Bill Willingham
Peter & Max: A Fables Novel (2009)
Bill Willingham and Steve Leialoha
I love the Fables comics. I think they’re one of the best story lines going, and if you haven’t checked them out, you really need to.
Peter & Max is set in the Fables universe–both Fabletown and the Homelands. We follow Peter Piper–and his love, Bo Peep–from childhood in the Homelands through their escape to Fabletown and life on the Farm. In their past we see not only the coming of the Adversary but how families were destroyed in the chaos that followed.
We also get a look at life after the Adversary and his troops have taken over an area–the fear and the poverty and how those who remained behind were changed by their experiences–assuming they survived.
Although this is a novel, it is also full of art by Steve Leialoha: gorgeous black & white drawings of Peter and Max and Bo that fill the pages. They drawings aren’t necessary to the story, but they are wonderful.
Although this book is set in the Fables universe, you should be able to read Peter & Max without any familiarity with the series. However, I’m not sure that I’d necessarily recommend it, because it gives away some of the surprises of the comics. Not all of them of course, but some of what I thought were the big surprises. What I’d recommend is checking out the stand-alone comic 1001 Nights of Snowfall, and if you like that, go back and read the series before reading Peter & Max.
You don’t have to, but I think doing so would be more enjoyable.
Rating: 9/10
Masked (2010)
edited by Lou Anders
Masked is a collection of superhero stories by a variety of writers, many of whom are well known comic writers.
Matthew Sturges, who writes House of Mystery, wrote the opening story, “Cleansed and Set in Gold.” …and I just ended up rereading the story when I flipped through to remind myself of whether I liked it. So yeah, I liked it. David Caulfield has “variable” powers, and those powers are the crux of the story. Fabulous.
“Secret Identity” by Paul Cornell was another story I especially liked. What does the hero identity do to the man who carries the hero around?
Mike Carey is another favorite author, especially his Felix Castor series. “Non-Event” begins at the end, with the supervillain being interrogated after the plan goes all wrong.
Gail Simone’s story “Thug” was both amazing and horrible.
“Head Cases” by Peter David and Kathleen David was an odd story. Interesting, and there were a few bits that were hilarious, but I did spend much of the story going, “huh?”
Joseph Mallozzi’s story “Downfall” was one of the longer stories, but I loved the twists and turns of a reformed villain being pulled out of retirement by his government minders.
“Tonight We Fly” by Ian McDonald was another story I particularly enjoyed–what’s it like for a superhero as he gets older–apparently he becomes crotchety and yells at the damned kids to get off his lawn.
The final story in the series was Bill Willingham‘s “A to Z in the Ultimate Big Company Superhero Universe (Villains Too).” I love Bill Willingham’s Fables so I was looking forward to this story. It was another odd one, and it took me a bit to figure out what was going on.
All in all, it was a fun collection, and well worth checking out.
Rating: 8/10
Peter & Max: A Fables Novel (2009)
