If you’re a fan of graphic novels these days, you must know that there is nothing available under the Vertigo imprint that isn’t incredible. Screw Superman and the vast majority of the DC crew; there is Batman and there is everything Vertigo. Yet even among the best there is occasion to remark on that which transcends even the best association. The standout right now is Fables.

Fables is being written by Bill Willingham, and drawn by a host of artists. It is a broad and ambitious story that encompasses the entire universe of fairy tales, collapsing all stories into one, and adding to them the pique of sex, death, and politics. In this fascinating mélange of fable, folktale, and myth, Snow White has turned civil servant, pigs declare war, and Goldilocks is awfully interested in inter-species mating. The plot lines are thick and braided together with skill and forethought; this series has been in progress since 2002. The central tale is that of the Homelands of Fablekind, and their loss of territory in a terrible war. Every fable must take sides and the battles run hot and cold in glory and espionage.

There is something for everyone in Fables; whether you fancy action, adventure, romance, whimsy, or intrigue, it’s all here. The metaplot is rich and strange, but the most rewarding moments in the story often come in the short asides that help establish character histories and motivations. The classic fairy tales of your childhood are not untouched; some liberties have been taken and some grafts have taken place. However, all these changes only serve to enrich the interaction of these characters and to keep their world feasible and consistent. Even a purist among folklorists would find themselves satisfied by Willingham’s choices.

This series has not gone unnoticed. The series has won fourteen Eisner awards and a Hugo to date, leaving no doubt at all about the critical reception of the books. However, fans are often slow to warm to a new series for a number of reasons. I generally refer to this reticence as the “Robert Jordan Effect.” A million years ago, Robert Jordan began work on a sprawling fantasy series known as The Wheel of Time. He laid a deep and far-flung plan for more than twenty volumes. Then he died. The result is that readers of the series were left hanging in the most final possible way, and many felt cheated that it would never truly be finished. A great number of fans of books, graphic novels, and television shows have learned to bide their time and wait for the end before gluttonously marathoning an entire series over the course of a break. These people are the reason Netflix asks you if you should maybe take a break.

I must confess to be one of these hoarders of entertainment. I can wait out anything. Well, anything except The Walking Dead, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, The Dark Tower, and Doctor Who. There’s no way to wait out Doctor Who. However, I caved on Fables because the acclaim is so universal, the artwork is so breathtaking, and the concept is just too intriguing to pass it up.

The semester has begun and you know that reading for pleasure is a bygone concept of the carefree days of winter break. However, if you can snatch fifteen minutes here and there, graphic novels are an excellent source of fiction-fix for the book deprived. My recommendation is that you read Fables. The characters are thoroughly postmodern. But you, Constant Reader, will live happily ever after.

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