Once upon a time... in modern America

Fables in one of the comics that I really have an odd fascination with. Re-imaging fairy tails has existed pretty much since the recognition of what a fairy tail is. That said I don't think I have ever seen one quiet like this.

Published by DC's Vertigo line and written by Bill Willingham Fables Legends in Exile has the characters of fairy tales living in New York city after their home town was ravaged by war and taken over by the evil 'adversary'. Thus having the fabled kind hide in plain sight in Modern New York, as such a fair portion of the book is dedicated to explaining the workings of this secret community, although it never feels bogged down or tedious. The rest is dedicated to the problems that fable community have that come with creatures of a mystical base. The first story arc features the murder of Ruby Rose, Snow White's sister. The sheriff of fable town, Bigby (the big bad wolf disguised in human form) is on the case, added or hindered by Snow White he sets out to find out what happens and several of our main characters are introduced. Aside from Snow White and Bigby we have the philandering Prince Charming, whose three ex-wives include Snow, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty. We have the bickering couple of Beauty and the Beast, who turns back into a beast whenever his wife is mad at him, and then a few supporting characters who in time get their own story arcs such as little boy blue and the pirate Blue Beard.

Lan Medina has a beautiful and detailed art style as the penciller which the sometimes gritty colour style and the dramatic inking complements well. While the art is beautiful it is really the writing and ideas that make this a stand out comic, at the risk of spoilers I'll leave proper descriptions out of the review. Suffice to say that if you enjoy wither the fantasy genre or real world political thriller you'll find a home here lovingly greeted with a large amount of wit.

A strong 8/10