Fables The Last Castle #1 TPB

Fables (Single Issues)

by Bill Willingham

Beautifully illustrated prequel to the ongoing Fables series.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Fables, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Fairy Tales

Paperback

First published September 24, 2003

About the author

In the late 1970s to early 1980s he drew fantasy ink pictures for the Dungeons & Dragons Basic and Expert game rulebooks. He first gained attention for his 1980s comic book series Elementals published by Comico, which he both wrote and drew. However, for reasons unknown, the series had trouble maintaining an original schedule, and Willingham's position in the industry remained spotty for many years. He contributed stories to Green Lantern and started his own independent, black-and-white comics series Coventry which lasted only 3 issues. He also produced the pornographic series Ironwood for Eros Comix.

In the late 1990s Willingham reestablished himself as a prolific writer. He produced the 13-issue Pantheon for Lone Star Press and wrote a pair of short novels about the modern adventures of the hero Beowulf, published by the writer's collective, Clockwork Storybook, of which Willingham was a founding member. In the early 2000s he began writing extensively for DC Comics, including the limited series Proposition Player, a pair of limited series about the Greek witch Thessaly from The Sandman, and most notably the popular series Fables

Reviews

[Kenz The Dragon Queen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one-shot prequel to Fables adds context and authenticity to the characters struggles against the Adversary and their last stand in the homelands. This story feels like a high fantasy sword and sorcery epic, tied together by traditional fairytale storytelling.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The artwork was beautiful, but very graphic. It's war, people get seriously hurt and die in rather gruesome ways. The end "twist" just served to piss me off because I could see it coming from a mile away and it wasn't believable to me. I don't know the world of Fables, other than fairy tale characters are alive in the real world. This does explain how and why they got there. Not sure if the background re: the Adversary comes out in the other books. I would love to know why he did what he did and where he came from.

Rather depressing short tale. It has helped me to decide I'm not going to input negativity into my brain anymore. It sticks with me for too long and makes me mopey and unhappy. Not a bad work, but I don't know if I will read the rest or not. 3 stars, nudity and a lot of violence. Young adult on up for sure.

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

P. Craig Russell's Opus 56 is a special issue of Fables.

Another series I haven't read much of... but I'm dipping my toes in as I'm a Russell completionist.

It's an alright story with nice art as always. Worth finding for Russell fans!

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a bad little one off story. Gave depth to Boy Blue.

Sad and ironic, like real fairy tales are.

[BSender · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sad story about the last boat out of the homelands, trying to escape from the adversary's army. Boy Blue took the lead in this one and tells a story to Snow White about his lost love back in the homelands. Very good story.

[D · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful one-shot story that I was pleased to find nestled into the fourth trade paperback volume of the Fables saga.

Interesting plot points connected here but what really grabbed me was the artwork. This was my first introduction to Craig Hamilton and P. Craig Russell... great amounts of minute detail and color. Reminds me of those posters I used to enjoy as a kid where you’d marvel at them for a long time trying to pick out all the intricate pieces hidden in the detail.

[connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5

This is a pretty awesome short story, based on Blue Boy and the last fight before the last batch of Fables seeked refuge in the safe haven (basic our world). I was quite surprised to see Charming and Cinderella were some of the last (you'd think he'd be the first one out of there, what with his wrap and all) Fables to leave.

[Pete · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, beautiful, and tragic. Such a great story even if you're not reading the larger epic.

[Elliot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant prequel story

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty great short story, with a guest artist who is not quite as good as Buckingham, that Boy Blue tells Snow White about the last group of Fables to escape from the Homelands. It's a story about defeat, which is tough; a lot of characters die here, which is too bad, because quite a few would have been fun to see in the main series.

This book is also very informative about Boy Blue's character and motivates much of his arc through the rest of the Fables series.

[❄ Pixelflocke ❄ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es geht wieder aufwärts, der Band ist richtig gut!

Ich mochte die Rückblicke in die Vergangenheit der Fables und wie sich die Flucht nach Fabletown ereignete. Man hat hier so viel Neues und viele Hintergrundinfos erfahren, das war wirklich spannend und interessant.

Zu guter Letzt wurde auch noch ein neuer Märchencharakter eingeführt, der in den nächsten Teilen hoffentlich noch für einigen Wirbel sorgen wird.

[Jakub Brudny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Przypadkowo przeczytałem ten prequel zaraz po poznaniu historii Czerwonego Kapturka.. Well, możliwe że to jedyna poprawna kolejność czytania? Zeszyt z Żołnierzykami, po nich The Last Castle a potem komiks #22. Poza tym można na spokojnie zacząć swoją przygodę z Fables od tej - ilustracje są świetne, a historia przyjemna i dobrze oddaje ducha Baśni.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This graphic novel serves as a prequel to the Fables series and details the fate of the Last Castle to fall to the adversary, which also reveals some of Little Boy Blue's origin. Great fantasy tale with great art.

[Melissa Jacobson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating 4.5

So happy to start 2020 with the Fable series. I have yet to dislike one of these volumes. They are all just so excellent and gripping! I loved learning more about Boy Blue and I cannot wait to dive into the next volume.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gory, but hey, it's war! Nice one off, beautiful art.

9 spear thrusts out of 10

[Claude drolet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the one that started it for me. Once I read this, I had to read the whole series, and it is good.
One of the best single issues I have ever read (and I have read many).

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I was already too familiar with many aspects of this story from having read the majority of the main Fables storyline.

[Nicole Mosley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe this is included in one of the Fables Volumes. However as a story it is engaging, gripping, and important to understanding several characters.

[Julio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finalazo.

[JestersRaven · Rating 4 out of 5]

A prequel story to the beginning of the series following the last people to escape

[Juho Pohjalainen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm pretty sure this one came out before March of the Wooden Soldiers, so there's a lot of irony involved with the Red Riding Hood. It really builds that one up, in retrospect.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to the Fables series. War and tragedy set this tale afloat. Boy Blue is interesting. I am looking forward to reading this series.

[allie ☀︎ (taylor’s version) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE YOU BLUE BOY

[Martin García López · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fue muy trágico y permitió expandir el lore.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're into battles, this one goes in depth.

I'm generally not one for overly descriptive battle scenes but even I got choked up a bit for the fall of characters that were just barely introduced to me at the beginning of this relatively short standalone graphic novel. Sacrifice, I think, is always an emotion that tends to evoke strong feelings from readers regardless of whether or not the reader prefers the genre. For most of us, I think it reminds us of sacrifices that have been made for us and the nobility of sacrifice crosses cultural barriers in a way few other themes do.

The Last Castle tells Boy Blue's backstory (and sheds light on why he reacts the way he does when "Red Riding Hood" shows up in the original series) and focuses on the last stronghold in the last portal between the Mundy world and the invasion of the Adversary. Described through Boy Blue's perspective, you see the lead up to the final battle before they fall and how Boy Blue ended up in our world. I didn't like it quite as much as I liked the other spinoffs because battles aren't really my thing, but I still enjoyed it.

[Suzette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a stand-alone graphic novel published separately as a prequel to the Fables series and also included in Volume 4 of Fables: March of the Wooden Soldiers. It's quite moving - Boy Blue tells the awful tale in flashback to Snow White of the battle against the Adversary's army at the Last Castle in the Homelands, the keep at World's End, located at the last gate to the Mundy World. Boy Blue, Robin of Loxley, Lady Britomart, Tam Lin, Prince Charming, Cinderella, and Bluebeard are some of the Fables who make appearances, along with the Witching Cloak and Bluebeard's ship. I quote from the back cover: "In this epic tale of war, lust and intrigue, Boy Blue tells the story of the last stand against an unstoppable arm and a pitiless foe. Amidst a bloody, hopeless battlefield crawling with emissaries of The Adversary, we meet a mysterious woman in red and learn why Boy Blue plays nothing on his trumpet but the blues." If you're not familiar with the Fables series, please note that these are not tales for children, and contain sex and violence.

[Jaimie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This slim volume tells the story of the Fables' last stand in the Homelands before their current storyline, as narrated by Boy Blue. If I remember correctly, this story was the first to really explore Blue's character and was definitely the needed backstory for much of the later events. We discover Blue's role in the last stand against the Adversary, and his relationship with Red Riding Hood (his reason for only playing the blues), which gives us a hint og his future magical training with the Witching Cloak and role as a spy. Alltogether a wonderful little piece of Fables history.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is great first of all for its early view of the war against the Adversary. However, it’s all got a great element of tragedy that adds a lot to Blue, who hadn’t gotten a lot of screentime previous [8/10].

[Sil · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 estrellas en realidad! Me encantó la historia de Azul y Caperucita...pobre chico!

[Daniela Frias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buenísima.