Fables: A Suggested Reading Order

Fables (comics):

A Suggested Reading Order

Note: If you're interested in my mini-reviews, a running character list, and some pictures of the comics themselves, please see my other post -

Reviews of Fables.

Description: Fables is a comic book series published by DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint beginning in 2002. The series deals with various people from fairy tales and folklore – referring to themselves as “Fables” – who have been forced out of their Homelands. The Fables have traveled to our mundane world and formed a clandestine community in New York City known as Fabletown.

Publisher: Vertigo

Publication Date: 2002-2015+

Genre: Contemporary/Dark Fantasy

Creators: Bill Willingham, Lan Medina

Printing Formats:

-Individual issues

-Trade paperbacks with textured matte paper (collects a couple issues together)

-Deluxe hardcovers with smooth glossy paper (collects several issues together)

-Compendiums, which collect all of Fables together into 4 books

All are comics with the below exceptions:

-A Wolf in the Fold (prose story)

-1001 Nights of Snowfall (graphic novel)

-Peter and Max (prose novel)

-Pinocchio's Army (prose story)

-Werewolves of the Heartland (graphic novel)

LEGEND (for the colored and bolded text below):

Fables

Jack of Fables spinoff

Fairest spinoff

Limited Series

One-Shots

Comments

What I own

A Suggested Reading Order:

DELUXE V1 Fables #1-5: Legends in Exile (2003)

Fables #6-10: Animal Farm (2003)

DELUXE V2
A Wolf in the Fold (2003, prose story)
Fables #11-13: Bag O' Bones, A Two-Part Caper

Fables #14-18: Storybook Love, Barleycorn Brides (2004)
Fables: The Last Castle (2004)

DELUXE V3
Fables #22: Cinderella Libertine (2005)

Note: #22 can be read before or after March of the Wooden Soldiers.

Fables #19-21; #23-27: March of the Wooden Soldiers (2004)

DELUXE V4
Fables #28-33: War Stories, The Long Year/The Mean Season (2005)
Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall (2006, graphic novel)

DELUXE V5
Fables #34-35: Jack Be Nimble (2006)
Fables #36-41: Homelands (2006)
Fables #42-45: Arabian Nights and Days (2006)

DELUXE V6

Fables #46-47: Ballad of Rodney and June (2006)

Fables #48-51: Wolves, Happily Ever After, Big and Small (2006)

DELUXE V7

Fables #52-59: Sons of Empire (and 4 mini one-shots), Jiminy Christmas, Father and Son, Burning Questions (2007)

Fables #64: The Birthday Secret (2008)

DELUXE V8
Fables #60-63; #65-69: The Good Prince (2008)

DELUXE ED1

Jack of Fables #1-5: The (Nearly) Great Escape (2007)

Jack of Fables #6-11: Jack Frost and Jack of Hearts (2007)
Jack of Fables #12-16: The Bad Prince and Jack O'Lantern (2008)

DELUXE ED2

Jack of Fables #17-21: Americana (2008)

DELUXE V9

Fables #70-75: Kingdom Come, Skullduggery, War and Pieces (2008)

Peter & Max: A Fables Novel (2009, prose)

Cinderella: From Fabletown With Love #1-6 (2010)

DELUXE ED2

Jack of Fables #22-27: Gary Goes to Denmark and Turning Pages (2009)

Jack of Fables #28-32: Books of War (2009)

DELUXE V9
Fables #76-82: The Dark Ages (2009)

DELUXE V10
The Great Fables Crossover (2010):
Fables #83; Jack of Fables #33; The Literals #1
Fables #84; Jack of Fables #34; The Literals #2
Fables #85; Jack of Fables #35; The Literals #3

DELUXE ED3
Jack of Fables #36-40: New Adventures of Jack and Jack (2010)
Jack of Fables #41-45: Fulminate Blade (2011)

Fables: The Wolf Among Us #1-7 and #8-16 (both 2014) 
A video game (2013) adapted into comic form by Vertigo Comics and later as a print comic. It serves as a prequel to Fables but should be read later in the order rather than at the beginning. (Another game is to be released in 2024.)

DELUXE V11
Fables #86-93: Witches (2010)
Fables #94-100: Rose Red (2011)
Pinocchio's Army (2011, prose story)

Cinderella: Fables are Forever #1-6 (2012)

Werewolves of the Heartland (2012, graphic novel)

DELUXE V12

Fables #101-107: Super Team (2011)

THE UNWRITTEN V9 #50-54 (2014) - non-canon crossover

FAIREST V1
Fairest #1-7: Wide Awake (2012)

FAIREST V2
Fairest #8-14: Hidden Kingdom (2013)

FAIREST V3

Fairest #15-20: The Return of the Maharaja (2014)

DELUXE V12

Fables #108-113: Inherit the Wind (2012)

DELUXE V13
Fables #114-123: Cubs in Toyland (2013)
Fables #124-129: Snow White (2013)

DELUXE V14
Fables #130: June Bug (2014)
Fables #131-140: Camelot (2014)

Fairest in all the Land (one-shot, 2013)

DELUXE ED3

Jack of Fables #46-50: The End (2011)

FAIREST V4

Fairest #21-26: Of Men and Mice (2014)

FABLES: HAPPILY EVER AFTER (#21)

Fables #141-149 (2015)

FAIREST V5

Fairest #27-33: Clamour of Glamour (2015)

FABLES: FAREWELL (#22)

Fables #150 and Extras (2015)

Everafter: From the Pages of Fables V1

Everafter #1-6: The Pandora Protocol (2017)

Everafter: From the Pages of Fables V2

Everafter #7-12: The Unsentimental Education (2017)

FABLES: THE BLACK FOREST (#23?)

Fables #151-162 (2023-?)

Batman Vs. Bigby! A Wolf In Gotham #1-6 (2021)