Peter & Max - A Fables Novel
Reviewed by David O' Leary
PETER & MAX - A FABLES NOVEL
Story by: Bill Willingham
Art by: Steve Leialoha
Cover by: Steve Leialoha
Publisher: Vertigo Comics
Cover Price: $22.99
Reviewed By: David O' Leary
Book Summery: Set in the imaginative realm of the award-winning comic book series FABLES, PETER and MAX is a stand-alone prose novel - the first ever published starring FABLES characters! Long ago, in the deepest dark of The Black Forest, two brothers - Peter Piper and his older brother Max - encountered ominous forces that changed them both irreparably. Thus begins an epic tale of sibling rivalry, magic, music and revenge that spans medieval times to the present day, when their deadly conflict surfaces in the placid calm of modern day Fabletown. PETER and MAX: A FABLES NOVEL features the deft prose of award-winning comic book writer Bill Willingham and lush ink spot illustrations from FABLES artist Steve Leialoha. The novel also reveals secrets of some of the regular FABLES series cast members including Bigby Wolf, Frau Totenkinder and Bo Peep. Included as well is an 8-page bonus sequential comic story by Willingham and Leialoha that serves as a bridge to the FABLES graphic novel collections.
Review: I know that this a prose novel and it is technically not a comic but in living with the spirit of the site, it is comic related. This is the first prose novel from the world of the Fables universe from Vertigo Comics. Vertigo has for over 20 years been at the forefront of the cutting edge of comics. This is just another arm of that.
This book is written so that it can be as accessible for a new reader or just another arm of the fables canon for the versed reader. Bill Willingham has been very careful so as to not write the book so that it reads like a comic with no pictures. It really is a straight up prose novel.
The story follows the story of Peter Piper and his brother and later nemesis Max. With the story split not two time frames, we follow mainstay Fables characters Bigby Wolf, Frau Totenkinder and Peter and Bo Peep in the modern mundy world and alternatively we follow the life of Peter when he was a child and a growing and somewhat, in Peter's instance, subtly growing hatred from his brother who is driven by a jealous and superiority driven complex mind set.
From the first couple of chapters it becomes obvious that this is a tragedy/drama novel that tightly knits together numerous fables stories that are centuries old with little trouble. Remarkably, that it fits together at all is a credit to the writing skills of Willingham who for over six years had given audiences a superlative insight to the fictional lives of their favourite childhood fables.
The story is exceptional culminating in Max fulfilling the fable of being the famed Pied Piper of Hamelin. There are plenty of moments in the book where Willingham pulls off tugging the heart strings wonderfully. Particularly the unforgivable double cross Max partakes in with the murder of his father for giving Peter a priceless family heirloom that he thought was his. It could be argued that the transition from jealous brother to murdering maniac on Max's part was a bit quick and it was but it wasn't a case of Willingham trying to put one past the reader quickly but rather a necessary plot point that he gave us to move the story forward.
What follows is Peter trying to find Max in the mundy world for a confrontation to the finish. And in the Homelands, Max is trying to steer clear of the Gob's foot patrols and make his way to Hamelin where Peter has found himself a member of thieving ring.
The book is helped by the drawings of Fables mainstay Steve Leialoha. He also lends himself to a short black and white story at the back of the book and his contribution adds to the uniqueness of the book. Obviously the idea behind any book is to build a picture in your head of what is going on and I for one don't mind the artists contribution but I could see how it could annoy some.
This was an immensely enjoyable book and although other publishers before have done it, notably any film adaptation from Marvel's stables of movies and their difficult to finish Ultimates original novel Tomorrow Men. There would be legs on this format for Vertigo and I hope their will be more in the future. Great stuff.
Rating the Book
Story
Story: Overall 9
Concept - 9 out of 10
Plot - 9 out of 10
Dialogue - 9 out of 10
Importance
Importance: Overall 9.66
To the Title - 10 out of 10
To the Company - 9 out of 10
To the Medium - 10 out of 10
Reviewer Bio
Name: David O' Leary
email: idwfan@yahoo.co.uk
Been reading comics: for about 12 years now.
Review Bio: I am a 26-year-old Hotel Manager from the west coast of the Republic of Ireland and think this is a great way to talk to others about this cool medium. I am a husband to one wife and father to one girl (so far).
Favorites: ONI's Whiteout, Vertigo's Scalped and Garth Ennis Preacher and Punisher in Trades. In comic form I am reading a lot of Marvel and a bit of IDW, Dark Horse & WildStorm among others.
Website: Sorry, I don't have one!
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