Review: The Good Prince (Fables 10) by Bill Willingham
The tenth entry in Bill Willingham's Fables series is titled The Good Prince, and it focuses on Flycatcher, who learns that he is much more than a janitor who sometimes turns into a frog. He is, in fact, the frog prince—you know, the frog that turns into a handsome guy once you give him a kiss.
Fly had forgotten his past because of post-traumatic stress syndrome and because his fellow Fable people protected him from the truth. Once his memories return, he falls into a depression that is broken only when Lancelot is released from his own purgatory, where he's been in limbo since his betrayal of Arthur.
The two gather an unusual army and set out to do their best to defeat the Adversary, who ran all the decent Fable folk out of their Homelands. Of course, there's lots of action, and Flycatcher makes some surprising decisions. Bill Willingham's sense of humor, both verbally and in the art, remains strong and a few sideline stories are continued and developed. 
I know I've said it at least nine times (ha!), but the Fables books just keep getting better. I loved learning the background story of Flycatcher and seeing his true nature shine through. My only objection to this volume is that I didn't love the way some of the characters were drawn, which differed from earlier books. But that's a minor issue. The scan gives you an idea of some of the better artwork and a touch of humor but includes no spoilers.
There are now close to twenty books in the main Fables series, plus at least two spin-off series, one centered on Jack of Fables and the other on Cinderella. I own Peter & Max, which is called "a Fable novel," and I wouldn't be surprised if there are other Willingham Fable books. I plan to read them all.
Although the Fables series is written by Bill Willingham, there are a host of artists, a colorist, and a letterer. The principal artist for The Good Prince is Mark Buckingham and the cover was designed by James Jean.
Published by DC Comics / Vertigo, 2008
ISBN-13: 9781401216863
Source: Bought (see review policy)
Rating: B
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy)
7 comments:
I read this recently and I believe it's one of the best in the series, so far. Thanks for the review.
Total honesty: when I hear the word "fable" my eyes glaze over. But the fact that this is GN territory gives me pause. You know how much I love them. You could hand me a story that I have ABSOLUTELY NO INTEREST IN but would read in GN format. I've been needing a fix. I'm going to see if my library has it.
My library appears to have them all. I have ordered the first...we will see how it goes!
The different artists' styles in the Fables canons drives me a little crazy; but I love the stories enough to continue (I think I'm three trade volumes behind you)
Interesting that there are multiple artists. I bet that makes it extra interesting.
This is my favorite volume of the Fables series! The different drawing style was one thing I didn't enjoy as much but I truly love knowing more about Flycatcher. So glad you enjoyed this.
I feel like I need to grab the first in this series back from my kids and see if it's for me. I also don't read a lot of fables, but for some reason, the way you describe these just captures my attention. Not sure how I would feel about multiple illustrators, but I think I would be open to it!
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