Graphic Novel Review: Fables, Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers

By Bill Willingham (Writer), Mark Buckingham (Artist), Craig Hamilton (Artist), Steve Leialoha (Artist), P. Craig Russell (Artist)
Format: Paperback
Published: November 30th, 2004
Age: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 Stars

I’m really enjoying these graphic novels. If you’re not familiar, Fables is about fairy tale characters living in the real world. In the fourth volume, the first refugee in centuries arrives in Fabletown, but Bigby Wolf senses something isn’t quite right, and not just because Little Red Riding Hood freaks out on seeing him. For Little Boy Blue though, she’s a welcome sight, as he thought he left her behind to die in the last battle in the Fable Homelands. Meanwhile, Prince Charming decides to run for Mayor, and something quite nasty lands in Fabletown, linked to Pinocchio.

We get more characters fleshed out here, and we get to see some big battles take place, with some upsetting consequences. The world itself is deepened, with more of a view of the Adversary. And there’s Wooden Soldiers! Maybe because I’ve been watching X-Files recently, but they really felt like something Mulder and Scully could come across. They were creepy yet highly entertaining, in a twisted sort of way.

This is the longest volume yet, but it didn’t feel it – I really liked the pacing, I liked the split between the normal goings-on in Fabletown and the arrival of the soldiers, the mystery around them contrasted with Prince Charming’s attempt to run for mayor. We get some really great moments for some characters we’ve not seen much of previously, more backstory with the homelands, and some quite sad moments thrown in.

By this point, I’m fully invested in the series, and keen to see how it develops from here. With the first graphic novel, I could see why the comparisons were made with OUAT (especially the first season), but I think after that both are really their own beasts, taking completely different paths, even if they started from a vaguely similar point.

If you like fairy tale focused urban fantasy, and archetypical characters with new life breathed into them, definitely check out Fables. It’s getting better and better, and I’m keen to get my hands on volume 5.