1001 Nights of Snowfall
Encyclopedia
Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall is a graphic novel
prequel to the comic book
series Fables written by series creator Bill Willingham
with a variety of artists. It was released on October 18, 2006
by Vertigo.
In the story Snow White
has been sent to negotiate with the Arabian fables. The sultan
, considering it an insult that a woman was sent to negotiate, holds her hostage. Snow White tells him a story every night to keep him from beheading
her.
, when Snow White was sent as an envoy to the lands of the Arabian Fables. But the Arabian Fables are actually offended that a woman would be sent to negotiate. When she catches the eye of the sultan, Snow finds herself filling the unenviable role of Scheherazade
, the teller of the original One Thousand and One Arabian Nights tales.
Snow has to amuse the Sultan with tales of wonder and imagination every night - for a thousand and one nights - to keep her head off the chopping block. We see the stories as Snow tells them in a framing sequence similar to the original. Running the gamut from horror to dark intrigue to mercurial coming-of-age, it reveals the secret histories of familiar characters through a series of compelling and visually illustrative tales.
, inked and painted by Charles Vess. It's the framing story, text with illustrations, like a lavishly illustrated old time storybook. Nineteen pages, seven of which are full splash pages.
. This story also further explains where Snow and Charming's marriage may have gone wrong.
. Fourteen pages in length, this story focuses on Reynard's behavior in a remote wooded valley, reminiscent of the world of Narnia. In the story, Reynard tricks the armies of the Adversary into baking and delivering pies to a clearing to replicate the "miracle of the Christmas pies". This ruse allows the trapped animals an opportunity, not only to eat, but to escape from the valley and into the mundane world.
. Eight pages. It concerns Flycatcher
's life from the moment he became human and fell in love, as well as some details of his and his family's life living "happily ever after" before the Adversary's forces invaded their kingdom. It is revealed that in the past when Flycatcher (then known as Prince Ambrose) was nervous, afraid or overly excited he would transform into a frog and only transform back into his human form when he was kissed by his wife. The story also covers his last days in the Homelands and reveals the tragic reason why he was able to escape the Adversary's invasion while his wife and children did not.
. Thirteen pages long. It's described as a 'dire tale' and focuses on Bigby Wolf
's mother, Winter, and the North Wind. It also gives us a glimpse of some of Bigby's past, prior to his reformation.
) is cursed from harekind to humankind to live out his days until "the true love of a doe of our people restores you to harekind".
. Fourteen pages long, it revolves around Snow, her sister Rose, and Frau Totenkinder
, and includes the first visual look at Snow and Bigby's first meeting. Also used as a framing story for the "The Witch's Tale".
, "The Witch's Tale" tells us the background of Frau Totenkinder
, as well as revealing her many previously unrevealed connections to other fables, such as Hansel and Prince Ambrose.
. At two pages, and written as a cautionary tale
, it tells the story of a very adventurous girl named Mersey Dotes who has traveled the globe and then wishes to travel the sea and therefore becomes a mermaid
. Not too long after Mersey joins the merfolk village under the sea, however, the Adversary launches a capture of sea kingdoms. This causes Mersey to be the "big fish" of the Farm in the mundane world, since she is unable to pass as human in Fabletown. She is seen chatting with Reynard Fox about her discontent with the fact that she is stuck in a little lake and not traveling.
. It's about King Cole, but the Mean Little Sunflower Kid and other Fables that live at the farm including the Badger, the Three Blind Mice
, and the Three Bears all make an appearance. It tells how King Cole very unselfishly shared all of the food with his subjects before himself; and how, when he collapsed from hunger, his subjects all worked toward salvaging him food.
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
prequel to the comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series Fables written by series creator Bill Willingham
Bill Willingham
Bill Willingham is an American writer and artist of comics.-Career:Willingham got his start in the late 1970s to early 1980s as a staff artist for TSR, Inc., where he illustrated a number of their role-playing game products...
with a variety of artists. It was released on October 18, 2006
2006 in comics
-January:*January 1, 2006: Newsweek offer a look back at 2005 through editorial cartoons. *January 2, 2006: The Cincinnati Enquirer cartoonist Jim Borgman starts a blog to detail his creative process...
by Vertigo.
In the story Snow White
Snow White (Fables)
Snow White is a major character in the comic book series Fables. Her character is based on two myths recorded by the Brothers Grimm, Snow-White and Rose-Red and the more famous Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.-Early life:...
has been sent to negotiate with the Arabian fables. The sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
, considering it an insult that a woman was sent to negotiate, holds her hostage. Snow White tells him a story every night to keep him from beheading
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
her.
Plot
This tale is set in the 19th century, in the early days of FabletownFabletown
Fabletown is the fictional, clandestine community of "Fables" resident in New York in the Fables comic book universe. It exists in two locations, one being Bullfinch Street in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and the other on a large farm in upstate New York, protected with magical spells that...
, when Snow White was sent as an envoy to the lands of the Arabian Fables. But the Arabian Fables are actually offended that a woman would be sent to negotiate. When she catches the eye of the sultan, Snow finds herself filling the unenviable role of Scheherazade
Scheherazade
Scheherazade , sometimes Scheherazadea, Persian transliteration Shahrazad or Shahrzād is a legendary Persian queen and the storyteller of One Thousand and One Nights.-Narration :...
, the teller of the original One Thousand and One Arabian Nights tales.
Snow has to amuse the Sultan with tales of wonder and imagination every night - for a thousand and one nights - to keep her head off the chopping block. We see the stories as Snow tells them in a framing sequence similar to the original. Running the gamut from horror to dark intrigue to mercurial coming-of-age, it reveals the secret histories of familiar characters through a series of compelling and visually illustrative tales.
A Most Troublesome Woman
Penciled by Michael Wm. KalutaMichael William Kaluta
Michael William Kaluta, sometimes credited as Mike Kaluta or Michael Wm. Kaluta , is an American comic book artist and writer.-Early life:Born in Guatemala to U.S...
, inked and painted by Charles Vess. It's the framing story, text with illustrations, like a lavishly illustrated old time storybook. Nineteen pages, seven of which are full splash pages.
The Fencing Lessons
Painted by John Bolton. The longest story in the collection, at 32 or 33 pages, it illustrates the first few days of Snow White and Prince Charming's married life. It also reveals the unpleasant circumstances behind Snow White's problem with dwarves, providing a somewhat darker twist on the original fairytaleSnow White
"Snow White" is a fairy tale known from many countries in Europe, the best known version being the German one collected by the Brothers Grimm...
. This story also further explains where Snow and Charming's marriage may have gone wrong.
The Christmas Pies
Painted by Mark BuckinghamMark Buckingham
Mark Buckingham is a British comic book artist. He is better known for his work on Marvelman and Fables.-Biography:Born as Mark John Buckingham May 23, 1966 in Clevedon, United Kingdom...
. Fourteen pages in length, this story focuses on Reynard's behavior in a remote wooded valley, reminiscent of the world of Narnia. In the story, Reynard tricks the armies of the Adversary into baking and delivering pies to a clearing to replicate the "miracle of the Christmas pies". This ruse allows the trapped animals an opportunity, not only to eat, but to escape from the valley and into the mundane world.
A Frog's Eye View
Painted by James JeanJames Jean
James Jean is a Taiwanese-American visual artist, known for both his commercial work and fine art gallery work. He is known in the American comics industry as a cover artist for various books published by DC Comics, as well as for his work for Prada, ESPN and Atlantic Records...
. Eight pages. It concerns Flycatcher
Flycatcher (comics)
Flycatcher, or Prince Ambrose and later King Ambrose, is a fictional character in the comic book series Fables, created by Bill Willingham...
's life from the moment he became human and fell in love, as well as some details of his and his family's life living "happily ever after" before the Adversary's forces invaded their kingdom. It is revealed that in the past when Flycatcher (then known as Prince Ambrose) was nervous, afraid or overly excited he would transform into a frog and only transform back into his human form when he was kissed by his wife. The story also covers his last days in the Homelands and reveals the tragic reason why he was able to escape the Adversary's invasion while his wife and children did not.
The Runt
Painted by Mark WheatleyMark Wheatley (comics)
Mark Wheatley is an American illustrator, writer, editor, and publisher in the comic book field. Wheatley's comic book and pulp creations include Breathtaker, Mars, and Blood of the Innocent, all illustrated by his frequent collaborator Marc Hempel...
. Thirteen pages long. It's described as a 'dire tale' and focuses on Bigby Wolf
Bigby Wolf
Bigby Wolf is a major character in the comic book series Fables. He is the Big Bad Wolf of legend and served as the sheriff of the exile community known as Fabletown for several hundred years...
's mother, Winter, and the North Wind. It also gives us a glimpse of some of Bigby's past, prior to his reformation.
A Mother's Love
Painted by Derek Kirk Kim. A three-page tale about hares, in which Colonel Thunderfoot (an original character, based on the rabbit mythology of Watership DownWatership Down
Watership Down is a classic heroic fantasy novel, written by English author Richard Adams, about a small group of rabbits. Although the animals in the story live in their natural environment, they are anthropomorphised, possessing their own culture, language , proverbs, poetry, and mythology...
) is cursed from harekind to humankind to live out his days until "the true love of a doe of our people restores you to harekind".
Diaspora
Illustrated by Tara McPhersonTara McPherson
Tara McPherson is an American artist based out of New York City. She studied art at Santa Monica Community College and earned her BFA from Art Center in Pasadena, CA in August 2001 with honors in Illustration and a minor in Fine Art, working on Matt Groening's Futurama during college.-Career:Tara...
. Fourteen pages long, it revolves around Snow, her sister Rose, and Frau Totenkinder
Frau Totenkinder
Frau Totenkinder is a fictional character in the comic book series Fables, created by Bill Willingham. Leader of the magicians of Fabletown, Totenkinder represents many of the unnamed witches found in tales and legends...
, and includes the first visual look at Snow and Bigby's first meeting. Also used as a framing story for the "The Witch's Tale".
The Witch's Tale
Painted by Esao AndrewsEsao Andrews
Esao Andrews is an American painter, working with oil on wood panels. His work blends Gothic grotesque, erotic and surrealism.-Life:Andrews was born and grew up in Mesa, Arizona where he attended Red Mountain High School...
, "The Witch's Tale" tells us the background of Frau Totenkinder
Frau Totenkinder
Frau Totenkinder is a fictional character in the comic book series Fables, created by Bill Willingham. Leader of the magicians of Fabletown, Totenkinder represents many of the unnamed witches found in tales and legends...
, as well as revealing her many previously unrevealed connections to other fables, such as Hansel and Prince Ambrose.
What You Wish For
Illustrated by Brian BollandBrian Bolland
Brian Bolland is a British comics artist, known for his meticulous, detailed linework and eye-catching compositions. Best known in the UK as one of the definitive Judge Dredd artists for British comics anthology 2000 AD, he spearheaded the 'British Invasion' of the American comics industry, and in...
. At two pages, and written as a cautionary tale
Cautionary tale
A cautionary tale is a tale told in folklore, to warn its hearer of a danger. There are three essential parts to a cautionary tale, though they can be introduced in a large variety of ways. First, a taboo or prohibition is stated: some act, location, or thing is said to be dangerous. Then, the...
, it tells the story of a very adventurous girl named Mersey Dotes who has traveled the globe and then wishes to travel the sea and therefore becomes a mermaid
Mermaid
A mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a female human head, arms, and torso and the tail of a fish. A male version of a mermaid is known as a "merman" and in general both males and females are known as "merfolk"...
. Not too long after Mersey joins the merfolk village under the sea, however, the Adversary launches a capture of sea kingdoms. This causes Mersey to be the "big fish" of the Farm in the mundane world, since she is unable to pass as human in Fabletown. She is seen chatting with Reynard Fox about her discontent with the fact that she is stuck in a little lake and not traveling.
Fair Division
Painted by Jill ThompsonJill Thompson
Jill Thompson is an American comic book writer and illustrator. Probably better known for her work on Neil Gaiman's The Sandman characters and her own Scary Godmother series, she has also worked on The Invisibles, Swamp Thing, and Wonder Woman.-Career:Jill Thompson illustrated The Sandman story...
. It's about King Cole, but the Mean Little Sunflower Kid and other Fables that live at the farm including the Badger, the Three Blind Mice
Three Blind Mice
Three Blind Mice is an English nursery rhyme and musical round. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3753.-Lyrics:The modern words are:-Variations and uses:Amateur music composer Thomas Oliphant noted in 1843 that:...
, and the Three Bears all make an appearance. It tells how King Cole very unselfishly shared all of the food with his subjects before himself; and how, when he collapsed from hunger, his subjects all worked toward salvaging him food.