The Official Fables Thread

[TheCorpulent1]

All right, I just searched this forum. There's no thread dedicated to Fables and that, my friends, is a crime. What does everyone here think about this Vertigo title that is clearly the best comic being published right now? ;)

To start things off, I got into Fables kind of late so I just picked up the first two TPBs and ordered vol. 3 online. "Legends in Exile" was good but "Animal Farm" is where Willingham really shines. I loved all the parallels to the Orwell novel and Goldilocks' not-so-subtle Communist banter. Hilarious stuff. :D

[Lackey]

I think there was one in Misc. Comics Forum. :p ;)


You should also pick up "The Last Castle" it's a side story about the last fables escaping to the mundane world.

I can't decide which tpb of the two I like better, I love the mystery in the first one and Bigby Wolf is such a great character. The second one is great for the reasons you mentioned, the ending was fantastic.

Can't wait for the next tpb "Storybook Love" coming out April 21st.

Oh yeah, and the cover art is always...simply beautiful. :)

http://dccomics.com/comics/images/April2004/pic_lrgfablessblovecvr.jpg

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, I pre-ordered my copy of "Storybook Love" from eCampus already. It's about the same as buying it in a store, so I figured what the hell.

I'm planning on getting "The Last Castle," too. I'm trying to find somewhere that's selling it relatively cheap.

James Jean's cover art is awe-inspiring. He's an incredible artist. The cover to the TPB of "Animal Farm" is one of my favorite images now; I just sat there staring at the cover for a while after I finished reading it.

Bigby is definitely one of the high points of the series. He's great. I can't decide whether my favorite moment with him is his ham and eggs comment when Colin passes out on his couch or the one where he reveals that one of the cardinal laws of Fabletown and the Farm is that Bigby never be allowed to set foot on the Farm. :D

[Eric Draven]

Fables is currently my favorite book out there. :)

I don't think there's any other book that I look forward to more than this. The stuff just keeps getting better and better.

Plus, we're supposed to get an idea of who the Adversary is by issue 24 :D

[TheCorpulent1]

Awesome, I've been wondering about that. Where'd you hear about that, Eric? I haven't found any sites that give me any kind of Fables news yet. Even DC's site has next to nothing on Fables.

[Eric Draven]

It was said in Wizard a month or two back. And yeah, the DC site has next to nothing, but I love to read the Fables message boards to see what kind of speculation people give as to who the Adversary is.

[incurock31]

I liked the first two trades a lot and I've preordered the third :up:

[X]

What exactly is Fables??? :confused:

[TheCorpulent1]

It's about these characters called Fables from fables, folklore, and fairy tales who are driven out of the Fable realm by this guy called the Adversary. They escape to the mundane world (ours) in about 1900 because it's the only one the Adversary has never expressed any interest in.

Once they're here, they set up in New York; most of the human-looking Fables live in this hotel building that they call Fabletown and just mingle with the regular people (mundys) of New York City. Lots of them have jobs in NYC: for example, Cinderella owns a shoe store called The Glass Slipper. Others work in the Fabletown building, like Bigby Wolf (the Big Bad Wolf turned human) and Snow White.

The non-human-looking Fables like the 3 Blind Mice and the Jungle Book characters live in the Farm, which is a huge plot of land in upstate New York. They're relegated to the Farm because it's the Fables' highest law that they're not allowed to reveal their magical nature to any mundys.

In short, it's just a brilliant comic. Willingham balances all the folklore and magical stuff with enough real world sensibilities that it doesn't come off as goofy (unless he means it to) and the stories have been great so far. The first arc, collected in the "Legends in Exile" TPB, is about Bigby's investigation into the murder of Snow White's sister and it's one of the most thoroughly entertaining mystery stories I've read. The second arc, in the "Animal Farm" TPB, is about an uprising in the Farm. Also really good. Just buy the first TPB and you'll probably be hooked. It's not even that expensive; I got it at Waldenbooks for about $10.

[X]

Thanks, I appreciate it... :)

I'll definitly be picking up at least the first TPB on my next TPB run... :D

[Nightcrawler17]

Issue #22 comes out this Wednesday, and I can't wait to see what happens!

[TheCorpulent1]

X: Awesome, let me know what you think.

Nightcrawler: Me, too. I hope we get to see Bigby question Red Riding Hood.

[Lackey]

Originally posted by TheCorpulent1
X: Awesome, let me know what you think.

Nightcrawler: Me, too. I hope we get to see Bigby question Red Riding Hood.



What? Red Riding Hood's alive?! I'm not supposed to know that! :eek: *covers eyes*

[Lackey]

Has anyone ever seen the NBC miniseries "The Tenth Kingdom"?

it is somewhat similar to Fables... I've wondered it that miniseries is where Willingham got his inspiration for this series.

[Eric Draven]

Originally posted by Lackey
What? Red Riding Hood's alive?! I'm not supposed to know that! :eek: *covers eyes*

It's been shown in basically ever solicitation of the book lately that she's still alive. :p

[Lackey]

Originally posted by Eric Draven
It's been shown in basically ever solicitation of the book lately that she's still alive. :p


I only read the tbps :(

[Eric Draven]

I can't read the TPBs, it'll be too long of a wait inbetween books...:(

[TheCorpulent1]

Originally posted by Lackey
What? Red Riding Hood's alive?! I'm not supposed to know that! :eek: *covers eyes*
D'oh, sorry, I should've put spoiler tags. :(

I have The Tenth Kingdom on tape but I've never watched it. Next time I go home I'll probably give it a go.

[TheCorpulent1]

B to the izzump.

The new issue rules. The art was kinda crappy, though. I want Bucky back.

[Eric Draven]

Yeah, it was a great issue. Kinda odd though, that there was a stand-alone story right in the middle of the arc. I wasn't too much of a fan of the art as well, but then again, the art isn't as good when there are the stand alone stories....

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, I was kind of confused about that myself. I checked the last couple of issues just to make sure there was an arc going on and I wasn't just going out of my mind. But still, as far as digressions go, this was a great one.

[Ray-Man]

Haven't been on the baords lately...and I'm glad someone has finally started a thread on this book :) I thought I was the only one that was buying the book, but I'm glad to see others are picking it up also.

I love the humour in the book...especially on Pinocchio and his sexual frustrations! That is too funny...and Prince Charming is probably one of the smoothest characters that I have seen written. I still gotta read the last two issues that have just come out...

Sorry if I interrupted the nice flow in this thread with my rambling :D

[TheCorpulent1]

Preview of #23:
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0403/03/fc.jpg
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0403/03/f1.jpghttp://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0403/03/f2.jpg
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0403/03/f3.jpghttp://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0403/03/f4.jpg

Lookin' good. And Bucky's back. Yay! :)

[Eric Draven]

I'd have to agree. I hope we get to find out who those three are very soon. I've heard some speculation, but I doubt that it's true.

[TheCorpulent1]

Judging from the title and the May solicits of the last part of this arc, I think they're wooden soldiers under the Adversary's command.

[Eric Draven]

Well what fable do you think is responsible for making something wooden? ;)

Could that be who the Adversary is....or could he just be working for the Adversary? :o

[TheCorpulent1]

Could be him, or he could just be a dupe. Maybe even an unwilling one like Weyland was in "Animal Farm," which would set things up nicely for the classic touching reunion scene. Either one would be equally cool, though I don't think Willingham would be that obvious.

[Eric Draven]

Man, just read the Fables reviews :

http://www.thefourthrail.com/reviews/snapjudgments/030804/fables23.shtml

Wednesday can't come soon enough now...:(

[TheCorpulent1]

That review teases at too much stuff. I want my copy!!

[Eric Draven]

I know. Seems like quite a few things get revealed here...I want to read this issue now! :mad: :(

[epithumia]

Oooh, I'm all excited now! I've only been reading the TPBs (the third one's coming out this month?? Where've I been?), but now I don't know that I can wait for the fourth...

[Eric Draven]

Wow talk about a thread bump :p

Anyways....Fables 24 next week. We might get to know who the Adversary finally is :)

[TheCorpulent1]

I can't wait. Is it just me, or are we the only people who seem to read the individual issues, Eric? Come on, somebody discuss something Fables-related!

[Eric Draven]

Well issue 25 comes out this week. I hope we find out more of what's going on. Like is the Adversary really Gepetto and is Red really Baba Yaga? :confused:

[TheCorpulent1]

Geez, people around here suck. This thread always eventually degrades into Eric saying a new issue will be out and me saying, "I can't wait" or some other such nonsense. Oh well, I still can't wait for the next issue...

[WallCrawl]

Originally posted by TheCorpulent1
Geez, people around here suck. This thread always eventually degrades into Eric saying a new issue will be out and me saying, "I can't wait" or some other such nonsense. Oh well, I still can't wait for the next issue...

I would partake, but I've only been able to read the first 19 issues by downloading them. :(

[Eric Draven]

Originally posted by TheCorpulent1
Geez, people around here suck. This thread always eventually degrades into Eric saying a new issue will be out and me saying, "I can't wait" or some other such nonsense. Oh well, I still can't wait for the next issue...

Well maybe we could start something new...like....what do you think of the upcoming arc in which they deal with Bigby's adventures with Frankenstein in World War II? :confused:

[TheCorpulent1]

Originally posted by WallCrawl
I would partake, but I've only been able to read the first 19 issues by downloading them. :(
It's only on #24 now. I can scan the intervening issues and post them in the scan-o-rama if you want.

[WallCrawl]

Originally posted by TheCorpulent1
It's only on #24 now. I can scan the intervening issues and post them in the scan-o-rama if you want.

That would be very much appreciated, but sounds like it'd be time consuming. I don't want to be a bother.

[TheCorpulent1]

It's not a problem, really... only 5 issues.

[WallCrawl]

Originally posted by TheCorpulent1
It's not a problem, really... only 5 issues.

At 20 or so pages per issue. But if you're willing, I'd certainly be very grateful to you. :)

Corpie rules! :up:

[TheCorpulent1]

Well, I'm gonna be posting them one at a time over the course of the week, probably. Just to be sure I don't blow my old scanner up. :)

[Mr. Fear]

This thread cannot go to page 2 oblivion, I shall save it because it's dedicated to a ^_^^_^^_^^_^ book.

[Mr. Fear]

Double post fun!

[TheCorpulent1]

The last issue was pretty good. The proverbial calm before the storm. I like Blue's dedication. Now all I need to see next issue is some Puss in Boots action, kicking wooden ass and taking names! :D

[Mr. Fear]

Are you talking about 24 or 25? I still have to read the one that came out on this week. I'm interested also in the next storyline, The Witching.

[TheCorpulent1]

25. And isn't The Witching a new Vertigo series altogether?

[Mr. Fear]

Arggh, foiled again. There's an 8 page preview in 26, I just glanced at it.

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, that's what I thought I read in the solicitations. The Witching looks pretty good, though. Funny how it's coming out almost at the same time as Marvel's Witches comic. The publishers are both going witch-crazy. :D

[Mr. Fear]

June's a big month for competition. Marvel hasn't done a lot of promotion for Identity Disc, and if it's a counter to Identity Crisis they're gonna need it.

[TheCorpulent1]

No matter how much promotion Identity Disc has, I doubt it'll compete with Identity Crisis. The only thing that Marvel probably could get to compete with Identity Crisis right now is Secret War, but that comes out quarterly.

[Eric Draven]

Originally posted by TheCorpulent1
The last issue was pretty good. The proverbial calm before the storm. I like Blue's dedication. Now all I need to see next issue is some Puss in Boots action, kicking wooden ass and taking names! :D

Who do you think the Adversary actually is? They've given some clues as to the identity, but there's still a ^_^^_^^_^^_^load of possibilities as to who it could actually be.

[Eric Draven]

Originally posted by TheCorpulent1
25. And isn't The Witching a new Vertigo series altogether?

Yes. Supposedly, it's supposed to tie in with the three witches that are frequently seen in Vertigo books :confused:

[Pariah]

I read the 1st 2 TPBs, just got the third from Amazon and have been collecting the issues since #17 (but waiting to read them until I read the 3rd TPB). I also read the Last Castle. Good stuff.

[TheCorpulent1]

I command thee, thread: LIVE!

The new Dog Company arc is looking pretty good. Is it just me or does Bigby seem like a near-exact duplicate of Wolverine in this comic? Not that I mind, since Willingham is still telling great stories with him, but the similarities are numerous. Hairiness, gruff demeanor, savage side, WWII past, etc.

Also, Eric: I don't know if you're reading The Witching, but it's great. It's only loosely tied into the Fates, who are the three "witches" who appeared in Sandman, Lucifer, and a bunch of other Vertigo titles. Basically, this girl meets up with Lucifer and gets a job to do, but to do it she needs added power. So she goes off in search of two other women to create a Fate-like trio: she's the crone, now she's gotta find a maiden and a mother to help her out. The characters are great and the story's pretty engaging (and also as far away from Charmed as you can get, which is always good).

[Eric Draven]

I like the Dog Company arc. But it just doesn't seem as good, especially coming off of the extremely kickass March of the Wooden Soldiers arc.

And of course I'm reading the Witching, it's a Vertigo title isn't it? ;)

The first two issues were a bit meh, but I really did like the third issue. I'm pretty sure the story will pick up even more as it progresses.

And it was pretty good that they put Lucifer into the story. Help to tie the book in with the Vertigo universe :)

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, I liked Lucifer's appearance. It surprised me, too. I'm gonna get into the Lucifer series someday. As for The Witching, I agree. The first two issues were good, but kind of slow. This one was great, though. That cat rules. :D

The Dog Company arc isn't as good as March of the Wooden Soldiers, but I like it. I haven't read the second part of it yet, but I hope that's the end of it. Willingham gave it a pretty quick pace in the first issue, so hopefully he'll continue that in this one and wrap it up. I like the occasional flashback, but they're the kind of thing best left relegated to short fillers between larger arcs.

[Eric Draven]

Yeah the Dog Company arc does get wrapped up in the latest issue. And to be honest, I did like the second issue of the arc more than the first issue. The first issue did seem to lag on forever. The latest issue, however, had one helluva fight scene. Probably made me like the arc more than I thought I would :)

Can't wait until issue 30 though, man does the synopsis of the book sound excellent ;)

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, I'm surprised Bigby turned out to be such a great action star. I never would've expected to get as jazzed as I did at the end of March of the Wooden Soldiers, when he huffs and puffs on the Adversary's forces. :D

[DBM]

I keep seeing people rave about Fables so I picked up the first two Fables trades this weekend and loved them. Great stuff. Now I have to get caught up to the whole series.

[TheCorpulent1]

Awesome, DBM. :up: Which one did you like more? I loved all the allusions to Orwell's novel and Communism in Animal Farm.

I'm trying to woo everyone I can over to Fables. I told my boss about Fables on Thursday and he wanted to borrow the first two trades, but I'd already agreed to lend them to another friend of mine on Friday. Soon, the whole world shall bow before the glory of Bigby and co. :D

Now I just need to get Storybook Love, the third TPB, and I believe I'll be caught up in the back-issue department... I think my unbroken individual issue run starts somewhere near the end of the issues Storybook Love.

[DBM]

Awesome, DBM. :up: Which one did you like more? I loved all the allusions to Orwell's novel and Communism in Animal Farm.

I'm not sure which one I liked more. I liked the murder mystery plot in the first one because that's one of my favorite types of stories but the Animal farm references in the second one really appealed to the former PoliSci major in me. They were both excellent though. I'll probably pick up the third TPB this Wed and as many single issues as necessary to catch me up.

[Eric Draven]

Now I just need to get Storybook Love, the third TPB, and I believe I'll be caught up in the back-issue department... I think my unbroken individual issue run starts somewhere near the end of the issues Storybook Love.

You haven't read Storybook Love yet? :confused:

Man, you'll love that storyarc if you hate Goldilocks with passion :p

[Chaos]

Who do you think the Adversary actually is? They've given some clues as to the identity, but there's still a ^_^^_^^_^^_^load of possibilities as to who it could actually be.

Pinocchio

Just so you don't post it before me http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0304/sauer/angry-smiley-026.gif

[Eric Draven]

WTF? :mad:

Talk about dredging up an old post :mad:

[TheCorpulent1]

You haven't read Storybook Love yet? :confused:

Man, you'll love that storyarc if you hate Goldilocks with passion :p
I haven't read the full TPB. I've got a couple issues from it and my collection of individual issues starts from around the end of the arc onward. I know the basics of the arc too, since it's kind of hard to miss Snow after that. But I haven't actually read the complete arc. :(

[Mr. Fear]

I'm not sure which one I liked more. I liked the murder mystery plot in the first one because that's one of my favorite types of stories but the Animal farm references in the second one really appealed to the former PoliSci major in me. They were both excellent though. I'll probably pick up the third TPB this Wed and as many single issues as necessary to catch me up.
My only gripe about Legends in Exile, is that even though it was sorta implied, Willingham didn't really touch upon how the disappearence was tearing the Fables community apart.

[metr0man]

I recently finished catching up to Fables. Great series. I love the mythology being woven there.
March of the Wooden Soldiers was a great arc, and while the Bigby at War storyline was fun, i'm anxious to get back to Fabletown.

So who is The Adversary? it seemed to me that March of Wooden Soldiers made it pretty clear that The Adversary is probably Geppetto, with the outside possibility of it being the Blue Fairy. Seems a bit obvious from the conversations of the three Wooden soldiers, but Willingham has said that all the clues are there and the obvious answer is the right one.

My only confusion is that during the Murder Mystery storyline, during the Remembrance Day ceremony they seem to show the adversary, a woodland sprite or a god, looking very Satan like. Then again that could just be how the fables think of him/it.

[4StringFox]

I'm just tuning in, here's my two cents.

I recently borrowed the first two TPBs and enjoyed them. I don't know if I'd buy them myself though. I love the snarky humor, and the stand-alone stories that still have the flavor of fairy tales. The whole Sleeping Beauty deal cracked me up, and the Confederate Jack tale was totally awesome!

What I don't love is that, in those TPBs at least, Snow and Bigby are solving their problems without a hitch, whipping out Batman-with-prep-time level plans at a moment's notice. I hope it doesn't stay that way; it's irritating when you're certain the heroes are going to be okay in the end.

I'm also a bit confused that characters from mythology pop up every now and then (Weyland, from Norse myth). No one's throwing Greek gods or Egyptian gods out there as Fables.

It'd be awesome if in future they cracked open more non-Western European, non-American Fables. I know Baba Yaga's a recurring character in other books (Hellboy at least), but think of the potential in Arabian legends, or Russian, or Japanese.

[TheCorpulent1]

Baba Yaga shows up in Fables too. Willingham's not just limiting it to Fables anyway, he's including all kinds of fictional characters that seem interesting to him. There was a Frankenstein type of guy in the last arc.

[4StringFox]

At first I thought a "What if King Arthur and the Knights came back" storyline would rule all...

But Peter David's already done it (wrote an entire novel about). Damn.

[Lackey]

Recently finished March of the Wooden Soldiers... noticed that issue #22 wasn't included in the trade... what's issue 22 about?

I figure it was a stand alone issue that interrupts the main story arc, but dammit, why didn't they include it at the end of something :mad:

[masteryoda]

It's about these characters called Fables from fables, folklore, and fairy tales who are driven out of the Fable realm by this guy called the Adversary. They escape to the mundane world (ours) in about 1900 because it's the only one the Adversary has never expressed any interest in.

Once they're here, they set up in New York; most of the human-looking Fables live in this hotel building that they call Fabletown and just mingle with the regular people (mundys) of New York City. Lots of them have jobs in NYC: for example, Cinderella owns a shoe store called The Glass Slipper. Others work in the Fabletown building, like Bigby Wolf (the Big Bad Wolf turned human) and Snow White.

The non-human-looking Fables like the 3 Blind Mice and the Jungle Book characters live in the Farm, which is a huge plot of land in upstate New York. They're relegated to the Farm because it's the Fables' highest law that they're not allowed to reveal their magical nature to any mundys.

In short, it's just a brilliant comic. Willingham balances all the folklore and magical stuff with enough real world sensibilities that it doesn't come off as goofy (unless he means it to) and the stories have been great so far. The first arc, collected in the "Legends in Exile" TPB, is about Bigby's investigation into the murder of Snow White's sister and it's one of the most thoroughly entertaining mystery stories I've read. The second arc, in the "Animal Farm" TPB, is about an uprising in the Farm. Also really good. Just buy the first TPB and you'll probably be hooked. It's not even that expensive; I got it at Waldenbooks for about $10.
I'm sold. I'll look for the trade at my shop next time I'm in.

[John Constantine]

Recently finished March of the Wooden Soldiers... noticed that issue #22 wasn't included in the trade... what's issue 22 about?

I figure it was a stand alone issue that interrupts the main story arc, but dammit, why didn't they include it at the end of something :mad:

Issue 22 was a stand-alone story that featured Bigby, Ichabod Crane, and Cinderella. Pretty good story actually :up: I'm sure it'll be collected in a future TPB maybe :confused:

But onto the current storyline. Man did it kick so much ass. I'm loving the amount of changes the book has gone through since the first issue. I can honestly say that this is probably by favorite ongoing series at the moment :up:

[Ben Urich]

I read the fourt TPB the other day, it was ****ing awesome. I did one of those "HOLY **** I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" things when I was done, where I just threw it across the room and sat there thinking about how awesome Bill Willingham is.
I think that Gepetto is the adversary. But it's almost too easy :confused:

[John Constantine]

If you think the fourth TPB, wait until you read the fifth TPB that's due to come out early next year :)

BTW: Yeah, it is a bit obvious that Gepetto is the Adversary. Look at Chaos's post in this page. That could be a more plausible choice for the Adversary actually.

[John Constantine]

Oh, I just checked. Here's what's coming out this March:

FABLES: THE MEAN SEASONS Softcover
Writer: Bill Willingham
Artists: Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Tony Akins, Jimmy Palmiotti and James Jean
Collects issues #22 and 28-33
$14.99 U.S., 160 pages

So there you go. Issues 22 is coming out in the next TPB :) I guess they just didn't wanna include that issue in the previous TPB because it already contained like 8 issues and the Last Castle one-shot :confused:

[Lackey]

thanks for the info :up:

[DBM]

Fables, Fables, Fables, Fables.

I'm loving this series. Looks like we might be getting some (more) good stories with the introduction of Bigby's father and the fact that Snow might have another child that she doesn't even know about.

[DBM]

Why isn't anyone else talking about this? :mad:

Fables is fantastic.

[WallCrawl]

Why isn't anyone else talking about this? :mad:

Because I don't have the money to keep up with the title, so I've only been able to get the first 30 issues off of suprnnova. :(

[DBM]

Because I don't have the money to keep up with the title, so I've only been able to get the first 30 issues off of suprnnova. :(

Damn you. Go sell a kidney or something to get the money. Fables is far more important than fully filtered blood.

[WallCrawl]

Damn you. Go sell a kidney or something to get the money. Fables is far more important than fully filtered blood.

Since you think so, sells yours and gimme te money. :o

[WallCrawl]

Damn you. Go sell a kidney or something to get the money. Fables is far more important than fully filtered blood.

Since you think so, sells yours and gimme the money. :o
;)

[WallCrawl]

Damn you. Go sell a kidney or something to get the money. Fables is far more important than fully filtered blood.

Since you think so, sells yours and gimme the money. :o ;)

[DBM]

I already sold mine. I'm on dialysis twice a day.

And did you really need to say it three times?

[WallCrawl]

I already sold mine. I'm on dialysis twice a day.

And did you really need to say it three times?

That was the edit function going really wonky. I hadn't noticed until now.

[John Constantine]

Why isn't anyone else talking about this? :mad:

Fables is fantastic.

I've been talking about this title since like.....forever. But sadly, not enough people read this book. :(

[TheCorpulent1]

I've been talking about it too. I've fallen behind lately, though. I've got 3 issues waiting to be read by the side of my bed now. I keep telling myself when they come out to save the best for last, then I get bored of reading comics about halfway through my pile and do something else. I'll get to 'em one day, though.

[John Constantine]

YOu should never save the best for last. Me, I always save the best for first. So yeah, I always end up reading Fables first or second :D

[The Watchman]

Ah, I've finally found the thread for the best comic ever...

[TheCorpulent1]

I finally read the 3 issues of Fables I've had sitting next to my bed for the past few months! Wow, the start of another great story. I liked the fact that Willingham's willing to let the story take its natural course rather than force Snow and Bigby to stay in their positions to preserve a status quo. Beast seems to be shaping up as a decent sheriff, too. I'm curious about Blue and what's gonna happen to him, as well as what Frau Totenkinder was talking about in her letter. She doesn't strike me as the type to make mistakes like that. The ending to the last issue had to be the best part of the 3 issues by far though. The f***ing North Wind wants to see his grandkids! Can't wait for the next issue.

[John Constantine]

Yep. That's what I love about the series as well. Nothing just stays the same. So much stuff has been turned over from when the series first started. We've had numerous deaths of characters, a whole shake-up in Fabletown, etc. I mean the series just keeps getting better and better with each arc. Animal Farm was better than Legends in Exile, Storybook Love was better than Animal Farm, March of the Wooden Soldiers was better than SL....This and Y are probably Vertigo's best right now IMO.

[TheCorpulent1]

Animal Farm is still my favorite arc so far, but there have definitely been improvements throughout the rest of the arc. I love the flux of the series too. It's actually cathartic when you read a trade from start to finish or think back on what's come before and remember old characters who've died and stuff.

I forgot to mention before that I'm also interested in what's gonna happen to Flycatcher now. Poor guy. :(

[John Constantine]

He should just break more serious laws so he can be put back into community service again :D

Oh, and personally, I can't wait until issue 34 in February. We get another story with Jack of the Tales. I personally thought the Jack in the Tales story back in issue 11 was one of the better stand-alone stories and I can't wait to see what Jack does this time around :)

[TheCorpulent1]

Wow, I don't even remember the Jack of the Tales story. I've gotta reread that.

[DBM]

How come no one is talking about the new issue?

I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but surely someone has.

[jackcool]

Yeah, I've read the issue (of course). And yeah, another great issue. North Wind seems to be a very cool addition to the book. Plus, the revelation near the end of the book was pretty damn sad.

[ThorneFox]

Yeah it was. I think North Wind knows what's going on though, especially after Snow's actions.

[TheCorpulent1]

I forgot about this thread, actually. I liked the last issue though. The revelation is really sad, but you know it'll have repercussions somewhere down the road. I'm interested in seeing what Bigby does when he finally comes back for the kids and finds his father there.

[John Constantine]

Man, just when I thought the last arc was great, the current issue managed to beat that. This, so far, looks to be one of the better stand-alone stories for the title :up:

[DBM]

I honestly don't even want to talk about this series anymore.

Why?

Because it's consistently ****ING great.

I can't say any more about how much I love it.

[John Constantine]

And the thing is, every arc just keeps getting better than the last one.

[guj19]

Kinda wish they'd go with a different artist though, i love the story, but it's a bit too cartoony for my tastes.

[John Constantine]

To be honest, I've always liked the art by the artist of Fables in Exile the most. I think it was Lan Medina. Don't get me wrong, Buckingham's art isn't bad, it's just that Medina's art was so much better IMO.

[Lackey]

I picked up the 5th TPB on Wednesday and just read it today...

it was so into it, I read it all in one shot... I actually loved this story more so than the wooden soldiers one, although that was great too.

I really like how things are going for Snow and her 7 kids, and how it turned out with the 7th one and how grandpa showed up.

I did have a question, though if anyone can answer... how is the North Wind able to come to the mundy world so freely with the adversary having taken over everything? Is he somehow beyond the adversary's grasp? too powerful? or just the fact that he's sort of a force of nature?

[habitual]

did have a question, though if anyone can answer... how is the North Wind able to come to the mundy world so freely with the adversary having taken over everything? Is he somehow beyond the adversary's grasp? too powerful? or just the fact that he's sort of a force of nature?

I was re-reading a few issues last night and there was a part where Jack is trying to "sell" an expedition to the "Cloud Kingdom" via his remaining four magic beans. He states that the "Cloud Kingdom" has not been overrun by the Adversary's forces because they lacked the means. The Cloud Kingdom sounds like a reasonable home for the North Wind, but, that's just a guess.

Hab

[TheCorpulent1]

Er, I don't know, Lackey. I guess Willingham might elaborate on it in the future. Habitual's explanation sounds plausible though.

[Lackey]

thanks, I just wasn't sure if anything had been said in current issues.


seems like the North Wind is a pretty powerful guy...or, wind

[Not Jake]

So Fables looks interesting. Tell me. I will start picking up tpbs if there is at least one inference or joke about bestiality.

Because there's just not enough of it.:up:

[Lackey]

So Fables looks interesting. Tell me. I will start picking up tpbs if there is at least one inference or joke about bestiality.

Because there's just not enough of it.:up:


Goldilocks has a sexual relationship with the "baby bear" from the three bears...that's in the second book "Animal Farm"

[TheCorpulent1]

Goldilocks is just generally a great character, too. She's the biggest b**** you're likely to see in a comic about fairy tale characters.

[Not Jake]

Goldilocks has a sexual relationship with the "baby bear" from the three bears...that's in the second book "Animal Farm"
that's gross:(

so I'll probably buy this now:(

[DBM]

I usually only have time to read one comic on my lunch break and today it was Fables.

The actual story ended how I expected it to. Jill turned Jack in and Beast came and got him. Fabletown took all of Jack's money except what he could carry on him.

The interesting things in this issue to me, did not actually deal with the main story. When Beast comes to get Jack, it's established that four years have passed since Jack has left. And he mentions that Snow White's kids are getting ready to celebrate their 5th birthday. That means when we go back to Fabletown or the Farm, a whole hell of a lot will have changed. I can't wait to see if Mr. North has taught the children to shapeshift and to see what's happened to Bigby.

Also the other big thing to me is that they established that Jack will never come back to Fabletown until the "final days." Because Beast told him never to come back.

Really interesting stuff. This series keeps getting better and better.

[4StringFox]

Kinda wish they'd go with a different artist though, i love the story, but it's a bit too cartoony for my tastes.

I was irritated by how they drew Rose Red in the last arc. She was a punk hottie and then all of the sudden she's helmet-haired, Moon Pie-faced "Auntie Rose". Yuk.

[Eric Draven]

Interesting issue. I've actually enjoyed this two issue story more than I thought I would've when I first heard about it. And I'm glad that they're not going back to the status quo anytime soon. :up:

[habitual]

Fables #38 looks like a very interesting cover. We at least find out what's going on with Blue, maybe more. Looking forward to it!!!!

http://www.herorealm.com/images/March/FablesCv38.jpg


Hab

[Supergirl]

I just read the first thirty issues and The Last Castle tonight. I'm hooked. Hadn't thought I'd get that far, and have to wait till I go to the shop to get the rest tomorrow :(

[TheCorpulent1]

I still have to get The Last Castle. Blue recaps the main events from it when "Red Riding Hood" shows up again, but it looks like a good read. Glad to hear you're hooked, Bishop. Fables is one of the best series around. :up:

[The Watchman]

Fables is incredibly great, but I've been getting it in trades from the beginning, and now I wish I could catxh up with the single issues because it's that damn good.

[John Constantine]

The single issues are the way to go IMO. I don't know how anybody could wait the 5 or 6 months in-between TPBs to see what happens next in the book.....:(

[Supergirl]

I don't know how people wait a month for most of the titles on my pull list :(

[The Watchman]

Because I haven't found a point where I could get the back ussues after a tpb, and I'm not good at planning ahead.

[John Constantine]

Well the Mean Seasons TPB does collect up to issue 33. You only need to get like 3 back issues in order to catch up to the newest issue coming out next week.....

[The Watchman]

I know, I couldn't get one of them though. :mad:

[Supergirl]

Thats acause you suck at life :mad: among other things :o

[The Watchman]

I'll just get hammered tonight to solve all my problems.

[Supergirl]

Until you wake up in the morning pregnant with wolf cubs...

[The Watchman]

That would be disturbing, even for me.

[Elijya]

Fables fans need to go pick up a book called Lullabye

[Supergirl]

Rather them be bear cubs? Eh Goldy? Eh?

[DBM]

Fables fans need to go pick up a book called Lullabye

I'm not so sure of that. I'm reading Lullaby, and it's good, but it really doesn't compare to Fables. Fables is about 1000 times better.

[The Watchman]

Fables fans need to go pick up a book called Lullabye
You need to pick up a book called SHUT THE HELL UP!

...just kidding, I'll look for it, and if it sucks, it's your left ear.

[DBM]

You need to up a book called SHUT THE HELL UP!

...just kidding, I'll look for it, and if it sucks, it's your left ear.

The full title is Lullaby:Wisdom Seeker, if you go looking.

[Elijya]

I'm not so sure of that. I'm reading Lullaby, and it's good, but it really doesn't compare to Fables. Fables is about 1000 times better.

well, they're definite;y different. Fables is lot grittier, darky. Lullabye is like a good RPG. Any Final Fantasy fan will enjoy it, anyone who liked Battle Chasers will enjoy it

[TheCorpulent1]

I know, I couldn't get one of them though. :mad:
Just start buying individual issues. So you'll have a few that overlap; big deal. Give them away to someone else and let them experience the magic (no pun intended) of Fables. ;)

[John Constantine]

I know, I couldn't get one of them though. :mad:

You're not looking hard enough for them :mad:

[The Watchman]

****in A man, they had them today, picked up 34, 35, 36 and 37 comes out next week.

[Supergirl]

Stupid comic shop :mad: They didn't have this weeks stash out yet, so only walked away with 32-36 of Fables rather than the rest of my titles :mad: Oh well these'll tide me over ;)

[TheCorpulent1]

My comic shop apparently hadn't even received their shipment of comics for this week. I walked in and saw every comic fan's worst nightmare on a Wednesday afternoon: rack after rack of "This Week" markers with no comics in front of them. :(

[DBM]

My comic shop apparently hadn't even received their shipment of comics for this week. I walked in and saw every comic fan's worst nightmare on a Wednesday afternoon: rack after rack of "This Week" markers with no comics in front of them. :(

I've had that happen. It's so sad. It makes me want to cry. :(

[TheCorpulent1]

I died a little inside when I saw it.

[The Watchman]

It sends me into a rage, and I usually kill a few of the clerks and the guy behind the register, they're always having to replace people. :(

[Supergirl]

My old store waited til Thursday to put em all out :( It sucked :(

[habitual]

My comic shop apparently hadn't even received their shipment of comics for this week. I walked in and saw every comic fan's worst nightmare on a Wednesday afternoon: rack after rack of "This Week" markers with no comics in front of them. :(

Meh..I was just looking at the Diamond List for this week and other than Villians and a new Y there is nothing really that exciting coming out this week.

Hab

[TheCorpulent1]

I was looking forward to JL Elite, Superman, GLA, and Spider-Girl too. Not really a big week, but still, having to wait for comics is never fun.

[The Watchman]

Seven Soldiers Shining Knight, Lex Luthor MoS, Batman Dark Detective, Y and Villains United

[TheCorpulent1]

Oh yeah, Lex Luthor also.

[The Watchman]

I'm tempted to get GLA just cause San Slott seems like such a kickass guy.

[Elijya]

I'm tempted to get GLA just cause San Slott seems like such a kickass guy.

why haven't you already!?!?! :eek:

[The Watchman]

probably because I'm not intereted in the GLA.

[Elijya]

but you're interested in dan slott....

[TheCorpulent1]

I'm tempted to get GLA just cause San Slott seems like such a kickass guy.
Is that Dan's twin brother or cousin or something? ;) I'd recommend GLA. Slott's unique brand of humor is as great as ever in it. It's part slapstick, part black comedy. Good stuff.

[The Watchman]

but you're interested in dan slott....
yes, but mostly in a sexual way....er...maybe I'll just pick it up...if The Slott himself tells me to. :D

[TheCorpulent1]

He posts on the Marvel board occasionally. ;)

[The Watchman]

I know, it's why I think he's awesome :up: EricJ of Rex Mundi posts here too.

[John Constantine]

****in A man, they had them today, picked up 34, 35, 36 and 37 comes out next week.

Sweet :cool:

Those issues are pretty cool as well. I loved that two-part story with Jack :up:

[John Constantine]

And what's with this GLA? :confused: Is this something I should pick up? :confused: :o

[TheCorpulent1]

I would recommend GLA. The first issue was fun.
I know, it's why I think he's awesome :up: EricJ of Rex Mundi posts here too.
Ryan Ottley used to post art in the Fan Art forum too, but I stopped posting there so I don't know if he still does.

[The Watchman]

God I love Ottley and Invincible, crazy UncaWya...

...if I ever make it as a writer, I'm gonna come back and **** with you guys so bad.

[John Constantine]

I would recommend GLA. The first issue was fun.


I don't even know anything about them :confused: :(

[TheCorpulent1]

They're kind of a reject squad. A bunch of losers who decided it'd be a good idea to form an Avengers branch in the Great Lakes region, hence the Great Lakes Avengers, or GLA. The GLA mini is a parody of Avengers Disassembled using the GLA in the Avengers' place, really. Like I said before, it's kind of black humor because people die left and right, but there's also a lot of slapstick elements.

[habitual]

probably because I'm not intereted in the GLA.

She-Hulk was great. GLA is boring.

Hab

[Elijya]

She-Hulk was great. GLA is boring.

Hab
I disagree! they're both quite awesome

[TheCorpulent1]

I enjoy them both m'self.

[TheCorpulent1]

Continued from the Batman thread...
Funny how we've discussed Fables more in a Bat thread than in the Fables thread...
I like the current story though. I want to see how it pans out with Blue.
Yeah, I do too. There's just too much good material that Willingham's got stewing for me to ever be 100% happy with just one storyline. I want to see what's happening with all the Fables all the time. :(

[DBM]

Continued from the Batman thread...

Yeah, I do too. There's just too much good material that Willingham's got stewing for me to ever be 100% happy with just one storyline. I want to see what's happening with all the Fables all the time. :(

I agree. I just can't get enough. Monthly is way too slow for me.

I really want to know about Bigby. And the kid that Snow sent to him.

[TheCorpulent1]

That too. I want to see how the Prince is doing as mayor and how Fabletown's been managing without Snow, Blue, Cole, or Bigby.

[Supergirl]

Well apparently Beast hasn't done too badly...

But yeah we need it weekly :mad: You reading this Willingham?

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, but Beast showing up to hassle Jack isn't the same as actually getting into Fabletown again and seeing what's what. I want more! :(

I wonder if Willingham's another Bendis, with stories plotted out years in advance. If that's the case, a weekly Fables could be conceivable if he had like 3 or 4 artists to work with. And, really, what kind of artist WOULDN'T want to work on Fables? ;)

[Supergirl]

Ones that want to stay mainstream?

Yeah I know its not the same. I wanna see how Beauty is coping though...

[habitual]

OK since the Fables thing got going in the Batman thread it occurred to me that I should pop in here and make a point of how much I dug the Batman homage they did with Blue in the last issue.

Hab

[Supergirl]

Little treat: http://www.buzzscope.com/previewer.php?id=4199&p=1

[TheCorpulent1]

OK since the Fables thing got going in the Batman thread it occurred to me that I should pop in here and make a point of how much I dug the Batman homage they did with Blue in the last issue.

Hab
What Batman homage?

[habitual]

What Batman homage?

I thought that the reveal that Willingham did for Blue was an homage to the Black/Blue Dark Knight. The look and the tone were too similiar for me to think it was just coincidence.

Hab

[TheCorpulent1]

I thought it was more of a Zorro/generic mysterious masked hero kind of homage. I guess it could be a Batman homage though. I can't look at my comic because it's in another city at the moment.

[Supergirl]

Whatd you think of the preview Corp?

[TheCorpulent1]

Good stuff. Blue reminds me of Spider-Man a little bit in it. :)

[Supergirl]

I got more of a Batman vibe from him, what with the stash in the cape; and the improvisation of a secondary plan.

[TheCorpulent1]

The quipping is what gave me the Spider-Man vibe. Plus the whole nimble dude beating the bigger, badder dragon with his agility schtick.

[The Watchman]

QUE!?!?! that's really fun to yell at people instead of "what?"...

:confused:

[TheCorpulent1]

I'm confused. :confused:

[The Watchman]

You would be...

[Supergirl]

The quipping is what gave me the Spider-Man vibe. Plus the whole nimble dude beating the bigger, badder dragon with his agility schtick.
Yeah, I got the quiping maybe a cross between Spidey and Bats? One word: Most popular comic character ever!

Ok so maybe that was five words but you know what I meant :o

[The Watchman]

Yorick Brown's obviously the most popular character ever. :roooleyez:

[Supergirl]

Only with the straight ladies would he be :o

[The Watchman]

Dr Mann secretly wants his sausage and you know it.

[Supergirl]

Ya lost me :confused: I still have yet to read all my issues of Y... I have em just decided to try Fables first :o

[The Watchman]

disregard my post then, chalk it up to my drinkeness...I think i chased corp off.

[TheCorpulent1]

I've gotta get the Y trades someday. I usually end up reading Vertigo comics in trades, and then I end up procrastinating on doing that. I've still only got 3 100 Bullets trades under my belt, even. :(

[The Watchman]

The Losers, Diggle is the next big thing, trust me. Also, 100 just keeps getting better, keep on truckin' through em. or die.

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, the secrets behind Sheppard and Graves just started getting revealed a tiny bit in the last trade I read. I'll get around to them eventually.

[The Watchman]

As long as you do, or I'll smite you, or smote you, either way you'll get smoten.

[Supergirl]

I've gotta get the Y trades someday. I usually end up reading Vertigo comics in trades, and then I end up procrastinating on doing that. I've still only got 3 100 Bullets trades under my belt, even. :(
See I try/catch up to series by um uh... downloading But then I buy...
I haven't even gotten ANY 100 Bullets yet, or Transmet, or Hellblazer, or Sandman :(

[The Watchman]

100 Bullets first, the The Losers...get the other crap later.

[Supergirl]

Where does Y fit in there? :o I already have through issue 30 of it :confused:

[The Watchman]

I thought it was assumed, do you get Invincible?

[Supergirl]

No. The only Vertigo I have read is Fables...

[The Watchman]

Invincible is Image, if you ever get a chance pick it up, it's my favorite title right now, I think you'd dig it.

[Supergirl]

ah. I'll try to find it

[Elijya]

hey!

heyheyheyheynow!

let's not forget about Preacher, hmmm? ;)

[Elijya]

you guys ready to be jealous? lookie what I won (and paid a ****load for) the other day

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6528649565&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6528650108&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

[habitual]

No. The only Vertigo I have read is Fables...

If you're not reading Invincible you need to stop posting and do not pass go and do not collect 200 and pick up the trade!!!!

Hab

[The Watchman]

you guys ready to be jealous? lookie what I won (and paid a ****load for) the other day

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6528649565&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6528650108&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1
Very cool :up: You live in Philly if my memory serves me, only a 3 hour drive...hmmm

[Elijya]

you coming to wizard world east?

[Supergirl]

We3 is about to finish its long awaited DL (since Fox told me about it) I may have to read it tonight

[The Watchman]

Sadly no, one day I'll make it to a con though.

[Elijya]

DL? you're downloading the book?

and yeah, I gave it to her, was very cool

[The Watchman]

We3 is about to finish its long awaited DL (since Fox told me about it) I may have to read it tonight
You could get through it pretty quickly too...

[Supergirl]

Yeah its how I try things that I'm unsure of. If I like it I'll buy the trade though.

[Elijya]

I've tried reading online comics, just doesn't work for me, I've got to feel the book in my hand. But, I guess, I have the money to try lots of stuff. My collection is out of control...

[The Watchman]

The only thing I ever DLed was Miracleman (Marvelman) simply because you can't get the trades.

[Supergirl]

I also usually DL the issues that I do buy, in case someone else I know wants to read it or what not.

[The Watchman]

None of my friends read comics or know I do, so thankfully I don't have to worry about those damn borrowers, and things you end up never seeing again.

[Elijya]

I loan out tons of ****. Sometimes I even give stuff away

[Supergirl]

None of my friends read comics or know I do, so thankfully I don't have to worry about those damn borrowers, and things you end up never seeing again.
Well most of said friends are online friends...

I thought you were gonna come out of the comic closet last year :mad:

[John Constantine]

The Losers, Diggle is the next big thing, trust me. Also, 100 just keeps getting better, keep on truckin' through em. or die.

I dunno, I'm getting kinda bored with Losers at the moment :confused: :(


And if there's a Vertigo series to get, get Human Target. It just ended, but damn, the last issue was a huge doozy :up:

[Supergirl]

You could get through it pretty quickly too...
Right you were. I loved it. Very touching. Poor 3 :(

[TheCorpulent1]

I download stuff for the DTL, mostly. If I want to catch up on specifics about characters but I don't have any way of knowing which issues they actually do stuff that's relevant to the DTL in, I'll download whole runs of comics and just browse through them. I've ended up getting hooked on some characters' comics that way. I do prefer having a comic in my hands though.

Let me know what you think when you finally get around to Sandman, Bishop. I think it's the best thing that ever came out of Vertigo, but that's probably just me.

[habitual]

Loved the new issue, we get more background on the homelands and what's going on. I am curious about the Snow Queen though, is this C.S. Lewis' Snow Queen or a character from another story?

Hab

[TheCorpulent1]

Not to mention the fact that Blue kicks some more ass. :up:

[John Constantine]

I just wanted to bump this thread up because the new issue comes out tomorrow with the revelation of the Adversary finally :up:

[TheCorpulent1]

Booyah!

[Lackey]

I just wanted to bump this thread up because the new issue comes out tomorrow with the revelation of the Adversary finally :up:


Oh man, I better not enter this thread anymore after that

must...resist...spoilers...:(

[The Watchman]

The Aversary is peter pantless

...now, I know what you're thinking, he can't possibly know, it has to be something stupid, but do you want to take that chance?

[John Constantine]

If it were any other poster, I would actually believe what you wrote....

[The Watchman]

Yeah, I'm pretty much Bizarro Mirko...

[John Constantine]

Nah, you're in a league of your own....

[The Watchman]

I'd like to get me on a couch.

[John Constantine]

uh, that sounds a bit weird....

[The Watchman]

There are 5 meanings intended in that, pick them all out and win my sisters dog.

[John Constantine]

At the risk of losing my sanity, I'd rather not :up:

[The Watchman]

You made a wise choice.

[John Constantine]

You know, I kinda missed your sicko banter....it sucks that our thread was taken away from us....:(

[The Watchman]

I never really understood why it was closed, but c'est la vie...

[John Constantine]

So...anybody get the latest ish yet? :confused:

[Supergirl]

I have to wait til tomorrow :(
and here I thought I'd get your spoiler :o

[John Constantine]

No, I have to wait until tomorrow as well :(

I was looking for reactions from someone who read it already though.....

[Supergirl]

I wanna know who the damned Adversary is :mad:
Why is this the week where noone was able to get their comics :confused: :(

[John Constantine]

It's because the Adversary is conspiring against us? :confused:

[Supergirl]

That bastard! :mad:

[Supergirl]

Well I got it, and it partly seemed anticlimatic... Blue apparently kills the Adversary in one shot. We still don't find out who he is, but we do see him. And by all appearances it IS a him, so out go the Blue Fairy theories... But I think it may have been a ruse, and Blue only killed a look alike. Blue got captured by the Snow Queen, and next issue we're back in Fabletown... Damn you Willingham :mad:

[Elijya]

I'm loving seeing Blue kick ass (though it looks like we won't get back to this for some time). Blue killing the adversary in one shot doubles as being bad ass and anticlimactic, especially since his ID wasn't even revealed. (It's GOT to be a duplicate or something). This is potentailly my favorite arc so far

[Elijya]

You know, I kinda missed your sicko banter....it sucks that our thread was taken away from us....:(

which thread was that?

[Supergirl]

I'm loving seeing Blue kick ass (though it looks like we won't get back to this for some time). Blue killing the adversary in one shot doubles as being bad ass and anticlimactic, especially since his ID wasn't even revealed. (It's GOT to be a duplicate or something). This is potentailly my favorite arc so farJust two issues... but still :(

http://dccomics.com/media/covers/4068_400x600.jpg
FABLES #40

Written by Bill Willingham; Art by Mark Buckingham and Steve Leialoha; Cover by James Jean

After three long years of teasing and misdirection, the Adversary is revealed in the fourth amazing chapter of the "Homelands" saga. Now the action picks up as we follow Boy Blue in his quest across the Homelands, learn how close he came to rescuing Red Riding Hood, and discover how the Adversary came to power.

[John Constantine]

which thread was that?

SHH Controversy.

As to the latest issue, I've bought it, but haven't read it yet. Although reading some of the spoilers kinda has me disappointed....:(

[TheCorpulent1]

Don't listen to the spoilers, the story was great as long as you're committed to Fables. The Adversary's identity isn't revealed just yet, but we know it will be. And yes, it's going back to Fabletown next issue, but we know it'll come back to the Snow Queen and Blue. Patience, young grasshoppa... patience.

[John Constantine]

Patience hell! :mad:

I've been waiting to see who the Adversary really is since the identity was supposed to be revealed with March of the Wooden Soldiers....:(

[DBM]

From Newsarama (http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=36490)

TALKING FABLES WITH WILLINGHAM

It’s been nearly four years coming.

In August, Vertigo’s Fables #40 hits, and in it, the revelation of the Adversary’s identity will be made clear.

The story, revealing the leader of the forces that forced the Fables – characters, creatures, and people of myth – from the Homelands has been one of the many carrots series creator Bill Willingham has dangled in front of readers since the series began. It’s the oldest carrot by far, but for many fans, it’s only become sweeter with age.

Warning – spoilers ahead for the events of Fables #38

“My original design was to reveal the Adversary’s identity a little sooner, but some of the story arcs that kept occurring to me kept pushing that moment back a bit,” Willingham told Newsarama. “I was going to do it about three years in, and now, it’s coming in about three and a half or four years into it. Close enough, I guess.”

While the Adversary (or the Emperor if you’re still living in the Homelands) is a well known figure to the series’ fans, here’s a quick primer for the Fables-deficient: roughly 1,000 years ago, the Adversary invaded the lands occupied by the what we know to be European Fables with an overwhelming force. There was no hope of resistance. Those who weren’t killed or captured were allowed to flee to the world of the “mundanes” to find their own way. While the Fables have established and thrived in “Fabletown” in New York and the Farm (home to non-human Fables), the Adversary’s invasion of their lands and resultant transformation of thousands into refugees has always weighed heavily on the Fables.

Meanwhile, the identity of the Adversary (which Willingham has kept as a closely guarded secret) has weighed heavily on the series’ fans. But, Willingham said, the Adversary’s identity is just one small piece of the picture.

“The idea behind the big mysteries in Fables is that the series was never going to just be a ‘who is the Adversary?’ story. I’ve always loathed books and television shows where the entire thing is the big mystery, and to keep the series going, the one thing that you can determine right away is that you will never get the big mystery solved. The X-Files comes to mind – it was all questions and never a satisfying answer. I think the secret for doing an ongoing series is to create mystery, create questions, give answers occasionally, but by that time, have new mysteries and questions and other elements in play so there’s always a system of payoff and reward and new expectations. That’s the secret for any good ongoing series, really.”

In other words, yes, the Adversary’s identity will be made known in issue #40, but there’s going to be further mysteries from there.

Catching up again for folks who may have lapsed in reading the series, issue #40 will be part four of the “Homelands” arc which has seen Boy Blue, armed with the Jabbewock’s Bane (a sword capable of cleaving through anything) and other weapons, wade back into the Homelands, into the heart of the empire, and into the court of the Emperor himself.

Funny thing though, a couple of years back, if you’d have asked Willingham who would be the one to go back to the Homelands, his answer would have been Bigby (er, that is, the Big Bad Wolf – the former sheriff of Fabletown who can switch between human and wolf form).

“I always knew that there would be this arc where a major character heads back to the Homelands to go one on one with the bad guys,” Willingham said. “I sort of caught myself with my pants down in a sense, because I always thought it was going to be Bigby – or I thought that at first – but then, in The Last Castle story, we made a front-row spotlight star out of Boy Blue, where he was always intended to be a background character. Suddenly, he was able to carry his own story, and as we implied, he had vast years of military experience and training. So Boy Blue turned out to be a more interesting character than I thought, and he wasn’t content to remain in the background at all.”

The writer also had a clear idea of how the character invading the Homelands was supposed to look as well.

“Image-wise, I kind of wanted whoever this was that was going to be cutting and reaving his way through the Homelands to look like a cross between Zorro and Robin Hood. A lot of the reaction to how he looks so far is that he’s along the lines of Dread Pirate Roberts from The Princess Bride, which works for me, because he was basically a cross between Zorro and Robin Hood. That was one of the frustrations initially – I couldn’t figure why there would be any reason on earth for Bigby to dress up like that, because he’s not that kind of guy. He spends a lot of time running around as a wolf. He’s not going to dress in a way where he’d need to find a way to carry lots of stuff with him when he was a wolf.

“So gradually, Boy Blue took over Bigby’s role, so by the time we got to ‘Homelands,’ I knew it would be him running around. The added advantage pf that is that I was able to take Bigby off stage for a while, and the frustrations of the readers are almost palpable in regards to when he’s coming back. The old pattern of keeping them wanting and hoping for something comes back again.”

And there’s the one mystery Willingham is counting on to keep readers around post-#40, though he had to sell his editor, Shelly Bond, on the idea.

“Shelly was worried that the reveal of the Adversary would be seen as readers as a signal that they can leave now, but no – trust me – by the time the Adversary is revealed, the ‘when is Bigby coming back?’ is going to be so adamant among the fans that they’re going to want to stick around to find that out. And by the time they see what Bigby has been up to; there will be another thing for them to be wondering about down the road.”

So – we’ve got Boy Blue cutting his way through – very successfully, one could add – the Homelands, but what of the lands themselves? In the last three years’ span, whenever anyone recounted the attack of the Adversary, it was always filled with shock, horror, fire and blood. Naturally, Fables living in the Mundane world assume that’s what it’s like now – a charred wasteland, perhaps with the Adversary constantly cackling in the background.

Throughout the “Homelands” arc though, it’s been shown that’s clearly not the case. The empire run by the Adversary is quite…well, not exactly nice, but decent. And civilized.

“It’s Imperial Rome, writ large,” Willingham said. “In movies, we constantly see Rome as the villain, and rightfully so given the parade of increasingly despotic Caesars, but Rome itself was pretty damn stable. They built this vast empire, and more importantly, they knew how to run an empire – keep local kings in place, tax the people, but don’t tax them into revolt, and let them keep their local gods. The bulk of the idea of running the empire was that its subjects could pretty much continue to do what they wanted, as long as they paid their taxes, and behaved. Because of that, Rome had a pretty stable empire, and thanks to Pax Romana, it was a pretty safe empire as well.

“Even though I wasn’t promising that all along when the characters would think of the Homelands, in my mind, I always knew that the empire the Adversary had set up in the Homelands was that – you have lots of room for evil and corruption, but on a grand scale, it’s pretty stable. It would have to be to last for, as we’ve shown, thousands of years. So yeah, for the average guy in the empire, they don’t see suppression and atrocity all the time, their lives are more along the lines of, ‘Well, I hope I can get a good crop this year, so I have a little left over when I pay my taxes.’”

And even the Adversary/Emperor is…well, when introduced in #38, he’s not sucking the marrow from the bones of babies, as one might be lead to believe. In the issue, he’s making a ruling between two brothers who have petitioned him to settle a land dispute. In a rather Solomonic manner, after seeing that the brothers are steadfast and unyielding, the Emperor decrees that the lands be razed, so they now have nothing to fight over.

The scene, Willingham explained, is again rooted in ancient Rome.

“The brothers got exactly what they asked for, but nothing they wanted,” the writer said, chuckling. “Obviously, a little of what was behind the Emperor’s decision was based in, ‘How dare you bring this thing to me? If you can’t work out the problems in your own family, why are you whining to me?’ He taught them a lesson in bringing trivial matters before him, but also, in light of using the Roman template, their laws for how families treated one another were very strict – that was the base unit for culture. The penalty for patricide was among the worst in Rome. If I remember correctly, in Rome, if you killed your father, you were to be sewn into a bag with a rabid dog and a couple of other crazy animals, and as they’re tearing you apart, they’d toss the damn thing in the Tiber River. The worst of punishment was reserved for those who betrayed the family structure itself, so I wanted to add a little bit of that into the empire.”

Issue #38 also allowed Willingham to satisfy his slightly sadistic side as, by all appearances, Boy Blue was pretty damn successful in his task, only to be captured as he tried to escape. Instead of opening on Boy Blue in jail though, issue #39 is an interlude issue, telling of how things are going back in Fabletown.

“We knew there would have to be an interlude issue at some point, just because of the pace at which Mark Buckingham could draw the arc, and we wanted him to do his best work,” Willingham said. “So, with a five part arc, we knew we’d need a break. That’s when the evil part of me kicks in, and decided to put the break in just after Boy Blue was captured. So now, you have to wait two months until you can find out what happened. Was the Emperor killed? Did he get overconfident and wasn’t expecting this? Did Boy Blue get overconfident with his weaponry, which has allowed him to wade through the entire empire, unopposed? Was Boy Blue, himself killed when the Snow Queen brought him down? We’ll have to wait and see.”

The interlude, according to Willingham, will focus partly on The Tourists, three Fable secret agents who travel the world, making sure that the Fables who’ve chosen not to live in Fabletown or on the Farm are minding the rules - keeping a low profile, not revealing their magic nature, and not attracting too much attention to themselves. One of the Tourists plays a major role in the issue.

“One of these three Tourists is Mowgli from The Jungle Book, all grown up, so imagine Tarzan working as James Bond, and you’ve got him,” Willingham said. He’s been called back to Fabletown for a special meeting with Prince Charming. I won’t say exactly why, but it has to do with a scene a while ago when Prince Charming was ranting that they should’ve struck back at the Adversary a long time ago. So now, Charming is calling Mowgli back for a conversation about that.

“At the same time, and this goes back to the revolution at the Farm – Mowgli’s friend, Bagheera is still in jail while the other animal revolutionaries have been put to hard labor or seen equal punishment and released. Why has Bagheera been singled out? Mowgli’s back in town, and he’s going to go see his friend, and we’re going to see how that all ties into this as well. Oh, and they find out who the other traitor they’ve long-suspected is. So it’s a full issue, covering everything that’s been going on in Fabletown, as well as some of the repercussions of Boy Blue taking it upon himself to grab some of the best weapons and go one a one-man mission without anyone’s permission.”

Part of the interlude issue also reveals that not everyone among the Fables has been playing with their cards on the table in regards to communication with the Homelands, and that will spill into the arc that follows “Homelands.”

Speaking of those things to come, Willingham said that, even with the Emperor apparently dead, the story is far, far from over.

“We’ve hardly even touched on the Oz characters, the Alice in Wonderland characters, and so many others. There are plenty of areas left to explore. The arc after ‘Homelands’ is when the Arabian Knights characters start showing up. In this vast expanse of the empire where they conqueror for a bit, then spend years and years consolidating those new conquests, conqueror a bit more, consolidate more…it’s not like the Nazis and the blitzkrieg where they tried to grab everything at once. The way to build a stable empire is to grab what you can handle, not so much that the new members of the empire outnumber those who have grown up under the empire’s rule. You make citizens of those you conqueror, educate them in the ways of the empire, and then take another bite.

“All the worlds that have been conquered so far pretty much match up to the European fables and folklore. Probably about the time Fables the series began, the Emperor began his first, wide-scale invasion of the Arabian Knights lands, so now, the first refugees form that invasion are starting to show up in Fabletown.

“That creates a lot of cultural problems, because until now, for hundreds and hundreds of years, Fabletown has been a Euro-centric club. There hasn’t been a single brown or black face among the actual residents of Fabletown. The B-plot that will go through the arc after Homelands is that we’ll be following Mowgli on whatever secret mission Prince Charming had for him.”

And beyond? What, you need more than the Arabian Knights?

“I figure that if it’s been about 1,000 years of consolidating the European fable lands, and now he’s started with the Arabian Knights, then maybe in my lifetime, we might get to some of the Asian fables. We’ll get a little of the African world in this Arabian wave, simple because of the overlap some of the fables have, but all told, I can’t imagine that the series would ever run dry for material. If the series ends, it’s not going to be because we’ve run out of ideas to work with.”

[Supergirl]

Damn you DBM :mad: Once a month is too little for a series this good, and this interveiw makes me want it even more :( Hell, once a week isn't enough for a series this good :(