Review: Fables — Animal Farm

Before I get to my review of Fables: Animal Farm, I need to write a short rant. If you don’t want to read it, skip the next four paragraphs to get to the review 🙂

I’m posting this review while at work (something I never do) because my internet at home is disconnected. You see, last week I called to upgrade my current internet service. The customer service agent on the phone was very helpful, and said during the process of the upgrade (which was supposed to happen on Monday), we may lose Internet for a few hours Monday afternoon, but it would be back up shortly.

As it turns out, that wasn’t true. Our internet was disconnected on Tuesday night, and after speaking with Technical Support today I learned it won’t be reconnected and upgraded until Friday because that’s how upgrading service works at AT&T. That’s right, in the process of upgrading my internet service (to pay them MORE money each month), my internet will be disconnected for three days.

I’m an internet addict, so suffice it to say I am not pleased. I’m also in charge of a shared network with a few other people in my apartment complex, so I’ve had to contact all of them multiple times to keep them informed as to why we’re without internet. Not pleased at all. Seriously, who the heck thought it would be a good idea to disconnect internet service and then reconnect service to do an upgrade? And if they have to do that, who the heck thought it would be a good idea to disconnect the internet on Tuesday and not reconnect it until Friday? That’s the most idiotic concept I can imagine.

On the bright side, during the estimated two hours that I spent on hold with AT&T on Wednesday evening (without actually getting to talk to a Customer Service rep), I managed to get a few things done. I ate dinner, I packed my bag for tomorrow, and I started and completed Fables: Animal Farm, the second comic in the Fables series.

Ok, the review, finally. I enjoyed this comic very much, probably as much as I liked the first comic in the series, Fables: Legends in Exile. In Fables, many of the characters we know from fables and folk tales have been driven from their homes by a mysterious group called “The Adversary.” Most of the Fables live New York City, governed by King Cole, with Snow White serving as his chief administrator and a brooding and mysterious Bigby Wolfe serving as sheriff. However, the non-human looking Fables have been forced to live outside the city at an annex called The Farm. In Animal Farm, Snow White and her estranged sister Rose Red head out to The Farm to see how things are going, only to walk into a seething den of upheaval. The animals are not happy and planning to revolt.

Clearly, Animal Farm is based on George Orwell’s satirical allegory of the same title, but from what I can remember about Orwell’s book the similarities are minimal. The comic draws on some of the same themes and some of the same character ideas, but not many. For example, the Three Little Pigs are in charge of The Farm uprising much like the pigs orchestrate the uprising in Orwell’s book. But, the comic is unique enough that it takes the themes in different and unexpected directions.

The thing I liked best about the comic was that Willingham and company managed to surprise me at almost every page turn. The series is constantly introducing new characters to the Fables universe—in this one members of The Jungle Book and Goldilocks and the Three Bears showed up, along with some that I didn’t recognize (Reynard the Fox?). I also did not see the ending of part four coming, or how they wrapped up the whole story in part five, but I’ll leave it at that to prevent any more spoilers.

So, if there are any positives I can glean from my currently disconnected life, it’s that I got to read a good book today and am probably going to get to bed early because I won’t waste the evening constantly checking my e-mail and refreshing Facebook. Gotta look on the bright side, right?

Links to Enjoy:

• The Story So Far — Bill Willingham’s official site

Other Reviews: Book Zombie; Fyrefly’s Book Blog

If you have reviewed this book, please leave a link to the review in the comments and I will add your review to the main post. All I ask is for you to do the same to mine — thanks!