Fables (comics)


Fables is an American comic book series created and written by Bill Willingham, published by DC Comics' Vertigo. Willingham served as sole writer for its entirety, with Mark Buckingham penciling more than 110 issues. The series featured various other pencillers over the years, most notably Lan Medina and Steve Leialoha. Fables was launched in July 2002 and concluded in July 2015.
The series features various characters from fairy tales and folklore – referring to themselves as "Fables" – who formed a clandestine community centuries ago within New York City known as Fabletown, after their Homelands have been conquered by a mysterious and deadly enemy known as "The Adversary". It is set in the modern day and follows several of Fabletown's legal representatives, such as sheriff Bigby Wolf, deputy mayor Snow White, her sister Rose Red, Prince Charming, and Boy Blue, as they deal with troublesome Fables and try to solve conflicts in both Fabletown and "the Farm", a hidden town in upstate New York for Fables unable to blend in with human society. The series also deals with such other matters as the main characters' personal lives, their attempts to hide the Fables' true nature from regular humans, and, later, the return of the Adversary.
Fables was a critical and commercial success, winning many Eisner Awards and receiving several Hugo Award nominations for Best Graphic Story. Its success led to several spin-offs and a 2013 prequel video game titled The Wolf Among Us.

Publication history

Various artists worked on the title. The covers until issue #81 were done by James Jean, after which João Ruas took over as cover artist. The majority of the interior pencil work was done by Mark Buckingham. Other artists include Bryan Talbot, Lan Medina, P. Craig Russell, Mike Allred, Craig Hamilton, and Linda Medley.
It was announced in November 2013 that the series would end with issue #150 in early 2015. The final issue of Fables was a larger than normal issue comprising most of the twenty-second Fables trade paperback. It was released in July 2015.

Characters

The main characters of Fables are public domain figures from folklore, mythology, and literature. Bill Willingham said the only considerations in deciding what characters and fables to use were "is the character or story free for use?" and "do I want to use it?" A principal character is the Big Bad Wolf, who has not only reformed but gained the ability to take on a more human appearance. At the series' beginning he serves as Fabletown's sheriff.
Most of the characters who appear in Fables are from European stories, the major exceptions being Arabian fables and American fables

Story arcs

Earlier story arcs each take on the form of a different genre: the first is a murder mystery, the next a conspiracy thriller, and then a caper story.
The series proper is principally being collected in trade paperbacks. Deluxe edition hardcovers are also being produced. The spin-off graphic novel 1001 Nights of Snowfall and other works are available in both hardcover and softcover format.

Trade paperbacks

#TitleISBNRelease dateCollected material
1Fables: Legends in ExileApril 25, 2003Fables #1–5 and the new prose story "A Wolf in the Fold"
2Fables: Animal FarmAugust 1, 2003Fables #6–10
3Fables: Storybook LoveMay 1, 2004Fables #11–18
4Fables: March of the Wooden SoldiersNovember 30, 2004The Last Castle one-shot and Fables #19–21, 23–27
5Fables: The Mean SeasonsApril 30, 2005Fables #22, 28–33
6Fables: HomelandsJanuary 27, 2006Fables #34–41
7Fables: Arabian Nights July 5, 2006Fables #42–47
8Fables: WolvesFables #48–51, maps of Fabletown and the Farm, script for #50
9Fables: Sons of EmpireJune 13, 2007Fables #52–59
10Fables: The Good PrinceJune 4, 2008Fables #60–69
11Fables: War and PiecesNovember 19, 2008Fables #70–75, sketches by Mark Buckingham
12Fables: The Dark AgesAugust 11, 2009Fables #76–82
13Fables: The Great Fables CrossoverFebruary 9, 2010Fables #83–85, Jack of Fables #33–35 and The Literals #1–3
14Fables: WitchesDecember 7, 2010Fables #86–93
15Fables: Rose RedApril 11, 2011Fables #94–100 and the new prose story "Pinocchio's Army"
16Fables: Super TeamDecember 14, 2011Fables #101–107
17Fables: Inherit the WindJuly 10, 2012Fables #108–113
18Fables: Cubs in ToylandJanuary 22, 2013Fables #114–123
19Fables: Snow WhiteDecember 24, 2013Fables #124–129 and the Oz backup stories from #114–123
20Fables: CamelotSeptember 2, 2014Fables #130–140
21Fables: Happily Ever AfterMay 5, 2015Fables #141–149
22Fables: FarewellJuly 28, 2015Fables #150, plus several extras: "Lucky 13: A Fables Afterword in Three Parts", "Bill's Comic Writing School Lesson 67.3: The Jekyll and Hyde Syndrome", "A Fables Gallery", and "Creator Biographies".

Deluxe Editions

Spin-offs

''[1001 Nights of Snowfall]''

Prequel to Fables written by Willingham. It was initially released in hardcover on October 18, 2006. Based on the One Thousand and One Nights, it tells a story from a time early in Fabletown's history when Snow White was sent as an emissary to the Arabian Fables. The Sultan's Vizier secretly presents Snow to Sultan as his next wife in order to delay his daughter Scheherazade from suffering the same fate. Snow must amuse the Sultan with a new story every night to prevent him from executing her at dawn, as he has done with all his former wives.

Cinderella

A spin-off mini-series announced at the Fables Panel at the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con. Written by novelist and publisher Chris Roberson with painted cover art by Chrissie Zullo, the miniseries was drawn by Shawn McManus, and "answers the question of what happened to Cinderella's fairy godmother." Writer Roberson says, "It's On Her Majesty's Secret Service meets Sex and the City." The concluding issue was released in April 2010.
A six-issue sequel to Chris Roberson and Shawn McManus's earlier Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love series, was released in mid-2011.

''Fables: The Last Castle''

A prestige format one-shot in which Boy Blue retells to Snow White the tale of the last stand against the Adversary's forces in the Homelands.

''Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland''

Announced at the Fables Panel at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con, Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland is an original graphic novel written by Willingham with art by Craig Hamilton, and Jim Fern. It was released in hardcover in November 2012. In the story, Bigby Wolf embarks on a quest through the American Heartland to find a new location for Fabletown.

''Fairest">Fairest (comics)">Fairest''

At the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con International, Willingham announced his plan to start a series following the lives of some female Fables, including Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, and Cinderella. It debuted on March 7, 2012 with the first arc written by Willingham and art by Phil Jimenez. Subsequent arcs will be handed off to writers of Willingham's choosing.

''[Jack of Fables]''

Series focusing on Jack Horner. It debuted in July 2006 and follows Fables #35. It is co-written by Willingham and former Clockwork Storybook author Lilah Sturges. The series ended with its fiftieth issue in March 2011.

''The Literals''

Three issue miniseries comprising one third of The Great Fables Crossover. It is co-written by Willingham and Sturges, and was published April 2009 through June 2009. All issues are included in the Fables: The Great Fables Crossover and in the Deluxe Edition: Volume 10

''[Peter and Max: A Fables Novel]''

An illustrated novel centering on Peter Piper, his wife Bo Peep and his brother Max, who will later grow up to be the Pied Piper. Written by Willingham and illustrated by Steve Leialoha, it is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook editions. It includes a brief comic-book story that deals with Pete and Bo Peep's adventures after the events in the novel.

''Fables: The Wolf Among Us''

At the 2014 New York Comic Con, Vertigo Comics announced that they would be adapting The Wolf Among Us into comic form, to be released digitally first in December 2014 and later as print comic. The story's been adapted for the comic by Lilah Sturges, who has previously written for the Fables series, and Dave Justus, staying otherwise true to the game's story but exploring some characters and back story in more depth. The comic is canon to the Fables universe.

Prose stories

"A Wolf in the Fold", featured in "Legends in Exile" trade paperback and in the "Deluxe Edition: Volume 2", tells the history of Bigby Wolf and Snow White and how they came to the mundane world.
"Pinocchio's Army", featured in "Fables: Rose Red", focuses on Pinocchio and Geppetto during the events of the "Rose Red" story arc.

''Everafter: From the Pages of Fables''

Series, following the events of Fables #150, debuted in 2016. The series was cancelled after 12 issues.

Collected editions

TitleFormatISBNRelease dateCollected material
1001 Nights of SnowfallHardcoverOctober 18, 2006Original Graphic Novel
1001 Nights of SnowfallSoftcoverMarch 5, 2008Original Graphic Novel
Fables: Covers by James JeanHardcoverCovers from issues 1 to 75, and TP vol. 1 to 11
'HardcoverOctober 7, 2009An original prose novel set in the Fables universe
'SoftcoverDecember 28, 2010An original prose novel set in the Fables universe
SoftcoverCinderella: From Fabletown with Love issues 1–6
Cinderella: Fables Are ForeverSoftcoverApril 18, 2012Cinderella: Fables Are Forever issues 1–6; Fables #51
Fables: Werewolves of the HeartlandHardcoverNovember 20, 2012Original Graphic Novel
Everafter: From the Pages of Fables vol. 1 The Pandora ProtocolSoftcoverMay 9, 2017Everafter: From the Pages of Fables issues 1–6
Everafter: From the Pages of Fables vol. 2 The Unsentimental EducationSoftcoverDecember 26, 2017Everafter: From the Pages of Fables issues 7–12

Awards and praise

Fables won fourteen Eisner Awards.
While Fables only advertises winning fourteen Eisner Awards on their covers, the following Eisner awards have also been won by members of their staff for their work on Fables:
Fables: War and Pieces was nominated for the first Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story. Fables: The Dark Ages, Fables: Witches and Fables: Rose Red were also nominated.
Prominent review site IGN has called it "the best comic book currently being produced" in 2006.

Adaptations

Convention

Fabletown and Beyond was a comic convention created and hosted by Willingham to showcase and appreciate comic books that fall under the genre of mythic fiction. Willingham announced this new project during his panel at the 2012 San Diego Comic Convention, stating "We're going to have a nearly-all Fables dedicated con called 'Fabletown and Beyond' – it's Fables and books like Fables."
Fables artist Mark Buckingham was the guest of honor for the first FablesCon, held on March 22–24, 2013, at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, Minnesota. Other guests included Gene Ha, Mike Carey, Matt Sturges, Peter Gross, Kurt Busiek, Anthony Del Col, Shelly Bond, Adam Hughes, Chrissie Zullo, and Lauren Beukes.

Television series

A television series based on Fables was put into development by NBC in 2005 for the 2006–2007 Television Season. The show received a script order and was developed by Craig Silverstein and Warner Bros. Television but was not developed any further than the scripting stage. NBC later produced Grimm, a police procedural set in a world where fairytales are real.
On December 8, 2008, it was announced that ABC had picked up the rights to develop a pilot of Fables for the 2009–2010 television season. Six Degrees creators and executive producers Stu Zicherman and Raven Metzner were writing the script for the hourlong drama, again set up at Warner Bros. Television, while David Semel had come on board to direct. There has been no news since concerning a series based directly on Willingham's series and, in late 2010, he said "he TV show that was prematurely announced is probably dead." Instead, ABC announced a new series called Once Upon a Time, which features fairy tale characters such as Snow White and Prince Charming who have been cursed to live in the real world by the Evil Queen without the memories of their former lives. The show's creators, Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, stated that they "read a couple issues" of Fables but believe that while the two concepts are "in the same playground," they are "telling a different story."

Film

In 2015, it was announced that Warner Bros. was developing a live action Fables film with David Heyman and Jeffrey Clifford producing, Jeremy Slater and Jane Goldman writing and Nikolaj Arcel directing. These plans were cancelled with the ending of the comics.

Video game

On February 17, 2011, Telltale Games announced The Wolf Among Us, an episodic graphic adventure game based upon Fables. With the first of its five episodes released on October 11, 2013, the game is canon with the comic book universe and is set as a prequel to the comic book. In July 2017 Telltale Games announced that a second season of The Wolf Among Us was in production, and was planned to be released sometime in 2018. However, it was announced in May 2018 that the game was delayed and was rescheduled for release in 2019 before being cancelled in September 2018 due to the studio's closure. Following LCG Entertainment's acquisition of the Telltalle name and much of its IP, season 2 was announced to be back in production as of December 2019.
The popular Blue Tea Games series Dark Parables was inspired by Fables.