Fables, Band 12 - Krieg und andere Kleinigkeiten

Von Bill Willingham und Mark Buckingham

Die entscheidende Schlacht zwischen den freien Fables, die in der Welt der Menschen leben, und dem Imperium, das ihre ursprüngliche Heimat besetzt hält, steht unmittelbar bevor. Die streitbaren Helden aus dem Märchen haben es geschafft, ihre Chancen deutlich zu verbessern. Die anfangs beinah unüberwindlichen Holzsoldaten sind ausgeschaltet, und nun bekommt der Feind es mit moderner Technik in Form von Stahlmantelgeschossen und ferngesteuerten Bomben zu tun. Doch der Feind hat nicht durch faires Vorgehen Hunderte von Märchenwelten erobert – und er hält auch weiterhin einige Überraschungen für die Einwohner Fabletowns bereit.

• Sprache: Deutsch
• Herausgeber: DC COMICS bei Panini Comics
• Erscheinungsdatum: 28. Jan. 2020
• ISBN: 9783736711068

Bill Willingham

Bill Willingham never fought a desperate and losing battle in a good cause, never contributed to society in a meaningful way, and hasn’t lived a life of adventure, but he’s had a few moments of near adventure. At some point in his life Bill learned how to get paid for telling scurrilous lies to good people, and he’s been doing it ever since. He lives in the wild and frosty woods of Minnesota with a dog and a cat he hasn’t met yet.

Buchvorschau

Rezensionen für Fables, Band 12 - Krieg und andere Kleinigkeiten

[zhukora · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

I had worried a bit about the direction this series would take once the Adversary was defeated. In true Fairy Tale form, peace would ensue, kingdoms would be rebuilt and everybody would live happily ever after, right? Sounds pretty boring. Fortunately, Willingham elects to take an approach truer to the Fable name of the comic--the moral lesson that comes at the end of the story instead of the vague and magical happy ending. War is messy and bleak, and never as black and white as the propaganda makes it seem. In this volume the fallout of the conflicts in the previous two volumes rears its ugly head, and the Fables cast is given a whole new set of frightening challenges to take on. This transition doesn't feel gimmicky at all, and reads more like the introduction of a new thread from a much greater picture. In fact, if you've been keeping up with the Jack of Fables series as well, in the war's aftermath we start seeing hints of exactly how some of the stranger and sometimes more convoluted aspects of Jack's adventures are going to begin tying back in with the main plot again. This certainly isn't the most fun or satisfying of the volumes to read, but it feels like a very necessary one. A lot is set up here, but most is left hanging for continuation in the next volume. One of the few really bright spots was the introduction of Lord Mountbatten, who I suspect may become one of my favorite characters in short order. Overall I wasn't thrilled at how unfinished this volume felt, but it's obvious how much is set to unfurl in the next. I still enjoyed it, however, and appreciate Willingham's focus on the quality of the overall plot instead of cheap thrills on every page as some comics are wont to do. I will definitely be buying the next volume as soon as I am able.

[girl_detective · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

The latest collection of Bill Willingham’s popular series, Fables, is The Dark Ages. The comic book series posits a secret neighborhood in New York City of storybook characters, or “Fables”–King Cole is the mayor, Beauty runs the office, her husband Beast is the sheriff, and more. They are living in exile, driven out of their homelands by the evil Emperor.For those keeping up, the war between Fabletown and the Empire is over. While the Fables claim victory and their enemy is now living among them, the war had great costs. Heroes were injured or fell, and there’s chaos in the worlds formerly ruled by the Empire. In one of them, an evil is unleashed that has immediate and serious consequences for all the Fables. The first chapter is illustrated by Mike Allred, whose strong distinctive style is well-suited to characters like Snow White and Bigby Wolf. Pinocchio, Boy Blue, Rose Red, and Frau Totenkinder all feature prominently in the following chapters, while Mowgli gets his own back-up story. Two new characters are introduced, Freddy and Mouse. Given their appearance and names, I think they’ve got to be an homage to Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser books, which my husband likes.The Fables series seemed to have reached its climax with the war, but I’m pleased to see that the strength of the stories and the panoply of fascinating storybook characters only seems to be gaining momentum. This is a dark, complex fantasy tale that’s easy to fall into.

[lithicbee · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

"The Dark Ages" is an appropriate title for this collection of Fables comics (issues 76-82). It finds our Fabletown heroes, post-truce with the Emperor, dealing with the foul-hearted Gepetto in their midst and the threat of much darker forces on the wind. Mark Buckingham does the majority of the art in this collection and, as always, manages it brilliantly. I especially enjoy his illustration of "Freddy" and the "Mouse," who not only seem to be versions of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, but are very reminiscent of Mike Mignola's version of those two characters. This comic continues to remain strong in both writing and artwork, and I am sure Mister Dark will be a villain that will continue to shake up the Fables universe for many issues to come.

[ecataldi-1 · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

Man, after everything was so "neatly" tied up in the last book, this one really screws with you. All the wonderful things that were accomplished came with a price. A very heavy price that none of the fables comprehended, not even Snow White or Frau Totenkinder. There is a power vacuum left behind after Gepetto is given amnesty and came to Fabletown. Not only is there a power vacuum, but many dark secrets that were hidden away were able to free themselves and they are now wreaking havoc on the homelands and in the mundy world. Shit is about to get serious. Grab some popcorn!

[fyrefly98 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

Summary: The Dark Ages is very much a transitional volume, both for the characters and for the series itself. The war is over, the Adversary is defeated, and everyone must deal with the fallout. In the first story, "Around the Town", the Adversary is having some problems readjusting to life in Fabletown, and many of the other Fables aren't ready to forgive and forget, general amnesty or no. In the main story arc, "The Dark Ages", we start to find out that defeating the Adversary may have caused just as many problems as it solved. Specifically, powerful forces that were kept in check during the Empire's reign are now loosed upon the worlds, and one of them is unravelling the magics that keep Fabletown together. Meanwhile, Boy Blue, erstwhile war hero, is still hospitalized when a war injury refuses to heal. Finally, in "Return to the Jungle Book", we find out about Mowgli's trip (with Bigby's brothers in tow) to see if his homeland can be recolonized.Review: I've got mixed feelings about this volume. On the on hand, it was fantastic to get back into the Fables universe. Eight months is too long to go with no Fables, and Jack of Fables doesn't quite fill the gap. Seriously, every time another familiar character showed up, I gave a little internal cheer... which was about the only cheering I was doing, because holy yikes, the main story arc in this one is sad... and dark. It didn't quite make me sniffly the way Mean Seasons or The Good Prince did, but Willingham's certainly not pulling any punches with terrible things happening to favorite characters, either. On the other hand, though, it was a transitional volume, setting up the next big story arc, and as such it was a little unsatisfying, with plenty of little snippets of what's coming but nothing it felt like I could really sink my teeth into. Plus, I feel like if you're going to do another Big Bad, he needs to be worse than the previous Big Bad... and while Mister Dark is thoroughly creepy, I'm not yet convinced he's that powerful. Hopefully that's still coming, though - you don't want your bad guy to show all his cards at the beginning. So, while not the series at its best, even a so-so Fables is still a compelling read, and I'm still looking forward to seeing what comes next. 3.5 out of 5 stars.Recommendation: For folks like me who've been jonesing for another Fables hit, this one isn't completely satisfying but is enough to tide you over. For those who have taken a bit of a break after the main storyline wrapped up in War and Pieces, though, that's a good place to stop and wait for this new story to build up some steam.

[jessidee · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

I was a bit worried about how Willingham et al would keep the Fables story going after ending the big bad war in War and Pieces. My fears turned out to be completely unjustified, as this was an amazing (albeit sad) book and perfectly set up the next great arc in the Fables saga.The book opens with Geppetto being escorted around Fabletown by Pinocchio, who's trying to get him adjusted to life after ruling the Empire. Not everyone is happy with the newest Fabletown resident, but I thought it was interesting to hear Geppetto's side of the story. He believed he was acting for the greater good, so sacrificing a few thousand lives was worth it, because in the long run he saved billions, or so he claims... Now that the Fables have taken him out of power, he believes the other worlds will suffer even more.Geppetto's warnings seem to have merit, though, as back in a recently-freed-from-the-Emperor-land a pair of marauders unknowingly release a very powerful new enemy. This new adversary wants revenge on the Fables for taking away his magic and using it themselves, and he means business. The Fables are forced to evacuate The Woodland and move upstate to the Farm after the magic spells holding their community together begin to crumble. Baba Yaga comes back, and although she didn't get to do much in this book I'm curious to see what havoc she'll wreck in the next one. Even Frau Totenkinder is scared!The main purpose of this book seemed to be setting up the new big bad and the next event in the Fables series: The Great Fables Crossover (with Jack of Fables, an offshoot of this series that I also really enjoy). The other big part of the story was the death of a character (one of my personal favorites) that brought up questions of what happens to the Fables when they die. We've seen some come back (there are always three little pigs, for example, and Snow White managed to survive a gunshot to the head), so I'm hoping this character will reappear at some point, too. But it was still an emotional arc and really made me question just how great a surgeon Dr. Swineheart is. He seemed like a bit of a pompous jerk, actually, but that could've just been me projecting because of the way he was treating said beloved character.There was also a smaller mini-story that dealt with Mowgli returning to a jungle world with Bigby's brothers that was a bit more light-hearted and I nice diversion from the darkness in the rest of the book. Oh, and Flycatcher's back! That was one of my grumbles with volume 11, so it was nice to have him back...even if he is still clueless about his relationship with Red Riding Hood.

[meditationesmartini · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

Bill Willingham is starting to piss me off a bit. He's one of those guys who can't imagine why reasonable people would ever disagree when the correct answers to all moral, spiritual, political, emotional questions are so patently apparent. So he constructs a thing where one character wheels out a grotesque caricature of whatever argument he disesteems, and everybody else teams up on them and oh-so-patiently explains why their opinion is wrong, and then that's not enough and one of the standard right-side-of-every-question winners, like Bigby, growls them down because sometimes even the patience of Job isn't enough. He's like Jeph Jacques, except that he doesn't hate women.

Although even at that, this one crosses the line some. Rose Red, who was growing and developing, turns into a petulant child, and Boy Blue, who was one of the series's most lovable and pleasant characters, has this ugly, ugly deathbed scene where all he wants to do before he dies is let her know how broken she is inside, and even that has potential--someone trying to do right but so deeply spoiled she doesn't even know it; someone beautiful wearied and corrupted by the bone sadness of war and seeing all his friends die and then himself withering away and never getting to live in peace--but Willingham ruins it with his little fucking lectures, and by demanding that the audience take his side by patently stacking the deck.

The Geppetto thing too--it's a cute conceit, evil overlord to cantankerous old man--but it's ruined by having everybody who counts show so much gentle correctiveness. There are also awesome things in this, although the bad guy has me unconvinced--he's creepy enough, but if he's sposeta be all Great Old Ones how come his power is limited to working through tooth-zombie proxies like some sort of creepy mandibular vampire? And he is creepy, but that's about all at this point.

Also, I love the way Allred draws Pinocchio and would kinda be happy to see him take over art duties fr real, and I feel cheated that we get the buildup to the Bigby-Beast fight but not the actual thing, which if I construe correctly is in Jack of Fables. You know Bigby--the Wolverine of Fables--is just gonna win anyway.

[librarycin · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

4.25 starsThe Fables are recovering from the recent war, but there is another evil being coming for them. Fabletown is threatened and the Fables need to find someplace to go where they will all be safe.In my opinion, this was one of the better volumes. I don't often "like" the villains, but this one is done really well, so I guess it's the closest I can come to liking a villain - or at least finding the villain somehow appealing and making the story more enjoyable, anyway. As always, there are a few side stories, as well, that are quite good in this volume. Really, really liked this one!

[macha_4 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

returning to this one after a few years, this book is okay, basically mopping up after the Great War. bit of a compendium, with somewhat startling variations in the drawing of the characters. this series is very well plotted, with a very twisted set of storylines to follow. and i never read into it without thinking this was clearly the way Once Upon a Time on TV was meant to go, before they got mired in Disney. did they blatantly rip it off, or did negotiations fall through? they couldn't possibly have been unaware of it, already well established and clearly a viable model.

[rores28 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

Probably the best book in the Fables series up until this point. This issue does away with much of "Mary Sue-ing" Seen in previous episodes (Particularly Homelands and to some extent War and Pieces) and for the first time in awhile I actually feel nervous for our protagonists future and well-being. **Spoiler**The final moment between Boy Blue and Rose Red is particularly poignant because Willingham doesn't resort to the same unrequited love / death scene tropes that I was expecting from him. I was legitimately shocked by Blue's candor, becuase up until that point I didn't feel like Willingham was leading us to dislike Rose Red, so I just ended up feeling bad for both of them.Further we actually get some more heady exploration of fable-mundy existentialism which is ironically conducted between frau totenkinder and Stinky of all people.

[nesum_1 · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

I took a short break from Fables after the fall of the Empire. I had looked at this volume, but really didn't think it was going to live up to what had come before. After all, the great conflict that had been around since page one of the first volume was over. What was next? This one really seemed like it was going to simply be a transition story that didn't really have any weight to it.But weight it certainly had. This is perhaps the most emotional of the Fables stories so far, and also one of the most chilling, as our new villain is introduced in a way we could not have expected. That villain is wonderfully portrayed and terrible in power, but the heart of this book is the fight to keep something that has meant so much to the Fables universe. It is a touching story, and one I'm glad I finally read.

[deltaqueen50 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

The Dark Ages lives up to it’s title. There is little to celebrate as things take a turn for the worse in most areas. Fabletown is in peril, dark creatures and spells are being released, and we lose a favorite character as unintended consequences bring changes to the post-war chaos. This volume was definitely a downer. I also had some issues with the artwork in this episode. Obviously, more than one artist was used and their styles were quite different, so characters kept changing their appearance thoughout the book which was quite jarring.With so many characters being left in such a precarious position, I know I will be moving on to the next episodes soon.

[louisvillains · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

This volume of the series takes the reader in many new directions from where you think it would goes at the conclusion of "War and Pieces." It's a great start of a few different story arcs that leave you wondering where they'll go next.

[5eva5 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

With the war over, Gepetto has to takes his place in Fabletown, and the result is not a great one. Just when the Fables think they are finally safe, however, there's a new enemy rising, and he is hellbent on ruining Fabletown, causing all Fables to take refuge at The Farm, where they all take part in the funeral of a hero. I was wondering where the story would go once the Adversary's forces were defeated and it is clear that the new enemy is powerful enough to cause quite a bit of havoc for our friends. I was hoping we could have some breathing-room (and get to mourn) before starting a new battle, but it is one that will, I think, prove interesting, so I'll be staying on this ride to see where it goes.

[.monkey.-1 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

I'm in two minds about this volume. One, the war is over and we're focusing on the forward-moving and homelands stuff and the complex relationships going on and all that. And that part, as expected, I quite enjoyed. I was saddened by certain events, of course, but it was a good read. It was what I read Fables for. But then on the other hand... Look, I know the way a serial production survives is to keep adding new hurdles and obstacles and ordeals for the characters to overcome, so I get that they keep coming up with new things to "go wrong" and all. But then, we've just had a massive several-year-long war campaign come to an end, people have died, there's all kinds of new lands/old lands to go explore and to kick the goblin armies out of, there's the whole ordeal of Gepetto, the arch enemy, now being part of the town... I mean there's a million things going on, and now there's already another massive obstacle coming at them?? It seems like that should've waited for the next issue at least, and had this one focus more on the Fables moving forward. In my view, it feels like the best work is always about the main Fables. Maybe because their characters are what is so fleshed out, or because we're spending all this time getting to know & love them. Whatever it is, the Big Bads just don't have the same enjoyment. They feel kind of forced and overdone. I'd almost be happier if the series just focused on the Fables trying to live; getting into their squabbles and quandries (like Jack and his charades, the whole Farm conflict, the various relationships going on, etc), dealing with all their relationships between each other, etc. I feel like there would be enough material to focus mostly on them and only occasionally throw in a Big Bad to come shake things up. Too much, too soon, it's just stiring up the pot unnecessarily and not enjoyably.So overall, I want to give the bits about the Fables 4 or 5 stars, and the part about the new chaos coming only 2 or 3. Since I liked parts quite a bit, it feels wrong to give the whole volume only 3 (or less) stars, but also feels wrong to give it 4 when I disliked others so much! So I guess I'll settle for 3.5.

[krumbs_1 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

Excellent, excellent, excellent. Although I still kind of skim the parts focused on the bad guys as I'm more interested in what's going on with my favorite fables.

[krau0098 · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

This is the twelfth book in the Fables series. I think it was one of the darkest books yet in the Fables series, hence the name is very appropriate. It was a painful read at points, but a necessary one.The book starts with a short installment where Gepetto is installed in Fabletown and showed around by his son Pinocchio. The next few chapters focus on picking up the pieces after fighting the Adversary, you learn who is alive and who is dead or dying. We also get to follow the adventures of two rogues named Freddy and Mouse who unknowingly release an enormous evil into the Homelands.This was another excellent, if painful at times, Fables. Some of the things that happen in here will tear at your heart. Boy Blue is still struggling with the injury he received in the battle. Rose Red is depressed because she realizes she has feelings for him. Not to mention the Fables just don’t get a break when a huge evil is released into their world. There is also a lot going on with trying to reinstate the Fables into their various Homelands. The Homelands are a mess since there is no leadership there. You have Fables that were born in America and want to choose their Homeland and you have people raiding the Homelands for treasure...as I said an absolute mess.It is a great installment and love where the story is going. I am curious to see how the Fables will combat this latest evil challenge. The illustration was in keeping with previous novels. I wasn’t all that keen on the illustration for the first part with Pinocchio, it was too simple, the rest of the installments were very well done though.Overall an excellent installment in the Fables series. I was a bit worried after the last book what the new storyline would be; but Willingham did an excellent job of dealing with the aftermath of the war and in addition started a new and engaging storyline. This whole series is highly recommended to fans of urban fantasy and/or fairy tale retellings.

[stephmo_1 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

The evil you know, eh?For all that anyone ever dreamed, defeating the Empire should have been the easy part for Fabletown. The hardest part at the moment is testing the limits of the Fabletown Compact by letting Gepetto live in exile - between the people of Fabletown, Pinocchio and Gepetto, only Pincocchio seems convinced that it is possible. Of course, not even Frau Totenkinder imagined the ancient evils (the ones even the Empire had to shut away) would be let loose by the stupidity of common greed. This volume doesn't move too terribly far forward in the sense of time, but the leaps in development of plot and setup for future volumes is unreal. This was a volume I wanted to both savor and tear through just so I could find out what happens next...and I am moving onto the next trade in the series immediately just to find out what happens.There are two guest artists in this volume. Michael Allred's depictions were just jarring - Pinocchio is nearly the Disney-boy version instead of the man-boy version we've all gotten to know in Fables. David Hahn gets to handle a very important vignette that I wish Willingham would have kept for himself on many levels, not the least of which was Hahn's "the new-Saturday Morning Action JamZ!" style of character drawing.

[elizajane_1 · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

Reason for Reading: next in the series.What a fantastic volume! This volume deals with both the endings and beginnings of the old story arc. The aftermath of the war leaves pieces to be picked up and surprises as to who is still around or in what condition, while the beginnings of the new story arc are firmly set in place with a new Evil force to be dealt with and some major shakeups in the Fables lifestyle.Starting off with a single issue of Pinocchio taking Geppetto around his new home shows his bitterness and the townsfolk's non-accepting attitude to having Geppetto there at all. A different artist drew this issue and he has drawn Pinocchio as a little boy which I really like compared to his usual appearance. Next we have the titular section consisting of five chapters and a single issue. The Dark Ages wraps up what has happened with the survivors of the war back at Fabletown and the Farm. There are several shockers changing some character's lives dramatically. The new Evil foe is introduced and how he has come to be. He forces a life changing event upon the fables and is firmly set to continue the plot in a new direction. Finally the volume ends with a short five chapter story "Return to the Jungle Book" where Mowgli goes back to his part of the homeland to do a quick recon on his old world to see if it is re-habitable. This is a fun side story with Mowgli and Bagheera, and Bigby's brothers along as body guards. Mowgli also comes home with two new characters to add to the Fables population.Lots of action, the demise of a few characters including a major character, along with emotional insight into a few particular characters make this volume particularly satisfying.

[thedivineoomba · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

I did not enjoy this book as much as the previous stories. Its the start of a New Story - the Exiled Fables have one the war. They are not sure what to do next - Kingdoms are fragmenting, war is breaking out in the Fables Worlds, and something dark has been released.The problem with most stories of this sort (epic fantasy), is after the world has been saved, where do you go next. Bigger and badder entities need to be created to keep momentum. Although, in this case, the bigger badder entities that have been previously locked have been released because of actions from the previous story, and it does work.

[wanderlustlover_1 · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

Okay, I admit it. It would be hard to have anything stand up crazy well next to the two trades that came before this one. But I felt like I was let down about here, because So Much TM was happening before this. All go go go of the build from the beginning of the series, so there was suddenly both fall out and the need to restart, which bulky.

The funeral was gorgeous. And well handled. The Emperor's new place in among the people of Fable Town was amusing, but then kind of just wearing. I wasn't all that interested in Freddy & The Mouse at all, or the Society of Seconds (though the latter does have a right to its point, if not by being looters).