Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Lofty ideals are to be lauded but inevitability they fall down, they crumble to dust and mud and in the end even the mightiest most noble truth comes crashing down because of instability in keeping an archetype principle alive.
With Bill Willingham’s Fables series, the ideal has always been within the reader’s grasp, a succession of books that ranks so highly in graphic novel lovers affections that it shares its crown with only the likes of Locke and Key with ease and panache. The ideal though takes a turn in the 20th of the graphic novels through the epitome to be found in one of ancient Britain’s most enduring tales, one passed on to even greater heights in Thomas Malory’s tale of Le Morte d’Arthur, as the thought of Camelot comes into play.
If ever there was a series of characters that could only ever advance an already popular set of books then the life of those who served under the ancient King of the Britons is such a cause to include, especially that of the man who helped break Camelot in the first place, the loyal to a point but with a wandering eye, Lancelot.
The story is a natural one but not one without its relationship casualties, the fruition of Rose Red’s search for meaning in her existence means that the rift that once existed between her and her sister is one that will unravel and without the steadying influence of Snow White’s husband, the anger that flows between these once close siblings will erupt in ways that will ultimately thrill the reader but also devastate them also.
It is in the realisation of what such power can hold, in that cycle of noble virtue to which we all aspire but cannot ever contain, that Camelot breaks itself into the readers conscious. The loft ideal tempered by heartbreak, one that can bring people together but ultimately drives them apart or finds a willing host to play the part of bringing the whole shining edifice down.
Camelot is a towering issue, a virtuous endeavour to which only Bill Willingham could have brought to the table.
Fables: Camelot is available to purchase from Worlds Apart on Lime Street, Liverpool.
Ian D. Hall