Jeane's Teen Materials Final Project: 6.) Fables Volume 3

Fables Vol. 3- Story Book Love by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham (illustrator), and Steve Leialoha (illustrator) (Vertigo, 2004)

Genre: Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Modern Fantasy, Series

Honors: Eisner Award for Best Serialized Story (2003) [Honors Information found at Goodreads.com]

Review: In the third volume of the critically acclaimed Fables series—in which all of the world's childhood stories have been kicked out of their land and forced to live in New York, either in the city or on an upstate farm—opens with a rather interesting story set in the Civil War where Jack of Fables outsmarts the devil disguised as an old black man in the swamp. He gains a magic bag of holding. He then finds a luxurious plantation abandon of all the people but a beautiful paralyzed young woman who is waiting for death to take her. Jack makes her a deal that if he can save her life she must sleep with him. When Death comes for the woman Jack traps Death in his bag stopping all death from occurring as the woman finds out when she tries to slaughter animals for them to eat. Jack realizes this and he and Death make a bargain. Nothing is said of this story again, so I imagine the bargain will come up in a later late.

Following this tale, the book goes back to Fable Town and Bigby Wolf who is approached by a reporter who claims he knows all about the community of people in New York who don't age. The reporter claims that he knows they are Vampires and that if anything happens to him the story will still go out. Bigby puts together a plan to stop the reporter, but in the process makes a fool out of Blue Beard. Blue Beard then joins Goldilocks in a plan to kill Bigby and Snow White by putting them under a spell where they go on vacation together. When the spell wears off they are in the middle of the Oregon wilderness with no recollection of the previous three of four days. They must make it back to civilization avoiding Goldilocks who is hunting them. Back in Fabletown Prince Charming kills Blue Beard and confesses the crime, but exposes Blue Beard's alliance with Goldilocks and that Snow White and Bigby are in danger. Bigby and Snow White return after Goldilocks is defeated, only to find out something happened to them during the three days they had no memory of.
There is also a bonus story about magic barleycorn, and the Small Town.

Opinion: This particular volume was a little more graphic then the previous two that I had read, and would probably only recommend for older teens due some graphic sexual content. The art work left more to be desired, I was not a fan of it. The story was so so, but it was very much an "in-between" volume carrying the story from point A to where ever it is trying to go. I will continue to read the series though.

Ideas: The entire series would make a great edition to any graphic novel collection. Could be on display for Graphic Novels, Fantasy, or Modern Fairy Tales.