errico.

So like a diligent SurLaLune keeper, I have ordered my own hardcover copy to investigate further. It hadn't arrived when I wrote this, but I am not worried. I know I will like it. It's has enough pretty and I respond well to pretty. A paperback edition is due out in late January, so you can wait for that if you are interested. I wanted a hardcover myself.

From the publisher:

Some of the comic book industries best and brightest use their talents to welcome the next generation of comic book readers with the kid-friendly anthology, Fractured Fables! Featuring an introduction by Bill Willingham (FABLES), this all-new, humorous take on our most beloved fairy tales boasts a cover by Madman Atomic Comics creators Mike & Laura Allred and all-new stories by award-winning creators including Jill Thompson, Bryan Talbot, Peter David, Ben Templesmith, Scott Morse, Doug TenNapel, Laini Taylor, Ted McKeever, Terry Moore, Bill Morrison, Larry Marder, Jim Valentino, Phil Hester, and New Yorker artist Shannon Wheeler, among others.

From an article, Comic book review: 'Fractured Fables' by Joseph Szadkowski:

Here are just a few of my favorites:

■ "Little Red Riding Hood" is updated by writer Bryan Talbot and finds the brightly dressed child on a direct path to the Big Bad Wolf's stomach until she displays some surprising skills. Painter Camilla d'Errico brings a bit of an anime influence to the action and makes me exclaim when viewing Red, "My, what gigantic blue eyes you have."

■ Doug TenNapel's "Rumpelstiltskin" turns the classic into a "Ren and Stimpy" episode. He dementedly uses a grotesque art style that chaotically blends with the sophomoric hijinks of a magic little man who can turn hay into gold, a grumpy king and a dumber-than-a-post future queen.

■ The adventure of "The Little Mermaid" turns much more ominous in the hands of comics scribe extraordinaire Peter David as her quest to live happily ever after with a human prince becomes a puzzling problem in podiatry. Artist Ron Ferrara offers ample arch support for the mermaid's issues.

■ Writer Nick Spencer's "Cinderella" satisfies through a fable more about the frustrations of an unhip fairy godmother than the abused princess while artist Rodin Esquejo's beautiful and Disneyesque art style puts the story near the top of my favorites.

■ "Rip Van Winkle" meets Len Strazewski's imagination and we enjoy a story about a conceited girl named Pipi Van Wrinkles who gets loaded on cherry cordials and learns her fate as an adult. The slapstick shenanigans throughout come to life thanks to the pop-art and retro-Archie-Comics-like stylings of Paul Fricke.

*Except for my few years of avid Superman collecting and reading in the mid 90s, so I am not completely ignorant of how the industry works. I had a large collection that was stolen when we moved to California although I had quit collecting at that point. But I gave up for good then. It was just too depressing. I was also raised around a brother who was a Marvel fan, so I've spent some time in comic book shops and it is my favorite set on Big Bang Theory.

Release Day for Issue 112 of Fables

Fables #112 is released today and since the series is gaining even more visibility thanks to Once Upon a Time and other series, I thought I would highlight its release. Yes, this one has a Christmas theme.

And as I've said before, if you haven't started the series, it's best to start with the new hardcover compendiums, pictured and linked below:

New Graphic Novel: Jim Henson's The Storyteller Volume 1

 

Jim Henson's The Storyteller Volume 1 was released this week. (And appeared on Davina's fairy tale wishlist, too.) This is not a new DVD release, but a book release of graphic novel interpretations of folk and fairy tales, not just the ones in the original tv series either. I have previews of some pages below as well as a description of the book.

From the publisher:

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up | Series: Jim Henson's the Storyteller

The much-loved, live-action/puppet combination TV show is now a graphic novel series! Archaia and The Jim Henson Company are proud to present ALL-NEW tales of fantastic wonder and extraordinary myth, as told from the tongue of The Storyteller and his loyal canine companion! Witness worded wonderment from a cavalcade of craft creators, including Roger Langridge (The Muppet Show comic, Thor the Mighty Avenger), Marjorie Liu (Black Widow), Ron Marz (Green Lantern, Artifacts), Jeff Parker (Thor, Thunderbolts), Francesco Francavilla (Detective Comics), Chris Eliopoulos (Franklin Richards) and Janet Lee (Return of the Dapper Men). Plus: a never-before-seen story adapted from a screenplay by The Storyteller's original author, Academy Award® winner Anthony Minghella (The English Patient).

The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty Comic Series

The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty, the comic book series, is not new, it was released several years (2004-5) ago in 8 issues and then compiled into a book which is also out of print. However, the concept was intriguing so I thought I would share here. You can find used copies of the book or issues on Amazon, eBay and elsewhere if your curiosity is pricked.

From the publisher:

Hounded gunfighter Cole Jarrett chases the tale of a woman cursed to spend the rest of her days imprisoned in sleep for sins she did not commit while running from a guilt-riddled past. In this adventure, the classic fairy tale is just the beginning. Included is the entire 8-issue series, a cover gallery by Jeff Amano and an afterword from the author, Gabriel Benson (Fade From Grace).

From a review at Read About Comics:

The story of Sleeping Beauty is certainly a classic fairy tale—a baby girl is cursed to fall into eternal slumber on her 18th birthday, with only a handsome prince able to break the spell. What Gabriel Benson and Mike Hawthorne have done, though, is moved the story out of its traditional home of medieval Europe and into a slightly more contemporary setting: the Wild West. And you know? It fits really well.

In the town of Briar Rose, the inhabitants were able to easily ignore the old Indian woman who came seeking help during the snowstorm. They remembered some of the other Indian tribes ambushing and attacking them as they journeyed west of the Mississippi River to found Briar Rose, and prejudices die hard. What they weren’t so able to ignore was when she reappeared to curse the firstborn child of the town, dooming her and the townspeople to eternal slumber in 18 years time. Now a young man wants to seek out Briar Rose and break the curse… but first he’s got to get that hangman’s noose off from around his neck, and the only source of help he can find is the mysterious Cole. Who, of course, is right next to him awaiting death by hanging.

Writer Benson has a thin line to walk with The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty—trying to keep the basic story of Sleeping Beauty intact, while changing and adding enough that it won’t bore the audience. I think he’s found a good balance here; between the slight changes to the story of Sleeping Beauty itself plus the addition of Cole’s own story, and my interest was piqued. I appreciated the fact that the curse this time doesn’t happen simply because of an evil faerie wasn’t invited to a party, but because of prejudice and fear applied to an innocent old woman turned away in an hour of need. It makes the curse less random and casts a less-than-perfect light upon the people of Briar Rose. Cole’s story itself has only just begun, but there’s just enough there to make me want to know more; Benson’s doling out of the facts works perfectly here. There’s a good insinuation here that Cole’s life has been less than perfect as well, and it’s these shades of grey that make the Wild West setting of The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty work, in an era and place where there were no easy choices or solutions.

There's more to read there, but that's my limit for blockquoting.

Trickster: Native American Tales: A Graphic Collection

Trickster: Native American Tales: A Graphic Collection edited by Matt Dembicki came out last year but I just learned about it. Actually, I stumbled across it on Amazon and fell in love with the cover image.

Book description from the publisher:

All cultures have tales of the trickster—a crafty creature or being who uses cunning to get food, steal precious possessions, or simply cause mischief. He disrupts the order of things, often humiliating others and sometimes himself. In Native American traditions, the trickster takes many forms, from coyote or rabbit to raccoon or raven. The first graphic anthology of Native American trickster tales, Trickster brings together Native American folklore and the world of comics.

In Trickster more than twenty Native American tales are cleverly adapted into comic form. Each story is written by a different Native American storyteller who worked closely with a selected illustrator, a combination that gives each tale a unique and powerful voice and look. Ranging from serious and dramatic to funny and sometimes downright fiendish, these tales bring tricksters back into popular culture in a very vivid form. From an ego-driven social misstep in “Coyote and the Pebbles” to the hijinks of “How Wildcat Caught a Turkey” and the hilarity of “Rabbit’s Choctaw Tail Tale,” Trickster provides entertainment for readers of all ages and backgrounds.

Along with compiling and editing the book, artist Matt Dembicki illustrated one of the featured trickster tales. Dembicki is the founder of D.C. Conspiracy, a comic creators’ collaborative in Washington, DC, and has won acclaim for his nature graphic novel, Mr. Big. He currently works as an editor for a higher-education association.

From a review at Graphic Novel Reporter:

While there are special classes in school that teach mythology and folklore, it isn’t always easy to find a class on Native American stories. Unfortunately, these stories are often pushed aside just as Native American culture and history can so often get left out of textbooks. Trickster: Native American Tales—A Graphic Collection is a unique remedy for this. In the form of a comic book, it tells 21 Native tales about tricksters. The tales range in style and emotion: Some are straightforward, some are humorous, some are frightening. All of them are interesting.

While the collection is edited by Matt Dembicki, who also illustrated one of the stories, Trickster offers a wide variety of talent. Dembicki explains in his afterword: “For this book, I wanted the stories to be authentic, meaning they would be written by Native American storytellers.” He was able to find many talented people to help him make this collection a reality. One aspect that’s really interesting is how different the stories are from one another. Even if elements and storylines can be similar, each artist and writer has a unique way of portraying the story. The style of art especially varies: Some stories are dark and realistic; some are comical and outrageous; some look as if they came from the Sunday morning funnies section; some look like the art from children’s books; some look like cartoons one might see on television.

The binding thread for all the stories is that each one deals with a trickster. Sometimes the tricksters are animals like Coyote or Rabbit. Other times they’re humans. Sometimes the tricksters are really low-down; at other times, their actions are understandable. Usually their brains help them win the day, even if their methods wouldn’t always be considered acceptable.

The images all came from a defunct blog promoting the book which had a different cover at some point.