Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland by Bill Willingham & Company

Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland by Bill Willingham & Company

Completion Date: November 6, 2012
Reason for Reading: It's Fables...

At long last! The long-awaited original FABLES: WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND graphic novel is here!  

Bigby Wolf embarks on a quest through the American Heartland to find a new location for Fabletown, a secret society of exiled fairy tale characters living among the "mundys." In his wanderings, Bigby stumbles across Story City, a small town that seems to be occupied solely by werewolves. Oddly enough, they seem to already know and revere Bigby, but at the same time they've captured and caged him.  

FABLES: WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND tells an epic tale that began well before Bigby Wolf set foot in the bucolic plains of the Midwest. It began long ago when he served in World War II and became mired in a Nazi experiment that would change nations. It's soon evident that murder in Story City is the least of their sins, and unraveling the town's many mysteries may cost Bigby, the seventh son of the North Wind, much more than his own life. 

 This new hardcover is a must-have for any longtime FABLES fan, as well as a great entry point for new readers.

This book has had a release date a couple times, so I am beyond thrilled that it finally came out this year! I have been very excited and then disappointed a couple times in the past. I get excited for anything to do with Fables, though. It is definitely one of my favourite series ever and I am so happy that I took a chance on it. I can pinpoint my history with the series without even looking it up. I read the first two volumes in January of 2009 and haven't looked back since. I love looking at them all lined up on my shelf. They are one of my prized possessions, that's for sure.

Werewolves of the Heartland is a story solely featuring Bigby Wolf and a whole cast of new characters. I love Bigby, so I was looking forward to a good story featuring him. He has sunk into the background since stepping down as Sheriff and I wanted to see the real him back in the limelight for a bit. Fables is in the process of getting its groove back after the completion of a huge story arch anyway. It was nice to concentrate on something else for a while. (And, actually, as I was reading this book, and then writing the review, I was waiting to see how the election would turn out in the U.S.) But, Bigby is back! I love him. The gruff, brooding character. He is so well-written! And, this is why I love Fables. I love the characters. It is a combination of a familiarity of them from childhood and a new appreciation for them that I have gained over the last three years of reading this series.

This book takes a dip in the very popular werewolf-theme. It works, though. I got very caught up in the story. I love Bigby, like I said, but I always like the story-telling abilities of Bill Willingham. At the end of the book he explains where the inspiration came from because the town in the book is called Story Town and really exists. I think my only problem with this book was the insane amount of nudity. I was kind of warned about it from Heather, but I still was a bit shocked. At first I was thinking 'This isn't as bad as I was expecting'. Then I got further into the book. I am not a prude either, there is often nudity in Fables at some point, but this time they might have went a bit overboard. Otherwise, it was a good read and I am very happy I had a chance to read it.

Strongly recommended as always, but with a strong warning that like I said above... Lots of nudity.