Title: Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall

Author: Bill Willingham

Publisher: Vertigo 2008

Genre: Graphic Novel; Fantasy

Pages: 144

Rating: 5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Support Your Local Library; Fables Series

A volume full of backstories about the fairy- and folktale characters who figure in the hit comic book Fables gets the kind of classy treatment success merits. Every story in it is drawn by a different artist who shows off his or her distinctiveness in manners ranging from traditional comics realism and photo-based naturalism to Maxfield Parrish-Howard Pyle sumptuousness and a panoply of caricatural styles.

I absolutely loved this volume.  Another Fables volume lives up to the promise of a great story.  All the backstories were entertaining.  Variations on the fairy tales of yore.  We start with Snow White becoming Scheherazade on a mission to secure the Sultan's alliance against the Adversary.  Very nicely woven as the background to the other tales.  The real Scheherazade even makes an appearance.  Then we get stories involving Snow and PC and the dwarves, Reynard the fox, the Frog Prince, Bigby, an unlucky rabbit general, Snow and Rose Red and Frau Totenkinder (with appearances from other Fables), a mermaid, and King Cole.  Each story flows into the next with crossover events and characters.  Throughout we see the real history of the Fables before they escaped to NYC.  Very entertaining to hear of the origins.  I think my favorite was Frau Totenkinder's story.  The evil witch isn't all she seems.  She's become one of my favorite characters in the entire series.  And of course, the artwork was amazing.  Each illustrator had their own style, but remained true to the fairy tale magic throughout.  Great side volume for the Fables series!