Fairy Tales + Graphic Novels = WIN, from Kristen!

Mixing fairy tales with graphic novels is WIN!

If you know me at all, you'll know I have a bit of a love for graphic novels. And the reason I love them so much is really thanks to a teacher I had in college who taught a class on Fairy Tales and Mythology. He introduced the class to a series of graphic novels called Fables by Bill Willingham. I already loved fairy tales, but this series of graphic novels really spoke to me and I found myself reading through them quickly and am glad to see the series still going and expanding.
What this series is about is that an evil entity called The Adversary has taken over the Fable Realms and forced the fairy tale creatures to flee into our world - more specifically New York City, where they have had to recreate their lives, put away old differences, and solve any problems that arise. The books mainly focus on Bigby (aka the Big Bad Wolf) and Snow White. Bigby has taken on the role of police investigator and Snow White basically runs the government, working directly below Old King Cole. The first book focuses in on a crime of Rose Red's apartment being trashed and covered in blood and no sign of Rose Red, Snow White's sister. It's a who-dun-it type of story and really pulls you into their world quickly, seeping the back story little bit by little bit into what is happening currently.

As the books go on, there's some other characters introduced, some romance and just a whole lot of awesomeness. Not only that, but there's a spin-off series called Jack of Fables, which is all about Jack, a character who is a scheming, full of himself kind of guy who always gets the girl and always manages to get in and out of trouble. Those books are a lot of fun as well.
Along with that, there's a YA book that was written by Bill Willingham, which I LOVED, called Peter & Max. It has two covers and I'm thinking of buying it in the new cover, because it has cover art that is dead on with the comic books.

Peter & Max tells the story from Peter's POV when he is older and has to find out where his evil brother Max has gone and kill him. It goes back and forth from the present to the past, showing how Max and Peter became the men they are today. It also has some overlapping in characters and plot with the Fables series and was an amazing read.
If you haven't heard of this series, it is a little more adult in nature - more nudity, sex, and other adult themes, but the novel is a bit more scaled back except for in violence. I'd definitely recommend any of the books to upper YA readers and adults.

~Kristen @ Bookworming in the 21st Century

---

Thanks, Kristen!  That was awesome!
I have to agree with Kristen: fairy tales and graphic novels do play very well together.  I've read the first volume of Fables, but not Peter & Max -- it's definitely on my wishlist.

Oh, and Kristen's not done with the awesome yet...
Ahem:

***GIVEAWAY***

Kristen would like to offer 1 lucky winner a copy of Fables: Legends in Exile!
To be entered, comment on this post telling us why you'd like to read it, or why you think graphic novels make a good format for fairy tales.  Don't forget to leave Kristen some love!
Open wherever Book Depository ships!

Ends May 5th May 8th!