Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland

Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland (2012) Bill Willingham, Craig Hamilton, Jim Fern, Ray Snyder, Mark Farmer

I love Fables.

Werewolves of the Heartland is a Bigby Wolf stand-alone story. Bigby is out searching for a new home for Fables, now that New York (city and state) are no longer safe. They found records in Bluebeard’s records, of him working with a town in Iowa called Story City, so that’s Bibgy’s next destination.

What he discovers is both a problem, and a direct link to his past.

First, I’m fond of Bibgy. So I really enjoyed learning more of his past–in this case, his actions in WWII. He went to Europe to fight for America in his own way.

Second, I really liked Bigby in this story. I love how his has been so developed as a character that there was never any worry about how he’d act when a nekkid woman crawled into his bed. That said, it was written in such a way that if you were not a Fables reader, you’d read that bit in a different way, and it would still be just as good.

And that goes for the rest of the story: if you have not read Fables, you could read this story without having read other Fables books, so like 1001 Night of Snowfall if you are interested in starting the Fables story, you can pick this up to see if you’re interested.

This is NOT an appropriate comic for young people. Many of the main characters are werewolves. Who can’t change forms while wearing clothes. So there are a LOT of people who are unconcerned about being nekkid. And since the werewolf form isn’t a true wolf form but a hybrid, there are lots of lots of male dangly bits. Mind you, it’s not sexy, but it would definitely cause conversations between adults and young people.

That said, this makes a point that needs made. Why is the male form so taboo when even “kid-safe” comics have women in costumes that display all the contours of their heaving bosoms?

I don’t love this story as much as I love 1001 Nights of Snowfall, but I still really enjoyed it, and can recommend it to anyone looking to see if they’re interested in the Fables series.
Rating: 8.5/10

Published by Vertigo

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