Today Will Require Some Flying Monkeys...

Flying Monkey of Oz by Jim Pearson

.. and I can't wait!

Today is all about last-minute scrambling for my little monkey's son's first school play, The Wizard of Oz. (In case you hadn't guessed my monkey will be of the flying variety*.)

While flying monkeys are already very cool to him (and were his first choice among the roles), his favorite part is where he gleefully gets to tell the Wicked Witch of the West: "You no longer have any power over us! Goodbye!" and flaps away with a big monkey-grin.

I loved that, in showing him Labyrinth this past weekend, he noticed that Sarah said almost exactly the same thing to Jared, the Goblin King in the end. It's a different sort of dragon to defeat but it's an important one.

Your regularly scheduled daily news will be returning shortly, I promise.

Some of the flying monkeys of Burlington, Vermont**

By the way, looking for an alternate way to introduce kids to the Oz stories apart from the MGM movie and avoiding the largely creepy original illustrations that accompany classic copies of Baum's books? I recommend the Eisner Award winning, Eric Shanower and Skottie Young graphic novels. They follow the original book plots (giving the flying monkeys many more things to do, which my little guy couldn't be happier about) with the first volume being the first, best known, story of Dorothy's visit to Oz, finishing (after a few more detours than the popular movie provides) with her making it home to Auntie Em (no dream required).

The illustrations are charming and adorable yet easily lend themselves to dark subjects as the story requires as well.

Although the Oz books aren't really fairy tales (or 'a fairy tale'), the works are often called "the first American fairy tale", and since Baum himself quoted Grimm and Andersen as inspiration and was, in fact, creating his own version of a literary fairy tale (as extended as it was over many volumes), it seems appropriate that it be included in discussions on fairy tales in general, especially since, the more time goes on, the more the tropes and motifs of the books have taken root alongside traditional fairy tale ones in the American social consciousness (and beyond) until many don't see them as separate any more. 

Note: If this is-it-or-isn't-it-a-fairy-tale territory is new for you, there are many discussions available online on the subject but suffice it to say, as far as this blog goes, while we will mention and refer to Oz from time to time, we still consider it a fantasy that uses fairy tale inspiration and motifs, rather than, by actual definition, 'a fairy tale'. That society at large lumps it into the same category is also something we acknowledge, including the way fairy tales are socially perceived today, especially in the US, so we feel it is important to consider the Oz-influence in general. 

I do find it funny that Baum specifically wrote the Oz books to be a fairy tale without the grim of the Grimm's, yet when MGM made the movie they put the scary back, front and center, with the Wicked Witch of the West.

Here's Baum on fairy tales and on his Oz books:

FOLK lore, legends, myths and fairy tales have followed childhood through the ages, for every healthy youngster has a wholesome and instinctive love for stories fantastic, marvelous and manifestly unreal. The winged fairies of Grimm and Andersen have brought more happiness to childish hearts than all other human creations. 

Yet the old-time fairy tale, having served for generations, may now be classed as "historical" in the children's library; for the time has come for a series of newer "wonder tales" in which the stereotyped genie, dwarf and fairy are eliminated, together with all the horrible and blood-curdling incident devised by their authors to point a fearsome moral to each tale. Modern education includes morality; therefore the modern child seeks only entertainment in its wonder-tales and gladly dispenses with all disagreeable incident.   

Having this thought in mind, the story of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was written solely to pleasure children of to-day. It aspires to being a modernized fairy tale, in which the wonderment and joy are retained and the heart-aches and nightmares are left out.  

Chicago, April, 1900 L. Frank Baum

*Keep your fingers crossed that I won't need to make a last minute costume for his second, understudy role as a tornado. Exactly how do you dress a tornado anyway?
** Burlington, Vermont is on my "must visit" list just because of these monkeys.

Interview With A Leg! I mean "The Leg". (Actually it's the creator of "The Leg", aka Van Jensen, which is still pretty awesome.)

By now you should have heard, from many places, all about this curious-and-awesome Mexican folklore based graphic novel of The Leg: The Remarkable Reappearance of Santa Anna’s Disembodied Limb. 

If you missed my post from a week ago (when a special Kickstarter was launched on Cinco de Mayo to get it printed), you can catch up HERE. If nothing else, be sure to check out the trailer. It is made of awesome! (Folkloric treasure trove!)

Creator and word wrangler, Van Jensen, whom you will know from his amazing three volumes of Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer!, kindly found time to answer a bunch of questions on folktales and more (we even talked spaghetti) and allowed us a closer look into the story and the folklore that's woven through The Leg.

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Hi Van! Thank you so much for agreeing to let us behind the curtain a little and scratch your brain about your latest project. What with Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer! getting a new multi-volume release, a new graphic novel and a Kickstarter that's jumping along in leaps and bounds (huzzah!) among regular work and other projects you have brewing, we know you're a busy man! 

Van Jensen at work

So first of all, your hero is possibly the most unusual hero ever written. How on earth were you inspired to give life to an amputated limb?
This all goes back to a Mexican History class I took as an undergrad, and the professor randomly mentioned the anecdote of Santa Anna losing his leg in the Pastry War and then giving it a full military funeral. Later, the people exhumed the leg to protest Santa Anna. I have no idea why, but that story struck me as fascinating, and I kept thinking about it for years. At some point, it morphed into this question: What if the leg was still alive? What would it do? Where would it be? 

Santa Anna's wooden leg, Illinois

So, this is a true(ish?) legend that you've given additional (zombie-like) life to. I need to know: have you been to Springfield, Illinois to see the real Leg? (And how 'ish" is this LEG-end anyway?)
As far as I know, that fake leg is the real deal. There's been a lot of fascination over the years with Santa Anna's fake leg, especially in Texas given the Alamo connection, and then the King of the Hill episode. I haven't seen the leg in Springfield, but perhaps a road trip is in order! 

So this wasn't just the Van way to get on the zombie train?
It's funny, but I never thought of this as a zombie story. I don't know why, but it just didn't dawn on me. Maybe it was my subconscious! 

What is it about Mexican lore and folklore that fascinates you? 

Starting with that class I took, it was really the realization that, despite the nearness of Mexico, I knew very little of its history. And it has a fascinating, bizarre, violent history, complete with a wealth of folklore and fairy tales. Some of the folklore especially has a lot of European influence, but even then, these familiar stories have a new spin on them. And then there are crazy native legends, like the story of the Witch Wife.  

I worked a lot of that into this book, but there's so much more that I wanted to include but couldn't.  

Your hero has an unusual sidekick (ahem) for a spaghetti Western with a folkloric twist: a little girl named Ana. Can you tell us about her? How did she come to be, why is she so important and why does she get so attached to this leg?
Ana is a young girl who was separated from her parents and is stuck in an orphanage. She believes she's destined for greatness, because her lineage traces back to Santa Anna. But what she doesn't realize is that Santa Anna was famously promiscuous, and so her connection to him is a source of dishonor, if anything. Then she discovers the Leg, and they help each other as they strive to reach Mexico City and save the president from assassins. 

Ana is a voice of innocence, and it is through her that we see the Leg's personality emerge. She humanizes him, allowing him to connect with a literal part of his legacy. There's also a kind of Calvin and Hobbes aspect to their relationship, which was just a lot of fun to write. 

We're told the Leg has to save Mexico; a tall order for anyone, let alone a lone leg with nothing but a boot and a kid to help him! What is the Leg's greatest threat? (Other than centuries of toe cheese?)
Ha! Well, as the story begins, the Leg discovers that there is a plot to kill the president of Mexico, and he takes it upon himself to save the day. Along the way, there are some major threats he'll have to face. But at its core, this is a story of discovery, and the Leg learns that his greatest enemy is himself. Santa Anna was renowned for his ego, and the Leg must overcome that part of himself to win the day. 

The story is full of references to legends and tales and I was continually delighted to discover what you'd woven in, in each chapter. Without wanting to spoil any surprises, can you tell us what have been your favorite folkloric elements that you've woven into the narrative? 
The lost tribe of northwest Mexico were a lot of fun. There's this legend of shape shifters living atop a mountain, and I HAD to include them. There's also some witchcraft, and the details of the spell came from an actual Mexican healing spell I tracked down. 

Are there legends, superstitions, tales or creatures you still wish you'd been able to work into the story? (Do tell!)
Oh, yeah, tons! I actively avoided La Llorona, although it is a really cool story, it's just overly common. The first draft of the script included the Pedro Urdemales trickster character, but I had to cut that to save space. It's a really fun legend though. 

If you could have one aspect of 'Other' from The Leg be real for a whole day, what would it be?
The talking crow would be fun to have hanging around. I always imagined that crows had a lot to say, although maybe I'd regret it. 

Are there any things you included in the way of "folkloric Easter eggs" that readers who know their legends and tales should keep their eyes peeled for? (eg I'm thinking of a particular house-on-one-leg design myself and I noticed an eagle that keeps appearing. Is this a reference to the Mexican fairy tale The Greenish Bird?)
The house-on-a-leg for sure! The eagle is a reference to Santa Anna mostly--that was his nickname. There are some teases throughout as to the identity of the crow, which ultimately is revealed. There are a few other references, especially ones worked in by Jose into the art. One that's kept pretty subtle is the Judas statue, which references a pretty weird piece of Mexican tradition of detonating statues of Judas. 

How did you get yourself in "the Mexican mood" to write this (Art? Music? Tequila? Continuous re-runs of Once Upon A Time in Mexico?) and were their references or resources you kept close?
I'm such a boring writer. I don't listen to music or drink. Pretty much, I just lock myself in a room and get to work. But I did read a lot about Mexican history and folklore. There are a ton of great books, but I remember Judas at the Jockey Club as being one of the best. It's been eight years since I wrote this story, so my memory is a little foggy! 

Fast forward to finding the perfect artist for The Leg in Jose Pimienta: how did you find him and how did you pitch your story? (And how did you decide how far to take the design to make the boot emote without turning it into a version of the Hogwarts Sorting Hat?)
It was at Comic-Con in 2011. A friend introduced us, and Jose was looking for something to draw. I didn't have anything, but then I told him about The Leg on a whim. At that point, I'd given up on ever publishing it because it was so weird. But Jose really perked up, and he told me that he grew up in Mexico, and he wanted to read the script. So I sent it to him, and he responded right away asking to illustrate it. The whole thing seemed kismet, so I readily agreed. 

Jose did an amazing job with the book. It's so incredibly hard to get emotion out of a boot, but he nailed it. I can't say enough about him. He's been a dream to work with, and I'm thrilled to finally share his art with everyone. 

So, let's do a quick check on what people can expect from your graphic novel: 

- Sentient zombie leg?  Check. 

- Ghosts?  Check (we see one in the first chapter, which you can preview HERE) 

- Walking skeletons?  Check. 

- Magic?  Check. 

- WItches/bruja?  Check. 

- Frida references?  And Diego! 

- "Santas"? (Not the belly full of jelly guy, Saints)  Check. 

- Spaghetti?  Yep. 

- How about gunfights?  Lots! 

- Nuns?  Indeed. 

- Puns?  Of course! 

- Chupacabras?  Hmm. Sort of.  

Do you think we'll be seeing more of the world and characters from The Leg in future stories?
There's certainly room to do more with it. Part of that depends on how the Kickstarter campaign does. It's a project that I almost certainly will never make money on, but I do love the book and the characters. And I love working with Jose. If people want to see more, they can help by supporting the Kickstarter and helping spread the word! 

With the graphic novel complete but not yet published, you currently have a Kickstarter campaign to get it printed and into our grubby hands as you and Jose originally envisioned. With 21 days to go (as of May 13) and almost 75% (of $10 000 needed) funded to date, how has it been for you both to see the response?
It's been totally overwhelming. This is an overtly non-commercial book, but the response has been very strong. I think that says a lot about the quality of the art, and that there are readers out there who want intensely weird stuff. Which works for me, because that's what I like to write! 

I was thrilled to hear about the stretch-goal of creating a Spanish-language version of The Leg. Can you tell us more about that (or tease us with some other stretch goal ideas you have bubbling)?
If we hit $15,000, we'll give a free Spanish-language PDF to all backers who pledge at least at the $8 level. We really want to get to that point, so all support in getting the word out helps! Beyond that, we plan to do some upgrades at higher levels, potentially doing a hardcover instead of paperback. And there are some artists who would love to contribute pin-up pages, so that's something that we'll offer. 

Are you up for a rapid-fire word-showdown?Let's do it!

Would you rather: 

Talking animal or a talking object?Animal. 

Flying carpet or broom?Carpet. I'm scared of heights, and a broom doesn't seem very secure! 

Have a corpse bride or bruja wife?Bruja? Yikes. 

Giants or trolls?Giants. 

Face La Llorona or El CuCuy?CuCuy. At least it's pure evil. 

Bet on The Leg or Pinocchio VS in a showdown?Clearly, they would only team up against undead monsters. But if they had to fight, I bet the Leg would kick butt. 

And lastly, because we're dying to know:What are the most creative leg pun/s to date that have tickled your funny bone?
I love ALL leg puns. The more the merrier! Someone the other day asked me if I'd considered calling it "The Leg of Extraordinary Gentlemen." Just delightfully terrible.

Thanks so much Van! We wish you every success and not only hope you meet your initial goal but stretch it far enough to get the Spanish edition made as well!

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Here's the lowdown: You rarely see such a great combination of storytelling and images, let alone one that includes folklore, legend and history. It's also entertaining as heck, not to mention very juicy fodder for folklore and fairy tale people. There aren't many graphic novels that can keep my attention beginning to end in one sitting but I became completely absorbed in reading The Leg. The layout, art and excellent use of words flows very much like an oral storytelling and the story itself is everything it promises to be. Spring boarded from recorded history it has that unique Mexican mix of politics and art, gunslingers and family, religion and superstition all coexisting in a harsh landscape. At the same time, the fact that it's chock-full of Mexican folklore and legend references and tales, and all without seeming cramped, is a complete delight. An excellent introduction to Mexican folklore and more for ages 15(ish)+, via a fantastic (in both senses of the word) story. Apart from the fact that I can't yet put it on a bookshelf (c'mon Kickstarter funders!) I can't think of a reason I wouldn't recommend it.

         Here's who we can blame, er credit, for this strange-awesomeness.

Words: Van Jensen, co-creator of PINOCCHIO, VAMPIRE SLAYER  (Top Shelf Productions) and writer of GREEN LANTERN CORPS and THE FLASH (DC Comics). Van is also an award-winning journalist based in Atlanta. This is his first self-published work. Follow him on Twitter.

Art: Jose Pimienta, a native of Mexico and the co-creator of A FRIENDLY GAME and an artist on several successful Kickstarter-funded comics anthologies. Follow him on Twitter. 

Colors & Letters: Matthew Petz, artist of the webcomic WAR OF THE WOODS and colorist of several comics and graphic novels. Follow him on Twitter. 

Design: J. Chris Campbell, maestro of WIDE AWAKE PRESS.

Please do go check out Van & Jose's KICKSTARTER HERE and consider helping put some fantastic (& fun - and gorgeously illustrated) Mexican folklore into people's hands. 

"The Leg": The New Mexican Folklore Inspired Graphic Novel with A Kick! (& Happy Cinco de Mayo!)

From the brilliant (some might say twisted) mind of Van Jensen, creator of "Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer!", comes:

"The Leg: The Remarkable Reappearance of Santa Anna’s Disembodied Limb"

And, get this, today Mr. Jensen launched a Kickstarter (I know!) to help take this (really wow - seriously, it's amazing) completed graphic novel from a limited-edition-of-one, to print for us all.

You did know there's this thing about disembodied legs in Mexican folklore and legend, right? And this is where the weird fun begins!

Note: Before you go any further I have to warn you: read a little and you are drawn in. At this point, I am totally hooked on this story! (I need more!*headdesk*) Woven in among the colorful and forbidding landscapes of both setting and story, you'll find a sentient disembodied leg, desert shamans, a giant, a wizard, a little girl (named Ana... one 'n'), possibly magical birds, vengeful skeletons, a lot of grit, a lot of humor, a bruja, tales upon tales and so much more...

Once upon a time in Mexico—more specifically, in the 1880s during the Pastry War—President Santa Anna lost his left leg when it was struck by French cannon fire. Santa Anna gave his missing limb a full military funeral (true story!). But when the Mexican people rebelled against Santa Anna (because he did insanely vain things like giving his limb a military funeral) and threw him out of office, protesters exhumed his leg, dragged it through the streets and cast it aside (also a true story!). It hasn’t been seen again…until now! 

Our story is set in 1938, when the Leg has reappeared, clad in a tall leather boot. When the Leg learns of a new threat against Mexico, it embarks on an epic journey across the country, battling with villains both modern and magical in its quest to save the country and redeem Santa Anna’s tarnished legacy. 

Will the Leg succeed in its quest? The answer lies inside THE LEG: The Remarkable Reappearance of Santa Anna's Disembodied Limb.

From Bleeding Cool (because they do a great job of nailing the flavor of this work in just a couple of sentences):

The Leg features the disembodied leg of Santa Anna adventuring through 1930s Mexico. It’s a weird pastiche of fairy tales, Spaghetti Westerns and Mexican history featuring art by Jose Pimienta, who grew up in Mexico.

1938 Mexico, a century after Santa Anna lost his left leg in battle against French invaders. Now, mysteriously, the Leg has returned, and it discovers a new threat against its beloved country. As the Leg ventures across Mexico, it will encounter the strangest elements of Mexican folklore and history, and it will come face to face with its own turbulent legacy. A pastiche of Robert Rodriguez’ Mexico trilogy and the surrealist paintings of artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, THE LEG is an intensely original spin on the Spaghetti Western genre.

Launching today on Cinco de Mayo, a holiday that marks Mexico’s military triumph over France, the book is completely completed and money is being raised to cover the print bill.

Here's the Kickstarter video (which is also one of the most pleasing book trailers I have seen in ages):

I was exceptionally pleased to discover that one of the stretch goals for this Kickstarter include a Spanish Language edition of the graphic novel, which I feel is only right, and very important to help make happen.

The story, helped by the beautiful visuals, feels very Mexican with an amazing blend of political strife and grasping for power alongside a stubbornly surviving people, whose common sense and religious beliefs live side by side with their abounding superstitions and (possibly real) legends.

Inspired by random bits of folklore uttered by a professor in a Mexican history class, and ultimately illustrated by acclaimed artist and Mexican native, Jose Pimienta, The Leg shows a deep love of Latino culture, a fascination of the 'Other' and betrays a writer infused by tales and wonder.

Once Upon A Blog will be interviewing Mr. Jensen later this week to find out more about the mind and method behind The Leg, but today is launch day and besides, you need a little Mexico-folkloric in your life on Cinco de Mayo, don't you?

Start by checking out the first chapter - in full glorious color - of The Leg, which you can download directly from HERE then please consider helping the Kickstarter along, because the ultimate question we have to know is: will The Leg save Mexico?

Tons of "Fables" News: Movie Update, Willingham Teases End Of Series Details, the Fables Game "Levels Up" + Bonus Awesome Cosplay

Bigby Wolf & Snow White of Fables, "The Wolf Among Us" video game cosplay by Saskeks-Cosplay

The Fables movie news is pretty small but very significant. Warners is now in direct competition with Disney, now that Disney has bought Marvel so the amp up on superhero movies is expected and speculated on. The big question is, since it's Warner's property: will they be doing a Wonder Woman movie? The answer is "not yet" because there are a bunch of others already in production ahead in the cue, including...

...several other movies in development unconnected to the Justice League that are based on DC superheroes and fantasy and crime titles from its Vertigo line of genre comics, said Mr. Silverman and Toby Emmerich, president of Warner’s New Line Cinema label. They include “Shazam,” “Metal Men,” “100 Bullets,” and “Fables.” (Wall Street Journal)

What does that tell you? That Warners are confident enough in how the Fables movie is going that it's been put forward as a major property, currently in active development, and that other likely-to-be-hot properties (aka Wonder Woman) are going to have to wait their turn until after Fables is complete (or at least well established in actual production).

AKA: it's very good news! At least, that's where it stands right now, anyway. These things change so quickly but for the present it's full steam ahead on another fairy tale film of major proportions. *fistpump*

And regarding the long-running, critically acclaimed, Eisner Award-winning, fan-favorite comic book series, Fables ,wrap -up (cue wailing and gnashing of teeth), here's a little teaser that came out on Monday (April 29th), care of ComicBookMovie.com and DC All Access:

In this exclusive clip from DC All Access, Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham reminisce about their long running Vertigo fantasy series and share some hints on where it's going in its final year. Plus, look for an exclusive announcement about Fables #150 and the final arc of Fables!

Did they just say "I guess there MIGHT BE A POSSIBILITY of returning to those (surviving) characters..."? I hear more fairy tale possibilities for the future care of Willingham & Co... *double fistpump!*

By the way, the images are cosplay for the TellTale Games video game Fables prequel The Wolf Among Us. The talented cosplayers are Saskeks-Cosplay team and aren't the only cosplay I've seen for the game (though their comicbook-line approach is pretty cool and unique). And you know what they say about cosplay, right? OK, I don't know what the phrase is exactly but it's akin to someone tattooing one of your characters on their body. It's considered a "level-up". 

Note: the most recent episode of The Wolf Among Us, A Crooked Mile, is getting amazing reviews. It's been called addicting and akin to The Walking Dead (which TellTale Games won Game of the Year for last year). The Wolf Among Us seemed to slump slightly with the second chapter but people are revved all over again and demanding the next chapter release dates be moved up. (I'm sure they're adding a pretty please in there somewhere... with bared fangs..)

Additional sources: HERE & HERE (and a ton of other reviews from gamers - official and amateur)

"Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer!" (Real Boy? No. Real Hero? Yes!) The Complete Collection Coming June

Back in the middle of 2009 (!) I posted on a new and innovative graphic novel, titled Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer! and was a little stunned no one had ever thought of such a wonderful idea match before. Because it works, really well. I'm not the only one who thinks so either. Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer! has garnered much critical praise as well as enthusiastic recommendations from respected comic book reviewers and online Geek kings such as Topless Robot.

There have been two volumes published since but now a new company has taken the creative team of Dusty Higgins and Van Jensen under their wings and is releasing a soft cover, French-flapped, 500+ page graphic novel of the trilogy in June this year (which is all four volumes - part three was published in two parts).

Note for fairy tale enthusiasts: a former newspaper crime reporter, writer Van Jensen is clearly drawn to fairy tales. He's also the author of Snow White: Through A Glass, Darkly.

Here's the press release:

After gathering substantial praise for their individual volumes, artist Dusty Higgins and writer Van Jensen officially join the Top Shelf family this summer with the first-ever complete collection of Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer! 

Click through for more details and a 12-page preview. (Just click on the book cover image to start.)

This puppet may not be a real boy… but he just might be a real hero.

When bloodthirsty monsters invade Pinocchio’s hometown and kill his father Geppetto, Pinocchio discovers a new benefit to his magical nose: telling lies produces a never-ending supply of wooden stakes to combat the vampire hordes! Will Pinocchio be able to defeat these horrors, avenge his father, and save his friends?

Jensen (Green Lantern Corps) and Higgins (Knights of the Living Dead) present a captivating blend of comedy, horror, romance, and adventure, rooted in the original Italian novel but brought – as if by magic – to new life.

 One of YALSA’s Top Ten Graphic Novels for Teens!“It’s the greatest thing I’ve read all year. And you’ll notice my nose didn’t grow one bit when I said that.” — Mark Waid“Page after page of amazement.” — Publishers Weekly“The premise for this graphic novel is really almost too good to be true… and the execution doesn’t disappoint.” — Booklist“Outstanding.” — Topless Robot“Sometimes dark, sometimes silly, but always fun, Pinocchio coming of age Batman-style is just the thing for fantasy and horror fans.” — MTV“Really, really good.” — Comics Alliance“Seriously, it’s perfect.” — Comic Book Resources

I've really enjoyed the art, the writing and ideas behind this series and am seriously considering picking up this special edition copy! As an extra incentive, Amazon currently has a pre-order price deal of over $6 off HERE.

You can check out the original trailer, which neatly shows you the art style, story concept and balance of humor and urban fantasy, HERE. Highly recommended if you like comics, urban fantasy, Pinocchio, fairy tales and being generally cool. ;)

Original Release banner

Fables TV Ad for BBC America (An Old Post You Never Saw, Updated So It Makes Sense Now)

-- Look! It's an old draft that never got posted and is somehow relevant again! I've kept some of the old post, added updates and smeared the words around a bit to hopefully make a little more sense in regards to where we are with Fables today.--

People who don't read comic books wonder what the big deal is about Fables.

Fairy tale folk who don't read comic book are among them but there's good reason we should be keeping an eye on this graphic novel series by Bill Willingham: what if the fairy tale characters we know and love got chased out of their own land and ended up stranded in our modern day world, where nobody was allowed to discover their storybook backgrounds?

Update:
We now know that:
1) Fables is a HUGE hit. Continually critically acclaimed, winner of multiple awards and written and illustrated by heavy hitters in the writing and comic art world, they're currently into issue #131 (not including spin-off issues or specials so add maybe close to 100 issues on top of that) and have self-contained stories and spin-offs for different characters such as Jack and Cinderella and now there's a whole new series spin-off, Fairest, for the ladies of Fable town, which is proving just as popular.

2) Outside the comic geek community the idea of fairy tale characters stranded in our world has proved popular with ABCs TV series Once Upon A Time. The series has been accused called "Fables-light" for the similar premise, of which the public are eating up.

So why hasn't Fables (which is clearly excellent in its own field, as well as the premise and content proving popular in public viewing) made the move to TV or the movies yet? (Even though there have been numerous attempts to do so, none have resulted in anything except disappointment so far.)

One popular theory is that it's REALLY HARD to market comic books to non-comic book people. But I have to wonder: IS it really hard, or have people just not thought about the comic book property in the same way they do a show, book or movie, with regard to the marketing? With the rise in popularity (Update: and - FINALLY - in quality) of book trailers out there (Update: these have become almost standard now and people/companies are getting creative with production and presentation) it's about time someone thought to do something similar for Fables. (Update: this trailer is from October 2009.)

Take a look:

While I'm really glad this has helped garner interest in the general public, I do have to say I'm disappointed. (Really disappointed!) Apart from the stunning art stills, which are mostly from the covers, the quality is definitely on the low side. But why? I know people are probably still getting their feet wet with "how do you advertise a comic book (ie. a static art form /narrative combo) on a moving medium like TV?" issues but this could have been mind blowing (seriously mind-blowing!) if they'd presented it better.

Update: And I also have to wonder, if they'd gotten this ad "right" back in 2009 if Fables would have beaten Once Upon A Time to TV after all... Of course, we'll never know now but I do hope they figure out another marketing strategy to use in the lead up to the movie buzz, rather than just rely on what the production company produce and piggy-back off that. While I'm incredibly overjoyed to know that "thars-a-Fables-movie-a-comin'!" the Fables serial comics, graphic novels and spin-offs have their own well deserved merit and should be able to stand on their own two feet, er, spines. I worry that if they (DC & Willingham) can't figure out how to encourage people to enjoy the graphic novels in their original medium that a whole generation will "just-go-see-the-movie" and miss out on the richness of storytelling and fairy tale evolution happening on the Fables pages. Let's hope they figure out how to make the Fables movie an encouragement to go pick up the series instead.

Note: There are some more trailers on YouTube for the Fables series, and some tributes though none of them are official. This one HERE tries to transition people from Disney to Fables and show the difference. It's somewhat successful in concept but is lengthy and the text is difficult to read over the images (and using any sort of Disney property doesn't sit well with me here). You DO get to see some beautiful artwork from Fables though and get an idea of the twists the stories take, so if you're finally feeling interested in Fables and want more of an overview before buying, this should give you some idea of how the series develops and how the fairy tale characters play out their stories.

In the meantime, while we wait to see what happens with the movie and the marketing surrounding it, I'll keep up the Fables-watch and report anything I see happening.

Labyrinth Prequel Available For Pre-Order

And it's beautiful!

Illustrated by the amazing fantasy and fairy tale artist, Cory Godbey, this soon-to-be-released hardcover is definitely on my wishlist. (If you want a quick overview of his work you can check the OUABlog Pinterest board for Godbey HERE.)

The plot, being a prequel, revolves around how Jareth became The Goblin King Sarah encounters in the movie, giving us a strong sense that this story has been going on (or in circles) for a very long time (sounds very "Faerie").

Synopsis from Amazon.com:

Archaia and The Jim Henson Company are proud to present an original prequel to Jim Henson’s classic fantasy film. Labyrinth is one of Jim Henson's most beloved works, with a built-in audience of millions of fans worldwide. Years before Sarah entered the labyrinth, a young boy named Jareth faced his own incredible journey in a desperate attempt to rescue his true love from the clutches of the wicked and beautiful Goblin Queen. This graphic novel is produced under the complete supervision of Lisa Henson, the daughter of the late Jim Henson and CEO of the Jim Henson Company.

Although the book isn't set to be released until April 29, 2014 (Argh! So far away!) you can now pre-order, and get a decent discount to boot, HERE. (*cheers*)

We got a little preview of how the book might look on free-comic book day (May 4, 2013) and after I tracked one down I was even more impressed than I expected to be. Cory's illustrations are just perfect and fit the Labyrinth designs so well, it almost appears as if they were meant to be drawn that way from the start. Peeks are below:

The prequel writers are Ted Naifeh (who has recently been working with Holly Black) and Adrianne Ambrose (nominated for a Writers Guild of America award for her work writing video games) and worked very closely with Lisa Henson (the late Jim Henson's daughter) as well as the Jim Henson company in general, which means, this project wasn't just farmed out for profit. The people in charge of the Labyrinth "property" (rights) cared very much about how it came together and I think it shows.

Here's what we were told was in the works when the prequel was first announced (excerpts from the exclusive article with EW on January 6, 2012):

“We can say it’s a prequel*,” (Archaia editor-in-chief Stephen Christy) says with understandable excitement. “It’s the story of how Jareth is brought into the Labyrinth for the first time. So, it doesn’t deal with Sarah, it doesn’t deal with Toby or anything like that."

...“It’s a very tragic story that is the opposite of Sarah’s, which has triumph at the end,” Christy explains. “It’s a prequel, so we know what happens in the movie. We know how it’s going to end: Jareth is going to be the Goblin King … so we’re showing how he’s pulled into the Labyrinth for the first time. It’s going to be cool. We’re switching up the dynamic of it, but what we’re doing is completely true to the spirit of the original.”  

...Of course, since music also a played such a large role in the movie, Christy is hoping to see songs integrated into the graphic novel as well. “I don’t know if this will work out,” he cautions, “but I want to do songs where they’re songs being sung (by characters) and we show the notes on the page, so you can actually play along.”  Which only begs the question: will these be David Bowie songs?  “We’re talking,” he says with a smile. “The budget to get Bowie to do one song would be the budget of all the books, but we’re talking to him to at least get his blessing or maybe an introduction or something.“ 

“He also has likeness approval,” Christy clarifies, an important fact given that the (as-of-yet-unannounced [Edit FTNH: Cory Godbey!]) artist on the book will be “drawing Jareth like a young David Bowie.” The character would be Sarah’s age or a little older during the course of the story. “He’s kind of a punk in his own way. We’re huge fans so we know that if we’re getting excited, other fans will.”  

...“I hope that Jim would be happy to see how a whole generation grew up with this movie,” he says, reflecting on the film’s cult following. “Labyrinth was a big deal to a lot of people. It was one of those movies that stays with you from your childhood. We can probably count on two hands the movies that really affected us when we were kids, and I think for a lot of people Labyrinth was one of them.”

So we have yet to find out how much of the original intent remains. All we can say for certain right now is that it's gorgeous!

* The graphic novel follows a series of manga sequels to Labyrinth, which featured an older Toby as he returned to the Labyrinth to become Jareth's heir.

Hallmark Transforming "Mirror Mirror" Comic Into Family Movie "The Hunters"

And it's getting a few known names attached along the way. Joshua Williamson's graphic novel "Mirror Mirror" (released Nov 2010) is essentially a mash-up of Snow White, Indiana Jones and Warehouse 13. With kids. (So much fun!)

Mirror Mirror 1

Read the pages below on the left in order for a little taste of the graphic novel, this section featuring Red Riding Hood tale motifs, showing how it ties into modern day and the real world.

Hallmark Released Synopsis:Carter and Jordyn Flynn (Payne, Forbes) aren't the average mom and dad. For them, a typical workday can take place anywhere in the world, raiding ornate museums and evading pursuing authorities as Hunters, protectors of powerful fairy tale artifacts that are anything but make believe. (Edit FTNH: Definitely sounds like a special annex of Warehouse 13!) 

While they take their jobs seriously, they're just as concerned about the welfare of their two sons, 21-year old Paxton (Amell) and 16-year old Tripp (Tracey), who are unaware of their parents' true line of work. 

When Carter and Jordyn disappear during one of their missions, the boys learn the truth about their parents and their lineage. They turn to old family friend Mason (Garber) for help but they soon discover that the deceitful Mason is after what the Flynns were trying to protect - an enchanted mirror that has the ability to grant any wish. It's got quite a history, too: It's the same mirror that played a pivotal role in the destiny of Snow White. It becomes evident that it's up to the valiant brothers and Dylan to save the day before very real fairy tale magic falls into Mason's less-than-worthy hands. (Source) 

Cont... Mirror Mirror 2

For those not familiar with Joshua Williamson's Mirror Mirror, here's an excerpt from an interview with the author by Comic Vine just before the graphic novel was released.

Joshua Williamson:   Mirror, Mirror is about the magic mirror from the Snow White fairy tale. In our story Snow White destroyed the magic mirror and scattered its pieces across the globe to keep it from ever being rebuilt. She then created a group called the Huntsmen to protect the pieces from evil.   

(Edit FTNH: Also shades of Snow Queen here - a shattered evil mirror with pieces scattered over the globe..)

Now in present day a young man named Owen Grimm is the newest Huntsman and is trying to stop a wicked Prince from putting the evil mirror back together and using it to rule the world. 

As to why someone should pick it up… If you’re looking a family friendly adventure story that is fun for everyone you should pick this up. If you like the Indiana Jones films or National Treasure, this book is for you.  

CV: Where did you get the idea from? Do you often think about twists to old fairy tales?  

Cont... Mirror Mirror 3

JW:  This idea sprang from me wanting to do an adventure book, something with someone searching for something. Crazy vague, I know. The thing is what is out that hasn’t already been found? 

One story that has always bugged me was Snow White. We get this nice happy ending where Prince Charming rides off with Snow White in his arms and the evil old Step Mother is dead. But what happened to that evil Mirror? It was manipulative and has insane powers, and could be argued was the real bad guy of the story. One day I just put two and two together and thought “what if Snow White destroyed the mirror?”   

A line of dialogue that never made it into the script was of Snow White saying “Mirror, Mirror on the wall… do you know what I’m going to do with this?” while she was holding a giant sledge hammer. I’m pretty sure that was the first line of dialogue I wrote but it just never made it in the actual finished script. It was just the germ of an idea that lead to the whole book. 

Yeah, I’m always thinking of twists on classic fairy tales, but not just fairy tales… myths, legends, fables, you name it. 

CV: What makes this take on Snow White and the Magic Mirror different from the stories told in Vertigo's FABLES?  

Cont... Mirror Mirror 4

JW: F or starters we never actually see Snow White in this story except for in a few panels in flashback. I love Vertigo’s Fables, but I still wanted to make sure that we stayed far away from what they’ve done. We don’t have any actual live fables or other characters running around. There are ties to the stories, but a big part of the book is that all those fairy tales and myths came from some kind of truth and we explore that truth. For example, the big bad wolf, Bigby, in Fables is a shape shifter and sheriff, while in Mirror, Mirror, the big bad wolf is actually based off real life serial killer Peter Stumpp. 

This is more like the Indiana Jones films where it’s very grounded in reality with hints of supernatural building until it’s unleashed. (Source) 

I've been impressed in the past with Hallmark's handling of fairy tale movies (eg Snow Queen, Hans Christian Andersen). Some of their made-for-TV fairy tale movies have had better quality storytelling and visuals than the big blockbusters and kept the fairy tale base solid, so while I still think of Hallmark in a "less-than" manner initially, perhaps we'll be pleasantly surprised by this too (fingers crossed!).

What I'm really hoping for is some well balanced but also meaty family entertainment with that mystery/adventure element middle graders seem to love, that delves into different tale details for clues on how to continue the adventure. While Once Upon A Time is generally family friendly it's more soap and less adventure (and has no resolution) than popular family films and series tend to be so perhaps this will bridge the gap.

Argo actor Victor Garber and The Killing's Michelle Forbes are set to star in the Hallmark Channel original movie The Hunters, which is scheduled to premiere October 25. Based on Mirror, Mirror, a comic book by Joshua Williamson, the film will be a part of Walden Family Theater, a new series of family movies to air on Friday nights. (Source) 

With the Fables movie quietly gaining momentum (*fistpump!*), this would be an excellent "fairy tales in the modern world" introduction to kids who aren't ready for something so adult but still want something a little Warehouse 13.

The comic looks like a lot of fun and with the right creative team a family movie could be too. (You can see a little more of the pages from Mirror Mirror HERE after the main article and there are a few more pages HERE too.)

If you'd like to grab one of your own, you can find copies of Mirror Mirror available HERE. It's also available for Kindle.

Sources: Hollywood Reporter, TVBroadwayWorld, ComicVine, ComicBookResources