Fables II: Animal Farm

Animal Farm is the second installment in Bill Willingham's Fables series. Although I didn't like it quite as much as the first story, it was still pretty enjoyable. I think a lot of the references simply went over my head, since I never read George Orwell's Animal Farm. It becomes obvious pretty quickly that this tale of politics is referencing its namesake quite a bit. But the parts I did understand were cool.

The fables, as the refer to themselves are mostly confined to two separate communities. The ones that either are or can pass as human mostly live in NYC in a kind of underground society. The non-human creatures live on a massive farm in upstate New York. Although they have plenty of room, the farm is something of a prison. After all, if a "mundy" were to stumble across a talking pig or s giant, the cover of the fables would be blown.

During a routine check on conditions at the farm, Snow White and her sister, Rose Red, discover a conspiracy born out of the frustration the animals feel at not being able to leave. They've been building a weapons cache and intend to take their lands back from The Adversary. But the plan is not only ill-formed, it puts the animals in opposition to the human fables. With Goldilocks leading the opposition and Red Rose defecting to their side pretty quickly, Snow White is essentially on her own to figure out how to stop the uprising.

Although I have a strange urge to read George Orwell's book now (strange because I have very little desire to ever read Orwell again), I liked the parts of this story that I did understand. I don't think I missed out on too much. And I really enjoyed the conclusion, which meditates a bit on the strength of stories

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