Fable Comics: Amazing Cartoonists Take on Classic Fables from Aesop and Beyond

Duffy adds to his stellar series of traditional tales reimagined by renowned graphic storytellers. As with Nursery Rhyme Comics and Fairy Tale Comics, the artwork is uniformly excellent and the writing is sharp. In these 28 mostly familiar fables (largely from Aesop, with a smattering from other sources), the characters are so engaging that when the fables end abruptly--as fables tend to--it's tough to let them go. How can readers resist the charm of Maris Wicks's nerdy sprat, who shares information about cetacean biology while trying to bring peace to warring dolphins and whales ("Might I also add that the artist has drawn our skirmishing cetaceans with human arms... preposterous!" he grouses)? Or James Kochalka's lunk-headed fox: "Happy little foxes love sweet juicy grapes! Is today my secret magic birthday or something?" Visual styles range from Simone Lia's stylized graphic shapes to R. Sikoryak's dead-on tribute to Krazy Kat's George Herriman and Jennifer L. Meyer's gauzy baroque set pieces. Readers who first encounter these fables through this collection may be disappointed when they go back to the originals; they'll seem dry by comparison. Ages 6-12. (Sept.)

This title rounds off the successful Nursery Rhyme Comics (2011) and Fairy Tale Comics (2013, both First Second) collections, which contain short tales adapted by popular cartoonists. The majority of the fables in this installment are from Aesop, but there is also a sampling of selections from countries including Angola and India and famous writers such as Ambrose Bierce. Fables lend themselves well to graphic novel format, and the cartoonists do an excellent job of keeping the morals of the stories intact while providing a modern update by changing the setting or putting their own spin on these classic tales. Most notable are those adapted by "Olympians" (First Second) author George O'Connor, which make clever use of the Greek god Hermes. Avid graphic novel readers will recognize the bold colors, thick-outlined characters, and stylized font of James Kochalka, creator of the "Johnny Boo" series (Top Shelf) in "The Fox and the Grapes." VERDICT This collection of humorous, child-friendly pieces should be a first purchase for school and public library collections.—Marissa Lieberman, East Orange Public Library, NJ