Fables (comics)
Fables is an American comic book series created and written by Bill Willingham, published by DC Comics' Vertigo imprint. 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. It was revived in 2022 with a 12-issue continuation to the main series, as well as a 6-issue spin-off miniseries Batman vs. Bigby! A Wolf in Gotham, both published under DC Black Label.
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 were 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.The series ended with issue #150. 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. It resumed publication with issue #151 for a 12-issue arc in May 2022.
Until 2023, Willingham was the sole owner of the IP rights to Fables. In September, Willingham announced that he had allowed the Fables IP to enter the public domain after growing disenchanted with DC Comics. Willingham cited his frustration with DC, stating that for years the company fought him on royalties, media rights, and various other issues. In his announcement, Willingham wrote: "If I understand the law correctly...you have the rights to make your Fables movies, and cartoons, and publish your Fables books, and manufacture your Fables toys, and do anything you want with your property, because it's your property". The decision does not affect any Fables works already in print, which Willingham will continue to collect royalties on. DC denied Willingham's assertion that the franchise is public domain, stating that they continue to own the rights to the storylines, characters, and elements in the comics.
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. Most of these characters appear primarily in the Jack of Fables spin-off.
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.Legends in Exile Animal Farm Bag 'O Bones A Two-Part Caper Barleycorn Brides March of the Wooden Soldiers Cinderella Libertine War Stories The Long Year Jack Be Nimble Homelands Meanwhile Arabian Nights The Ballad of Rodney and June Wolves Happily Ever After Big and Small Sons of Empire Jiminy Christmas Father and Son Burning Questions The Good Prince The Birthday Secret Kingdom Come Skullduggery War and Pieces Around the Town The Dark Ages Waiting for the Blues The Great Fables Crossover Boxing Days Witches Out to the Ball Game Rose Red Dark City Single Combat The Ascent Super Team Waking Beauty Inherit the Wind "All in a Single Night" In Those Days Cubs in Toyland The Destiny Game After Snow White June Bug Camelot Deeper into the Woods Root and Branch The Boys in the Band Happily Ever After Farewell The Black Forest ''''Collected editions
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.Spin-offs
''1001 Nights of Snowfall''
1001 Nights of Snowfall is a prequel to Fables written by Willingham, and 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
Cinderella: From Fabletown with LoveA spin-off mini-series, 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.Cinderella: Fables Are Forever
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''
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 follows 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 were handed off to writers of Willingham's choosing.''Jack of Fables''
Jack of Fables focuses 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 through June 2009. All issues are included in Fables: The Great Fables Crossover, in Deluxe Edition: Volume 10, and in Fables: Compendium Three.''Peter & Max: A Fables Novel''
Peter & Max: A Fables Novel is 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.''The Unwritten Fables''
Issues #50–54 of The Unwritten, a comic series created by Mike Carey and Peter Gross, were a crossover with Fables, with writing co-credited to Willingham. The crossover arc was compiled into the ninth volume of the Unwritten trade paperback series.''Fables: The Wolf Among Us''
The Fables: The Wolf Among Us video game was adapted into comic form by Vertigo Comics, released digitally first in December 2014 and later as print comic. The story was 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 Geppeto during the events of the "Rose Red" story arc.''Everafter: From the Pages of Fables''
The series follows the events of Fables #150. Debuting in 2016, the series was cancelled after 12 issues.''Batman vs. Bigby! A Wolf in Gotham''
A six-issue team-up starring Batman and Bigby was released in September 2021.Collected editions
| Title | Format | ISBN | Release date | Collected material |
| 1001 Nights of Snowfall | Hardcover | October 18, 2006 | Original graphic novel | |
| 1001 Nights of Snowfall | Softcover | March 5, 2008 | Original graphic novel | |
| Fables: Covers by James Jean | Hardcover | Covers from issues #1 to 75, and TP vol. 1 to 11. | ||
| Peter & Max: A Fables Novel | Hardcover | October 7, 2009 | An original prose novel set in the Fables universe. | |
| Peter & Max: A Fables Novel | Softcover | December 28, 2010 | An original prose novel set in the Fables universe. | |
| Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love | Softcover | Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love issues #1–6 | ||
| Cinderella: Fables Are Forever | Softcover | April 18, 2012 | Cinderella: Fables Are Forever issues #1–6; Fables #51 | |
| Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland | Hardcover | November 20, 2012 | Original graphic novel | |
| Everafter: From the Pages of Fables vol. 1 The Pandora Protocol | Softcover | May 9, 2017 | Everafter: From the Pages of Fables issues #1–6 | |
| Everafter: From the Pages of Fables vol. 2 The Unsentimental Education | Softcover | December 26, 2017 | Everafter: From the Pages of Fables issues #7–12 |
Awards and praise
Fables won fourteen Eisner Awards:- Best New Series in 2003
- Best Serialized Story in 2003, 2005 and 2006
- Best Anthology in 2007
- Best Short Story in 2007
- Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team in 2007
- Best Painter/Multimedia Artist in 2007
- Best Cover Artist in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009
- Best Writer in 2009
- Best Lettering in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2011
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.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 2006–07 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.In December 2008, ABC picked up the rights to develop a pilot of Fables for the 2009–10 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 developed 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, 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, but these plans were quietly cancelled.Video game
Telltale Games developed 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.The [Wolf Among Us 2] was set for release in 2024, the final release being currently unknown. It is a sequel to the 2013 game The Wolf Among Us, with the title taking place six months following the events of the previous title.
The popular Blue Tea Games series Dark Parables was inspired by Fables.