Graphically Challenged

I've never really understood the appeal of graphic novels for adults. I can understand why kids like them. I read a few as a kid, but as I got older I became less and less interested. Nevertheless, in an effort to broaden my reading, I read my first adult graphic novel. Bill Willingham's Fables series can be described as a darker, more adult take on the classic fairy tales we grew up with. This is exactly why I loved Gregory Maguire's Wicked and Mirror, Mirror, so this sounded like a good fit for my tastes. The series is about the characters (or Fables) of Fairyland, who have been driven out of their homeland by the evil Adversary. The Fables are living in exile in a clandestine community in Manhattan. In 1001 Nights of Snowfall, Snow White visits Arabia as an emissary to convince the Sultan to stand with them against the Adversary. Snow entertains the Sultan with stories about the Fables. We hear stories about the Big Bad Wolf, King Cole, the frog prince and even Snow White herself. I enjoyed it. I did have some difficulties figuring out how to read it. Do I look at the pictures first or do I read the print first? It was a little distracting, but I understand that's common for people who aren't used to reading graphic novels. But the stories were interesting. Quite dark, which I liked. The stories were fairly short, so you can read one in a sitting. The artwork was fantastic. Each story was illustrated by a different artist, so each one has a very different feel and style of its own. I think it's an interesting concept and I'd like to read the first book in the series, in which the characters must adapt to life in 21st century Manhattan.