Fables (comics)

Fables
Cover page of Legends in Exile.
Publication information
PublisherVertigo
DC Black Label
ScheduleMonthly
FormatOngoing series
GenreContemporary fantasy, dark fantasy, urban fantasy
Publication dateJuly 2002 – March 2024
No. of issues162
Main character(s)Bigby Wolf (Fables, Boy Blue, Rose Red)
Creative team
Created byBill Willingham
Written byBill Willingham
Penciller(s)Mark Buckingham, Lan Medina, Steve Leialoha, Craig Hamilton
Inker(s)Andrew Pepoy, Steve Leialoha, Mark Buckingham, P. Craig Russell
Letterer(s)Todd Klein
Editor(s)Shelly Bond

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.[1] 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.[2]

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.[3] 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 (or "Mundies"), 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.

  1. ^ Oliver Sava; Tegan O'Neal (August 4, 2015). "The extra-sized Fables finale marks the end of an era at Vertigo". Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  2. ^ "Fables Returns!". DC Comics. 10 June 2021.
  3. ^ Irvine, Alex (2008). "Fables". In Dougall, Alastair (ed.). The Vertigo Encyclopedia. New York: Dorling Kindersley. pp. 72–81. ISBN 978-0-7566-4122-1. OCLC 213309015.