Fables

Willingham rethought many of the classic characters in fairy tales, turning them to a different angle to the reader, for example, Snow White’s divorce from the Fair Prince was due to the infidelity of the latter. Another example is one of the main characters of the comic book - the Big Gray Wolf or, as he calls himself, the Bigby Wolf (Big Bad Wolf), which not only gained the ability to take on a human appearance, while still being able to return to the skin of the beast, but he also became the sheriff of Skazkitown, thereby trying to atone for his dark past.

The genre affiliation of the early episodes varies: from classic criminal prose with mystical murder to a thriller in which the main characters get mixed up in a mysterious tangle of conspiracy. Recently, Willingham made it clear that he had led a series of comics to the pro-Israel path, stating his position in this way: “From a political point of view, I am a rabid pro-artist, so the comic book, as a metaphor, was intended just for that.” However, Willingham adds: “As far as politics is going to invade Fairy Tales, I am so ready to go. After all, it is impossible to always and completely keep politics aside. We are all political creatures, do we agree or not. <...> Yes, of course, the series will never become a political treatise, but at the same time it will never exclude the fact that all its heroes have their own moral and moral grounds, and we will not apologize for this. "

Various artists have worked and are working to illustrate the series. Until recently, James Jean , who left the project after the eighty-first issue, was drawing the covers for the issues. João Ruas is currently working on this. The drawing of the comic itself, its “insides” is mainly done by Mark Buckingham, who will continue the story of the Tales if Willingham is not capable of this in the future. Other artists include: Brian Talbot, Lan Medina, Philip Craig Russell, Mike Allred, Craig Hamilton and Lina Medley.

In November 2013, the creators of the comic book announced that the series would end with one hundred and fifty issues in early 2015.

The Jack of Fables comic book series, which mostly revolves around Jack Horner, is a spin-off of the main comic book. Fairy Jack's first release took place in July 2006 and followed the thirty-fifth edition of the main series: Jack Be Nimble, Part Two ( Jack Be Nimble part 2 ). The series was written jointly by Bill Willingham and a former member of Clockwork Storybook by Matthew Sturges The fiftieth issue, released in March 2011, was the last to complete the series.

The Literals is a mini-comic series consisting of three issues. It includes one third of the Great Fables Crossover . The comic is also co-written by Willingham and Sturges and published from April to June 2009.

The Thousand and One Snowfall Night ( 1001 Nights of Snowfall ), written by Bill Willingham, is a prequel to the main series. It was released in hardcover on October 18, 2006.

Peter and Max: A Fables Novel is an illustrated novel about Peter Piper , his wife Bo Peep and brother Max, who will later become known as the Hameln Pied Piper ( Pied Piper ). The work was written by Willingham and illustrated by Steve Leiaola. It is available in hard and paper bindings, as well as an audiobook and includes a short comic strip about the adventures of Peter and Bo Pipers after the events described in the novel.

Another offshoot from the main series is the Cinderella: From Fabletown With Love mini-comic book series, announced at the 2008 San Diego Comic-con . The mini-series was written by writer Chris Roberson, who is a friend of Willingham and Sturges on the Clockwork Storybook. The cover was created by Chrissie Zullo, Shawn McManus was an illustrator of the comic book itself, which, according to Comic Book Resources, "answers the question: what happened to the fairy fairy from the fairy tale" Cinderella . "Roberson himself says: "The mini-series exists at the junction of" At Her Majesty's Secret Service "and" Sex and the City . " The final episode of the comic was released in April 2010.

Announced at the San Diego Comic-con in 2009, the graphic short story “Tales: Werewolves of the Heartland ” was also written by Bill Willingham and painted by Craig Hamilton and Jim Fern . A little later, in November 2012, the book came out in hardcover.

Cinderella: From Fabletown With Love ( Cinderella: Fables are Forever ), a sequel to the previously released mini-series Cinderella: From Fabletown With Love , consisted of six issues and was printed in mid-2011 of the year.

In 2011, at the San Diego Comic-con, Willingham announced the launch of a new comic book series entitled Fairest , which will tell the reader about the lives of the fairer sexes on Fabletown, such as Beauty, Rapunzel and Cinderella ( Cinderella ). The series debuted with the first issue, released March 7, 2012, which was written by Willingham himself and painted by Phil Jimenez . Subsequent episodes of the series will be handed over to the writers, whom Willingham himself will choose.

Released on October 11, 2013, the computer game The Wolf Among Us , developed by Telltale Games , is based on the Fables comic book series and fully reproduces the characters, plot, and setting of the comic strip.

• Bigby (Bigby) - the protagonist, the sheriff of Fabletown, the famous Big and Scary Gray Wolf. In the comic strip he performs in an alternative role, Willingham portrays him as an intelligent and strong defender, who, although he has a nasty character, is still not devoid of nobility and fidelity. Bigby is endowed with excellent ingenuity, great physical strength and unflappable disposition and composure. Also in some special issues, Willingham tried to explain the reasons for the Wolf’s aggressive behavior: he was born from the union of the North Wind (a creature that can change its appearance - hence the ability to turn into a human face) and the white wolf of Winter, and was the smallest and weakest puppy in the litter, for that he was nicknamed by his brothers and sisters Bigby (in English Bigby - Big Bad (Big and Evil). The father left the family and his mother died soon, and while the other puppies went to learn the skills of their father, Bigby hated him and vowed to take revenge. He ate people in order to become bigger and stronger. During the Exodus, Bigby met a captive Snow White, whom he immediately fell in love with. At first on Phabletown he showed her futile signs of attention, but then he managed to win the beauty’s heart, and later marry her and have a full-fledged family with her house and six werewolf children (as it turned out later, there were seven children.) Smokes a lot to drown out the strong smells of the city, is afraid of heights and basically does not learn to drive a car.
• Snow White (Snow White) - the main character, assistant to the mayor. She is the first wife of the Beautiful Prince (the other two are Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella), whom she divorced due to the betrayal of the Prince and her sister, Rose Red. Unlike the classic story, Snow White in the comic acts not as a princess by blood, but as a princess by marriage. Initially, she was the daughter of a peasant, but the plot of the evil stepmother was preserved. Dwarves played a fateful role in the fate of Snow White: evil dwarfs scoffed, beat and regularly raped the girl, and also forced her to do hard work. After marriage, Snow White asked the Prince for fencing lessons, and as she was trained, one by one the dwarves were cut to death with rapier. Most likely, this is the work of Snow White, but there is no direct mention of this anywhere. In the comic, Snow White is presented in a slightly different way: she is smart, cunning, in some places a bitchy, strong personality. So during the battle of Skazkitown, Snow White rushes to Bigby, who suddenly returned to help and in the middle of the battle hugs him and bursts into tears. After giving birth to children from Bigby, the character of Snow White is gradually softened. Indifference to Bigby manifests itself almost immediately, but the girl is afraid of the opinion of society, since he is not the beautiful prince with whom princesses should be. However, ultimately, with Rosa’s filing, Snow White accepts his love.
• Rose Red is the sister of Snow White. The motive about the two sisters is probably an interpretation of the tale of Snow White and Krasnozorok. At the beginning of the comic, Rosa is portrayed as a typical playgirl: promiscuous sexual intercourse, parties, alcohol and drugs were commonplace for her. Rose is a windy, quick-tempered, cunning, but smart and responsive person. She envies her sister and often tries to annoy her, for this reason she slept with the Prince. Nevertheless, she is very attached to her sister and sincerely loves and worries about her. With the development of the plot, she also undergoes a transformation of character, finding herself the leader of the Farm.
• Prince Charming - A resident of Skazkitown, later - the mayor. The noble savior from fairy tales was replaced by a frivolous and loving scoundrel. The prince is looking for a way to seize power and become the ruler of Fabletown, simultaneously seducing beauties, including among the "simpletons." He performs all his actions out of selfish motives, often manipulating girls to achieve his goal. Having come to power, he becomes a not-so-wise politician, but even here his cunning helps him get dry.
• Beauty is the heroine of a fairy tale about a beauty and a monster. A beautiful and charming girl, accustomed to luxury. It is important for her to maintain status and well-being. After the Prince came to power, he becomes an assistant to the mayor. After the Prince’s attempt to establish an affair with Beauty, he grossly refuses him, while remaining faithful to the Beast. Their relationship is an example of ideal relationships for all residents of Skazkitown, and even Snow White in her own way envies Beauty that her marriage, after several centuries, still retains romance and novelty. Towards the end of the comic, she gives birth to a child from the Beast, which in turn has supernatural abilities and a strange appearance.
• Monster (Beast) - Beauty’s husband, later - Skazkitauna sheriff. Endowed with tremendous physical strength. Faithful to his wife and very jealous. Their connection with Beauty is so strong that when she is angry, he returns to the guise of a monster against his will. In a sense, competes with Bigby, in later releases their rivalry escalates into enmity with consequences.
• King Cowl is the original mayor and co-founder of Fairytale. A fair, wise and selfless ruler. It has strong organizational and leadership qualities. During the Exodus, he hid with other fabulous creatures of an anthropomorphic form, which he immediately organized into a community. Trying to allocate resources correctly, he starved himself, but fed the rest on full. He was very worried about his resignation. So much so that he began to drink and wander. The need to negotiate with the fabulous Arab community forced Prince to turn to King Cole for help and make him ambassador. This gave him enthusiasm and returned to the system. The character’s primary source is a nursery English rhyme
• Bufkin is a librarian of Skazkitown, one of the few who has not been exiled to the Farm, despite his fabulous appearance. Bafkin is a winged monkey from Oz. It has a carefree, naive character. The compassionate Bafkin is ready to take the blame of others on himself, and sincerely wants to help in every situation. He is cheerful and witty, sometimes cowardly, and very well-read. He loves alcohol.
• Mukholov (Flycatcher) - a prince from a fairy tale about a frog prince. His real name is Ambrose, in his honor Bigby and Snow White named one of their sons. In Skazkitown, he performs community service as a cleaner, which Bigby actively promotes by inventing various punishments for him. There is a reason for this: when he is nervous, he turns into a frog, which played a cruel joke with him, when the army raped and killed his wife and children in his native lands, and he himself, being in the form of a frog, could not do anything. Work as a cleaner helps him forget about that day. For the same reason, Mukholov does not drink alcohol. Mukholov is one of Skazkitown’s universal favorites. He has an unattractive appearance, but infinitely kind and gentle character. Unsure of himself, looking for good qualities in everyone. His best friends are Shepherd and Pinocchio. Also, with the help of armor, Lancelot of the Lake and Escalibur becomes the king of the Kingdom of the Pier.
• (Boy Blue) is an office worker in Fairytale, a cute, naive young man, romantic in nature. While fleeing from the Native Lands, I met Red Riding Hood, whom I fell in love with. It was he who revealed the identity of the true Enemy in the person of Jepetto. For this (or rather, for the uncoordinated return to the Native Land and the theft of valuable magical property) he was sent to correctional labor at the Farm, where he became close to Rosa. He loves to sing songs and blow in the horn, which annoys others. Very attached to his friends, Mukholov and Pinocchio, and also worried about the deception of Little Red Riding Hood.
• Pinocchio (Pinocchio) - Pinocchio is one of the funniest comic book figures. When Pinocchio asked Fairy to turn him into a child, she understood his desire too literally - several centuries later Pinocchio remains a child, which creates certain difficulties for him and goes into Skazkitown's hand. Annoying and rude, forced to resort to the services of prostitutes. During the Battle of Skazkitown, he decides to end the war and surrender to the army that came for him. However, this action will not succeed, but ends with the death of Pinocchio. His best friend, the Shepherd, returns with his "body" to his native lands and ends up with Jepetto, who brings the boy back to life. Pinocchio is Jepetto's beloved son because he is the first-born, and therefore he is safe on both sides of the worlds. Pinocchio has conflicting feelings for war, on the one hand, he loves his father, on the other hand, he is faithful to friends.