Bill Winllingham's Prose Novel, Peter and Max

I wish I could say I have been reading Fables since issue 1 – that I had foreseen how amazing it would be and jumped in at ground zero. Sadly I wasn’t introduced to the world of Willingham’s creation until after issue 57 by Veronica who had become a major fan herself. Fables is the comic book equivalent of the gateway drug. It holds a surprising amount of appeal to almost anyone due to the brilliant premise of using characters from everyone’s childhood. And so while I was thrilled to hear about the Fable’s universe’s first foray into a prose format, I wasn’t exactly shocked. If anything could lure more unsuspecting readers into the world of Vertigo’s amazing comic, it would be a book – a book named Peter & Max.

I wasn’t worried in the slightest about whether or not Willingham’s first dabble into the world of Fables prose would be worth reading – 1001 Nights of Snowfall was fantastic enough that I bought it twice and I still read it on occasion because it never fails to impress me.  It organically expanded how I viewed Fables could be presented and paved the way for Willingham to pen his first novel. The only thing that worried me was that the story would focus on two characters that Willingham had said had only appeared in a single panel each of the comic. How silly of me to fret.

The greatest thing that can be said about Peter & Max is that somehow is somehow paradoxical in nature. It is a wonderful standalone story, one that could be enjoyed by anyone who is intrigued by the premise regardless of their exposure to Fables proper. But on the other hand it is also perfect for the Fables reader, a story that while it heads off on its own path holds enough cameo appearances and ‘A-ha!’ moments that would make any fan smile and enjoy the story just a little bit more.

The story is simple enough in premise. It is the tale of the two brothers Peter & Max. Peter is perhaps best known for his aptitude in picking peppers of the pickled variety, while Max is notorious for being a certain pied piper. And while Max gets all the credit for playing the pipe, it is his brother Peter that is the more accomplished musician. Peter is the younger more innocent brother, whereas Max lends himself more towards humanity’s darker natures. This leads to a story rife with rivalry, betrayal, death, discovery, hatred, love, and vengeance.

Max’s evil and power has grown so much since the Fable’s exodus to the Mundy world that Peter is dispatched to deal with him by Bigby Wolf and Frau Totinkinder, both of whom are reticent to deal with him personally – a fact that Fables fans will no doubt find intriguing. Just how exactly did a pied piper become so feared and powerful? How exactly can a man who plays a pipe and pick peppers stop him? No one knows, not even Peter himself which is why he heads off on a journey to rid the world of his family’s black sheep.

I must thank Jason profusely for allowing me the chance to read this. It clocks in at a little over 300 pages, but due to my voracious appetite of all things Fable, I finished the book in half a day, partly because I wanted to return the book as quickly as I could to the kind generous man, but mostly because Willingham had written a book that lended itself to the ‘just one more page’ mentality. I literally could not put it down. Willingham has a knack for creating loveable (and hateable) characters that you just can’t help but feel invested in their histories as well as their futures. You genuinely come to care for everyone, no matter how small a role they seem to play. The author also is quite accomplished at painting scenes in your mind of locales and situations without bogging the plot down in exposition and heavy handed descriptions. It all comes out feeling organic and just… ‘right.’ The only downside I can find with the book is the introduction – several pages that Fables fans will find terribly redundant as it introduces the world of Fables. I understand the necessity of it, new readers will most likely appreciate the crash course, but longtime readers will most likely roll their eyes and slog onwards until they reach the true beginning of the tale.