'Fables' Holiday Issue Gives Us 'A Christmas Carol'

There seems to be many people fascinated with fairy tales right now. Movie producers are preparing for the release of two different "Snow White" movies and "Jack the Giant Killer," to name a couple. Television audiences are tuning into "Once Upon a Time" and "Grimm" on a weekly basis. One of the unofficial "inspirations" for "Once Upon a Time" has just released its Christmas issue. Yes, I'm talking about Bill Willingham's "Fables" series from Vertigo Comics.

For those unfamiliar with "Fables," the monthly comic book tells the story of fairy tale and folklore characters who have been banished from their homelands and realms by an evil force called "The Adversary." They refer to themselves as "Fables" and have gathered together into a secret New York City community named Fabletown. Monsters and half-human creatures that can't blend in with society live in upstate New York at "the Farm."

"Fables" Issue #112 is titled "All in a Single Night." It features Snow White's sister Rose Red being visited by three ghosts in the spirit of "A Christmas Carol." Readers are taken into the future to see what her different fates could be. The concept has been done to death, but there's no better series than "Fables" to find another way of doing it again.

Bill Willingham has once again successfully taken the falsely innocent world of fairy tales and found a way to twist them back into their forgotten original forms. Even though I don't regularly keep up with the monthly book, this issue was still a joy to read and made me want to start taking in the graphic novel collections. The universe Willingham has created is so brilliantly put together and fascinating. He also has a great sense of humor, as shown by some banter between two of Santa's reindeer in issue #112.

Mark Buckingham's penciling has a very classic feel to it. It's a sort of modern take on the comic book styling of the 1970s. Lee Loughridge handled the coloring for this issue, and it really adds the right flavor to each panel. The colors are nice and bright when they need to be as well as dark and grim when it's called for.

I found "Fables" Issue #112 to be a pleasure to read. I wish I had more time on my hands to read as much as I want. I do enjoy my little trips to Fabletown. Maybe one day I'll get to venture there for an extended stay. If you love dark fairy tales and fantasy stories with the extra-added bonus of a Christmas theme, you should check this out.

For more articles by Eric Shirey, check out:

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Eric Shirey is the founder and editor of Rondo Award nominated movie and comic book news websites MovieGeekFeed.com and TheSpectralRealm.com. His work has been featured on Yahoo!, DC Comics, StarWars.com, and other national entertainment websites. Besides his three decades long obsession with everything sci-fi, horror, and fantasy related in TV and movies, Eric has what some would call an unhealthy love for comic books. This has led him to interviewing and covering legendary writers and artists in the medium like Geoff Johns, Scott Snyder, Steve Niles, Bernie Wrightson, and Howard Chaykin.