Fables: Animal Farm, is it really that bad?

[rntaboy]

I just got the second trade of Fables, and after having read it, I don't understand why so many people are so down on it. In a previous thread, Connor said that it made his brain hurt. I don't see it. I thought the story was interesting and compelling, and there were only a few points that I would dare complain about, those being: Goldilocks having a sexual relationship with one of the three bears, a reference to that bears penis, and I felt Goldilocks plans could have used with more development. I enjoyed seeing a greater number of the fables, especially the introduction of Reynard the Fox. Also, I was legitimately saddened by the death of Colin the Pig, and the ending dialogue between Rose Red and Snow white was a nice touch, so I think the trade got a bunch of emotional response from me.
What's with the 'hate'?

[horatio616]

I don't get it either. I loved it.

[ConorKilpatrick]

Plot = Uninteresting.

Characters = Not compelling.

Goldilocks = Cliche Revolutionary For Dummies.

Quite simply I couldn't have cared less what happened to the animals, I would have rather have been back in Fabletown. And the art was really, really spotty compared to the first trade.

[paper]

I couldn't get past the art. The writing style really didn't appeal to me. Like Conor, I didn't care about the characters.

[kwok_talk]

Think the future trades are 10x better, but didn't think animal farm was horrible

[The Screw on Aaron]

I love Fables it's possibly the best, comic book ever made in my opinion but it's very difficult to get into. I at first had my doubts as well but it pulled through the end. There's a certain process of reading that you have to go through before it's really good, I have given it to many friends and they have all concurred on the process when it comes to getting hooked to the book.

“ I didn't take to Fables at first because the first trade “Legends in Exile” felt very much like a setup which it was. But I was intrigued with the concept so I continued reading into the second volume “Animal Farm” which again felt like another set up, but it was a good set up so I was going to give it one more chance. The third volume “Storybook Love” things were starting to happen and I was starting to really enjoy it, so that by the time I got the fourth volume “March Of the Wooden Soldiers” I was completely and utterly hooked!”

I said that many months ago on the regular iFanboy site and it still holds true. I know it's a lot to say when you have to buy four trades before you're hooked but in the end it's really worth it.

Animal Farm is good but it is a setup book. You get that vital information about how the farm works and some of the more bizarre and animal characters get introduced. The series is excellent but the first two books are necessary set up and that's the main problem with this series and this particular book. I'm rereading it now in anticipation of this week's ninth volume “Sons of the Empire” and it still holds up, I really don't get interested in till volume 3 and 4 it is funny how it works but in the end it's all worth it:D

[rntaboy]

Plot = Uninteresting.

Characters = Not compelling.

Goldilocks = Cliche Revolutionary For Dummies.


I guess I'll just have to agree to disagree with you on all of the above. I almost agree about the last item, but I think that the Goldilocks characters motives just needed more development. I bought the 2nd and 3rd trades at the same time, so I guess I will have to see how they compare to one another.

[BenjaminSimpson]

Plot = Uninteresting.

Characters = Not compelling.

Goldilocks = Cliche Revolutionary For Dummies.

Quite simply I couldn't have cared less what happened to the animals, I would have rather have been back in Fabletown. And the art was really, really spotty compared to the first trade.
Seriously? This was Buckingham's first arc on the book, and IMHO was MILES ahead of Lan Medina's really stiff art on the first volume. Medina came back for a few fill-ins here and there later in the series, and even THAT was much better than the first book. Artistically, the first volume was a mess for me.

And yeah, I think once all the setup is done in books 1 and 2, the series really starts to find itself. V4 (March of the Wooden Soldiers) is what REALLY grabbed me, and it's been crazy from V6 (Homelands) onwards.

[ConorKilpatrick]

Seriously? This was Buckingham's first arc on the book, and IMHO was MILES ahead of Lan Medina's really stiff art on the first volume. Medina came back for a few fill-ins here and there later in the series, and even THAT was much better than the first book. Artistically, the first volume was a mess for me.

Yes, I preferred Medina's work in the first trade. Hopefully Buckingham gets a lot better.

[Jimski]

You know, it didn't rock my world, but I was way more into it than book 1. Logically, I can only take this to mean that book 3, sitting on my coffee table as we speak covered in cobwebs, will rock my socks.

[Humphrey Lee]

Yes, I preferred Medina's work in the first trade. Hopefully Buckingham gets a lot better.

Honestly, I think the only artists out there who work as a pure "storyteller" on their art as Buckingham are Michael Lark and Eduardo Risso. Sure, plenty of guys are bigger and flashier, but I think these three gents are the best at making every panel and every shot count.

Animal Farm isn't the most revolutionary of story lines (pun intended) and was still part of the "growing pains" that FABLES was going through to get where it is now, but I still think it is and was more interesting that 97% of the typical "guy in spandex hits guy in spandex over something contrived" or random inter-dimensional hopping or just any crossover storyline shit that comprises pretty much all Marvel and DC's mainlines for the past five years that Fables has also existed.

I pretty much started reading FABLES when the Animal Farm trade came out, and the only books then I thought were better back then were about four or five of the fellow Vertigo books coming out at the time. Now, with some of those titles gone, and Fables growing as exponentially as it did to become the title it is today, the only books I read that I think compete with it for top spot in my reading are Fell and Ex Machina.

[JAFlanagan]

This was probably my least favorite story line, and it was the one that made me drop the book the first time through. But was it that bad? No, not to me.

[Ekval]

For me it was a bit of a drop off from the first trade, but I think it was indeed needed to give the right feel for the farm. Even though it may be the weakest of the trades I've read yet, it was still pretty compelling for me.

[paper]

I'm considering spending some time in a Barnes and Noble reading the next couple trades after vol. 2 to see where I stand on it. I like the concept, but that book really turned me off.

[Iceman425]

In the first trade you meet all the Fabletown characters, who are actually quite charismatic against the backdrop of a what was a typical "whodunit" storyline. In my mind "Animal Farm" just continued along that path and actually ended up adding in a few bonuses that the first arc didn't have.

In "Animal Farm" you get basically the expositional arc with the introduction of the farm, which I think is a brilliant idea, and the introduction of some of the greatest non-human characters in Tall/Fairytales. Sher-kans demise, the three trolls and the three little pigs, Goldilocks and the 3 bears, Reynard etc etc. What brings this typical "revolution" story to a whole new level for me are not only the characters, but the seeds that are planted for the future.

Willingham had to have known what creatures would be playing a huge part in the arcs ahead, and I will tell you, had he not introduced them in a way that made you care for them now, the 3rd and 4th trades would not have been as amazing as you feel they were.

He also, again in my opinion, gave us a great solution to Rose Red and how she would continue to exist in this world.

I almost rank this arc above the first, seeing how Willingham manages to duplicate (and even outdo) his "Legends in Exile" set-up with lesser known characters by giving these animals true character of their own.

[ConorKilpatrick]

Willingham had to have known what creatures would be playing a huge part in the arcs ahead, and I will tell you, had he not introduced them in a way that made you care for them now, the 3rd and 4th trades would not have been as amazing as you feel they were.

Does it count as caring if I really wanted the entire farm to explode so that I would never have to visit it again?

[Iceman425]

Does it count as caring if I really wanted the entire farm to explode so that I would never have to visit it again?

Well, not caring at all would've been just leaving them alone. Blowing them up would take a great amount of effort, and would almost qualify you as caring about them one way or another.

So. Yes, in short.

If you wanted to read an entirely different book beyond that trade, blowing them up would've been fine.

My point was that, while it wasn't at the level of later trades, "Animal Farm" was still incredibly important to the great trades ahead. You had to have this arc, Willingham knew it, and he did a pretty good job with the necessary set-up. I think the harsh attitude towards it is a bit unwarranted.

[ConorKilpatrick]

I think the harsh attitude towards it is a bit unwarranted.

All I know is I had to literally force myself to finish reading it. To me, my harsh assessment is not unwarranted. But that's my opinion of the trade, it doesn't have to be anyone else's.

[iSteve]

I loved Fables: Animal Farm. It's one of my favorite story lines.

[Mikegraham6]

i loved all things fable, i don't understand the hate, i loved the first arc and each one got better in my opinion (including animal farm). in fact the first arc was pretty generic in comparison, its only a murder mystery....

[Humphrey Lee]

All I know is I had to literally force myself to finish reading it. To me, my harsh assessment is not unwarranted. But that's my opinion of the trade, it doesn't have to be anyone else's.

It's the first six weeks of this past season of Lost that focused entirely on the Others and the second island. Might not have liked it at the time, but when you see what it was leading to, and what implications some of it still has through the rest of the series, you see it was pretty necessary.


I dunno, I'm just trying to give you an example of hope. I thought the story was a solid B+er myself. Some days I still want to go around ***** slapping comic readers who still can't be bothered to try (I said TRY!) this, but can go get all 78 Civil War tie-ins or whatever.

[ConorKilpatrick]

It's the first six weeks of this past season of Lost that focused entirely on the Others and the second island. Might not have liked it at the time, but when you see what it was leading to, and what implications some of it still has through the rest of the series, you see it was pretty necessary.

The Others were interesting to me. The Farm characters were not.

I know that everyone says it gets a lot better but after the second trade, buying any more Fables trades went to the bottom of the comic book priority list.

[Humphrey Lee]

The Others were interesting to me. The Farm characters were not.

I know that everyone says it gets a lot better but after the second trade, buying any more Fables trades went to the bottom of the comic book priority list.

You're just biased towards anthropromorphized (**** that's rough to type!) characters aren't you? Look, Bambi traumatized me as much as anyone, but man up for God's sakes! Think of the children! Y'know, the ones that also cry themselves to sleep because Bambi's mom took a big old blast of buckshot to her cranium. Mmm Mmm, now that's good eatin!


... I really don't know where any of that came from...

[kahunablair]

I'm a huge Fables fan, and even I'd have to agree with Conor on some of his points.
I wouldn't have dropped the book, but I wasn't nearly as happy with the Animal Farm storyline, as the rest of the series. It drug on a little long with out a really good solid ending.

That being said I'd have to recommend the "March of the Wooden Soldiers" and "Homelands" as being my favorite storylines. They pretty much cemented me into the story.

[JGG0610]

I didn't hate the Animal Farm story line but it is by far the weakest of the story lines so far. I think it would have worked better if it hadn't happened so early on in the run. After the first trade you were just starting to get into the flow of the community with the characters that were introduced in v1. Then you pick up v2, and it's all exposition all over again. It really interrupted the flow of the overall story and slowed things to a snails pace.

[Valoharth]

I just finished it up today, it wasn't that bad. Granted I did roll my eyes quite a bit, Goldielocks is by far the most cliche character I've read in quite some time but I was able to get past that. I don't think I would like this story in issue form, infact I know I would have dropped this in issues. I will read three as soon as I get caught up on reading some of the other books I have and see if I want to continue after it.

[Jimski]

I was just about to weigh in with my opinion on this one when I happened to notice that I already did that about 35 posts ago. I have no memory to speak of. Where am I?

The trades and I have finally caught up to one another; book 9 begins right where I stopped reading in issues, and now it sits atop my stack taunting me. For some reason, Fables is a book I think is great for every second I'm reading it, and then I instantly forget about on the last page.

[Valoharth]

For some reason, Fables is a book I think is great for every second I'm reading it, and then I instantly forget about on the last page.

Thats what I thought about the first trade, it was good reading it but I forgot about it until I was in a bookstore and saw Animal Farm. I've owned AF for like nine months or so, just haven't gotten around to reading it till last night.

[xyzzy]

Like everyone else, it's not my favorite arc, but I thought it finished strong.

[oceanblue]

I am obsessed with the fables story, though I do wait for the trades to come out and don't get the monthly editions. I think that is because I started in trade and so I want to keep it that way...I am strange like that.

I am also very pleased with the spin offs and love the stories about Jack and 1001 nights. ::sigh:: I can't wait for the next one to come out. Bill Willingham is officially one of my favs, I like Shadowpact too.