Fables Vol 6: Homelands

Fables Vol 6: Homelands (2005) Bill Willingham

I broke one of my cardinal rules with Fables, which is don’t get involved in an ongoing series. Of course, I didn’t realize I was breaking my rules at the time, but I could have stopped earlier in the series, and waited. But I didn’t. Because the story is too good, and I just had to keep reading.

Homelands is the sixth collection in the Fables series. Boy Blue has taken the witching cloak and vorpal sword and gone back to the Homelands, and an attempt to rescue Red, his girlfriend who was left in the Homelands, and Jack has taken a large sum of gold and jewels, and headed out west to make a new life for himself. However, we see nothing of Snow White or Bigby, and hear only of them in passing, as Show White cares for her children, and Bigby is who knows where.

I really liked Homelands. For me, everything seemed to come together. I especially liked Boy Blue, and how his character was developed. I’d already stumbled across the identity of the Adversary, so that wasn’t a surprise, however, I found the explanation of how the Adversary came to power to be fascinating. A cautionary tale perhaps, but a well-told one.

The opening story about Jack? Marvelous. Did he make the right choice? Morally, no. But it was certainly a reasonable choice, and one that you couldn’t really blame him for making, especially knowing that he’s an amoral jerk looking out for himself. You can see his downfall coming, but you’re not surprised that he misses it entirely.

I was somewhat disappointed not to see Snow White or Bibgy in this collection, but I have to admit that the Boy Blue thread more than made up for their absence. I just liked his story that much. Of course, I’m sure he’ll disappear from the story for awhile, but I can deal with that–as long as they bring back Bigby.

I don’t have a lot to say about the art work in Homelands. As I’ve said before, I barely notice much of it, because I’m concentrating on the story. Though, I did like the portrayal of Boy Blue in his story. He looks so very young and very pretty–almost feminine–it makes the ease with which he kills that much more shocking. And Boy Blue pulling the Vorpal Sword out of his cloak in Pax Imperium? That was prefect.

If you have any interest at all in fairy tales, then I highly recommend checking out Fables. The stories just keep on getting better.
Rating: 9/10

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