Willingham, Bill - Fables: The Mean Seasons

[oyceter]

Wow, I haven't read Fables in a while. I originally loved the series -- it's about fairy tales and fables, all jaded and bitter, living in New York! How could I not love it?

But this collection and the last one (March of the Wooden Soldiers) have an underlying harshness to them that is disconcerting. It's not a sudden thing; it's been there all along, but it's been grating on me more. I can't tell if it's because londonkds's commentary on the way Willingham seems to tend toward the conservative or what. I noticed it especially in this collection.

It's the focus on Bigby and Snow as the sole people who can keep order in Fabletown, with the small exception of Rose Red, and it's especially apparent in this book, where Bigby stresses how he's the one who does the things that no one else wants to do or even know about, and it's those very same unsavory things that keep the town running. londonkds has been drawing parallels to extremely hawkish, conservative politics for a while, (alas, I cannot find the entries!), and it is rather unsettling reading about statements like this after a war and in the current political climate. I am also irked that Bigby gets a nifty, macho WWII war story background while Snow almost always is non-violent unless threatened and a firm believer in order.

I am further irritated by the fact that Snow is now up in the Farm, raising her six babies, while Bigby gets to run free, like an outlaw. Le sigh. It makes sense in terms of the story, but it still vastly irritates me that this always seems to happen to female characters that I like. For once, I would like them to not have miracle babies and become completely maternal.