Bill Willingham – Fables, Vol. 2: Animal Farm
123. Fables, Vol. 2: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham; Illustrated by Steve Leialoha and Mark Buckingham (2003)
Fables, Volume 2
Length: 128 pages
Genre: Graphic Novel; Fantasy
Started: 11 October 2008
Finished: 11 October 2008
Little pigs get mad;
and stage a revolution.
Snow White knows too much.
Summary: Briefly mentioned in Volume 1, this installment of Fables concerns itself with The Farm – an upstate facility for Fables who can’t blend into mainstream society (talking animals, fairies, dragons, giants, etc.) Communications have gone down, so Snow White takes her sister Rose Red to go find out what’s going on – and hopefully do a little sisterly bonding along the way. However, they find themselves in the midst of a revolution orchestrated by the Three Little Pigs: tired of being imprisoned on the Farm, the non-human fables plan to overthrow the Fable community in New York City, and eventually reclaim the Homelands.
Review: I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as the first volume. The story owes more to Lord of the Flies than it does to the eponymous Orwell allegory, but it’s not really out to talk about politics, just to create a conflict for the story arc. Also, the art, while still well-done, seemed more static than the previous volume, and while I did enjoy Goldilocks as a gun-toting commie, I didn’t feel that the story had the same emotional resonance or depth of character as the first. Despite all that, however, I still enjoyed reading this – particularly to see how Willingham weaves in characters that I wouldn’t have necessarily considered to be fables/fairy tales, but still fit perfectly in the world he’s created. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: Not as good as the first, but still a fun way to spend 45 minutes. I’ll be reading the next in the series for sure.
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Great review. It does pay a more significant homage to Lord Of The Flies, but I had the title stuck in my head so mu connection was automatically to Orwell. I think upon reflection I would have preferred a different title, if only to remove that instant thought from my head (lol)
I just finished Volume 3 – very different from the first 2 but really cool!!
Oh and I added your link to my review :)
I looked for these when I went to the bookstore the other day but they didn’t have them and I just used up my book allowance for this month anyways :( I am going to the library soon to place some inter-loans and I’ll see if they’ll let me do these too.
Nicki, I’m always so impressed with the HUGE variety of books you read. You’re an inspiration.
Joanne – I just read your review and now I really (really really) want to go read Vol. 3. No! Must wait for the read-a-thon!
Ladytink – Yeah, I imagine these would get pretty pricey if I were buying them… they’re not so much individually, but put together, yikes! Luckily, I love my local library!
Shana – Aww! Now I’m blushing!
I’ve seen a lot of readers say that they didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as Legends in Exile, and although I liked it can see why.
It was over a year after I read Animal Farm that I continued with the series, and Storybook Love made me fall in love with Fables all over again. I think you’ll enjoy it too!
Great review!
I came by your blog via Chartroose.
Nymeth – I liked it too, just not *quite* as much – maybe because it was more action-focused and less character-focused?
Carrie – Thanks, and welcome!