Beauty and the Beast in need of marriage counseling. Prince Charming a prince in title only and a conniving womanizer who has wed and divorced Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. Little Boy Blue playing his horn in New York jazz clubs. Briar Rose fast asleep in a department store after pricking her finger on a piece of jewelry and the rest of the store under her slumber spell as well. The Big Bad Wolf enchanted to look human and can turn from man to wolf form at will. Snow White involved in politics and pregnant with the Big bad Wolf’s pup. Goldilocks leading a violent revolt against the bureaucracy of Fabletown and intent on killing Snow White.
If none of these “once upon a times” seem familiar that’s because you wouldn’t have read them in a Grimm Brothers collection or seen them in a Disney animated movie. They are major and minor plot points in Vertigo’s two time Eisner Award winning comic “Fables”.
Set in modern day Manhattan, “Fables” follows the lives of all the fairy tale and folklore characters we have loved through the years as they live amongst us after being chased out of their homelands by an evil “fable” known as the Adversary.
After signing a General Amnesty which forgave all the “Fables” for their past sins upon arriving in the new World, it is here in the “Mundane World” coinciding with us “Mundy’s” (their words for us and our world) that the “Fables” live, trying to keep their enchantment and long life spans secret.
The “Fable” community is split into two halves, one based in Manhattan at the beautiful Woodland Luxury Apartments where all the human “Fables” (or those non-human “Fables” under a glamour spell to make them look human) live, while the other animal and rest of the non-human “Fables” live on a farm in upstate New York.
The community is run by Mayor King Cole who, in true political fashion, has his underlings do all his work while he collects the praise. In this case that underling is Snow White, the Cole’s deputy, while security is enforced by one Bigby Wolf, also known as The Big Bad Wolf.
Released in May of 2002 “Fables” creator Bill Willingham has been taking comic book fans, as well as fairy tale characters, by storm as he tells us what happened after the characters went off to live “happily ever after.”
Much like in Alan Moore’s “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” comic book where one could find dozens of literary characters from the comic pages, “Fables” is a veritable cornucopia of fairy tale and folk lore stars, some who appear on a monthly basis and some who have minor appearances. As if this wasn’t enough to whet your appetite, there are also enchanted set decorations that grace each page, items like a certain pirate captain’s hook on display in Bluebeard’s office or a magical sword embedded in a stone.
Even store fronts in the “Fableland “shopping community join in on the fun, enticing shoppers with goods and sporting clever names like “The Glass Slipper Shoes”, “The Yellow Brick Roadhouse”, the “Web ‘n’ Muffet Market”, or the “I Am The Eggman Diner” that has a sign in its window stating today’s special of Curds and Whey.
To meet the demands of a monthly comic book “Fables” features different artists for different story arcs and has already been illustrated by Lan Medina, Mark Buckingham, Bryan Talbot, Linda Medley, and Craig Hamilton. The series also features painted covers by James Jean, who has painted every issues cover (including the “Last Castle” annual as well as the covers to the “Legends in Exile” and “Animal Farm” storylines that have been collected into trade paperbacks), with the exception of issue eleven, which was illustrated both inside and out by penciler Bryan Talbot.
With now twenty issues under its belt, engaging story arcs, one annual (“The Last Castle”) telling the “Fables” final battle against the Adversary and its conquering armies, two trade paperbacks jammed with extra goods (“Legends in Exile” features an amazing prose story bye series creator Bill Willingham which tells how The Big Bad Wolf helped Snow White, Rose Red and other fables escape their invaded homelands, and the “Animal Farm” collection, issues six through ten, which has a cover gallery of the story arcs painted covers by James Jean, preliminary covers by Jean, character sketches by Mark Buckingham, as well as original character concepts by Bill Willingham), and new fans jumping on board every month, it’s safe to say “Fables” is not only a hit, but a great read as well.
So why not do yourself a favor and pick up the series, settle back, and enjoy. You’re guaranteed a good time, in fact, you’ll be “happily ever after” reading them.