Fables.

Last week I mentioned one of the 10 things that makes me happy is comic books. Al asked me what my favorite title was. I should have mentioned it in the post but obviously I didn't. My favorite book is Fables. If you aren't a comic book fan you have probably never heard of it. If you are and you haven't read all of them be warned that I am going to reveal some surprises that have come out in the course of the book. Fables is published by DC Comics under their Vertigo line. The Vertigo line is for a mature audience. If we were using a movie rating system most of the books would be an R.

The premise of Fables sounds like something out of the Twilight Zone. Imagine a neighborhood in New York City that looks like any other neighborhood except for the fact the residents are story book characters. They call the neighborhood Fabletown. When the series started the mayor was Old King Cole. He was replaced by Prince Charming. We have met, among others, Beauty and the Beast, Pinocchio, The Frog Prince, Rose Red, and Boy Blue. I have not mentioned several because I will get to them shortly. They are living in New York City because they were all chased from their home worlds by someone who was called The Adversary. The book ran for awhile before they decided to battle The Adversary, who was revealed to be Gepetto. These aren't the Disney versions of the fairy tale world. They can die, but the better known they are the harder it is to kill them.

What about the Three Little Pigs, the Three Blind Mice, and the other animal Fables? Except for one they obviously couldn't pass for human, and if people saw talking animals they would get a little suspicious. There is a farm in upstate New York where they stay. How come no one hasn't stumbled on it? The witches have placed charms so that no one sees anything unusual.

I selected four of the Fables to show you.



This is the one I mentioned who started out in animal form but has developed a human looking appearance. Meet Bigby Wolf, as in the Big Bad Wolf. If he needs to he can assume the wolf form. One of the reasons that he has taken human form is none of the other animals trust him. If you have trouble understanding why, just ask the Three Pigs. Bigby has reformed, for a while was the sheriff of Fabletown, has taken a wife, and has six children. Who would marry Bigby you ask?


Meet Snow White. Don't ask about the dwarfs. It seems that they weren't as nice to her as Mr Disney would have had you believe. She removed them from the picture. What about Prince Charming? Well he was a charming individual, but not a very faithful husband. Besides Snow he also married Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. So how did Snow White and Bigby get together? They were hexed and had amnesia. They were then pursued by an insane assassin, Goldilocks. While on the run they found time for a diversion, which resulted in their children. The six are sextuplets. Bigby and Snow still appear periodically, but they are no longer center stage as they once were.


This lovely lady is the Fables super spy, Cinderella. When things need to be found out she is the perfect one for the job. She also owns a shoe store in Fabletown, called The Glass Slipper. Currently she is involved in a mini-series called From Fabletown With Love. Someone is selling magical items to ordinary people and she is investigating it. Assisting her is Aladdin. The mini-series runs six issues and there is one more to go to wrap it up.


The last one I am mentioning was given his own title. Meet Jack of Fables. Jack has had many incarnations, the beanstalk, the giant killer, Jack Frost, etc. Jack cares only about one thing in the world, and that is Jack himself. His tales are more comical than the Fables title.

ABC has put Fables in development for a series, but I don't have a lot of faith in it. Fables was created by Bill Willingham, but he is not being involved with the series. I can see it being messed up, if it is ever made. They announced the development deal in December of 2008 and I have not heard anything more about it.

In a future post I will discuss the other comics that I read regularly. I am reading a lot less than a few years ago and I will talk about that at that time.