It’s been 13 long years, 22 trades, and 150 issues, but the end for the award-winning Fables is finally here. Usually, a final book or volume in a series needs to impress you and make you feel nostalgic for the whole story and make you want to start reading it all over again. Fables Vol. 22: Farewell does exactly this, and in fact would also serve as good “hooking” volume for new readers, as this trade gives a little insight into all the main characters and a large number of secondary and minor characters that makes you want to read the series from the beginning and get the complete story.
Fables began with some core characters, most notably Snow White, Bigby and Rose Red, and Willingham has skillfully steered the last couple of trades to come to a climax between Snow White and Rose Red, tied in with their family and history, which is how it should be. But because this is the last trade and the writer and artist know they have a lot to get through to wrap everything up, they take care of the main story fairly quickly and decently.
And then it is on to a succession “The last story of . . .” for many different characters readers and fans have come to know and love and hate and sometimes forget about over the 13 years of this great comic series. The main characters get all their endings of sorts, but because they are fables while it may not be an “and they lived happily ever after” situation, you know they’re at least satisfied with how things turned out for them and their own, at least for most of them, but so do all the small and seemingly insignificant fables readers have come to know, as well as having some interesting questions finally answered. Readers, whether they be new or veteran, will be delighted with this final chapter on Fables.
Originally written on August 28th, 2015 ©Alex C. Telander.
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