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The Books of Faerie
Bronwyn Carlton & Peter Gross, with John Ney Rieber
Titan paperback (standard graphic novel format), 136 pages, £9.99 
Review by David Clark (1998)

The Books of Faerie is sort-of-actually part of the The Books of Magic. This volume collects two extra stories and at the same time forms a companion to the Vertigo series written by John Ney Rieber and originally set up by Neil Gaiman. Also, there’s a crossover element with Gaiman’s Sandman series, where the Faerie and Titania originated. 

Complicated? Not really. One of the ways in which this book is nice is that you don’t need to have read tons of other comics to be able to follow it. At least, at present it’s uncomplicated. These are, surely, key episodes in what I’ll call the Books of Magic saga, so let’s hope they won’t be contradicted when I go back to reading the series in the right order.

(When I say that the Faerie originated in Sandman, I mean as far as the Books of Magic universe is concerned. Obviously they come by way of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which is itself part of Sandman continuity as a work of fiction and, of course, via a thousand other sources. Just so you know that I’m not ignorant.)

The first story, in three parts, revolves around Titania, and dates back to 11th century England. It’s a prequel, with surprises about certain characters. This is set before Neil Gaiman’s original four issue Books of Magic limited series, and is chronologically the first instalment of the saga, though originally written and published in the USA some time later. The other features Timothy Hunter’s first meeting with his true father. It’s set after that first limited series but before the ongoing Books of Magic series and is therefore the third instalment, and ties in nicely with Gaiman’s Sandman and Death series as well. 

There’s nice artwork throughout this collection, and both stories are good fantasy tales. I want to read more by Bronwyn Carlton. They also fill in some gaps in the saga and clear up some of the mysteries set up by the earlier works. The storytelling is important to continuity, so I’m not going to give the details away. The ongoing series itself may not, from the few, isolated issues I’ve seen so far, be worth the particularly discerning reader’s attention, but this is okay. If you do try it, start with the first story here, then read Gaiman’s aforementioned Books of Magic limited series, then read the second story here, then start reading the Vertigo Books of Magic series from #1, or reprints thereof. Clear? Good.