Fables (comics):
Mini-Reviews
Note: If you're just looking for the suggested reading order WITHOUT my mini-reviews, a running character list, and some pictures of the comics themselves, please see my other post - Fables: A Suggested Reading Order.
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 several issues)
-Deluxe hardcovers with smooth glossy paper (collects several issues)
-Compendiums, which collect all of Fables together into 4 books
All are comics with the below exceptions:
-1001 Nights of Snowfall (graphic novel)
-Werewolves of the Heartland (graphic novel)
-A Wolf in the Fold (prose story)
-Pinocchio's Army (prose story)
-Peter and Max (prose novel)
Character List (alphabetically - some may be missing if I missed the reference):
A-C - A-Number-One/King of Hobos, Agent Mulder, Ali Baba and Aladdin, Alice and Hare, Annie Oakley, Autumn Queen/Syksy, Baba Yaga and House, Captain Hook, Cerberus, Cinderella, Barbara Allen, Sasalisk and Minitaur, Beauty and the Beast, Big Bad Wolf/Bigby, Bigfoot/Sasquash, Billy Goat, Bo Peep, Black Caroline, Black Forest Witch/Frau Totenkinder, Black Sheep, Black Knight, Blind Mice, Blue Fairy, Bluebeard, Bogeyman, Boy Blue, Boy Who Cried Wolf, Brer Animals (Bear, Rabbit, Wolf, etc), Briar Rose/Sleeping Beauty, Britomart/Faerie Queen, Chernomer Knight, Cheshire Cat, Chicken (Run, Laundress, Little, etc), Clark Kent/Superman, Colonel Bearskin, Count Aucassin de Beaucaire, Count Dracula, Cow that Jumped Over the Moon, Croesus, Cyclopses and Mermaids
D-J - Daedalus, Dish and Spoon, Don Quixote, Dr. Frankenstein and Monster, Dr. Swineheart, Dorothy and Toto, Dwarves and Gnomes, Dragons and Giants, Dread Pirate Roberts and Princess Buttercup, Ephram, Evil Queen, Evil Stepmother, Fairies and Sprites, Firebird, Flying Carpets, Flying Monkeys, Forsworn Knight/Lancelot, Four Horseman, Friar Tuck and Little John, Frdo, Frog Prince/Ambrose, Frog and Toad, Genies and Ifrits, Geppetto, Gilligan and Skipper, Gingerbreadman, Goblins and Trolls, Golden Goose, Goldilocks and Bears, Gorgons, Guinevere, Hawkeye/Natty Bumbo and Slue Foot Sue, Haint/Devil, Hercule Poirot, Headless Horseman, Huckleberry Finn and Jim, Humpty Dumpty, Grim Reaper/Death, Gulliver, Gunga Din, Hansel and Gretel, Herman von Starkenfaust, Hickory Dickory Mouse, Ichabod Crane, Isengrim, Iskander, Ivan Tsarevich, Jack (all of them) and Jill, Jean Luc Picard, John Henry, Jungle Book Animals (Baghera, Baloo, Kaa, King Louie, Shere Khan)
K-R - Kaidan, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy, King Arthur, King Cole, King David and King Solomon, King Midas, King Pellinore, Lady Luck, Lions (Aslan, and Mouse, Mufassa/Simba, Oz, etc), Live Objects (Beauty and the Beast), Lone Ranger and Tonto, Magic Mirror, Maleficent, Mary and Little Lamb, Mary Mary, Max (Where the Wild Things are), Men in Black, Miss Muffet/Mrs. Web, Mogli, Mother Goose, Mother Rigby and Scarecrow, Mrs. Sprat, Munchkins, Nome King, North Wind, Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, Old Mother Hubbard, Old Women Who Lives in a Shoe and Children, Paul Bunyon and Babe, Pecos Bill, Peter Cottontail, Peter Pan and Wendy Darling, Peter Piper, Pied Piper, Pineapple Man, Pinocchio, Prince Charming, Priscilla, Puss in Boots/Fiddler, Queen of Hearts, Ranger Rick, Rapunzel, Ravens and Crows, Red Cross Knight, Red Riding Hood/Red Hood, Reynard the Fox, Rex Libris, Robin Hood and Maid Marian, Rose Red
S-Z - Safiya, Sambo, Santa and Mrs. Claus, Satan/Adversary, Sauron, Scarecrow (Oz), Scheherazade, Sherlock, Sidi Nouman, Sinbad and Hakim, Snow White/Lumi, Snow Queen/House of Sark, Sorcerors and Warlocks, Spring Queen/Kevat, Star Wars (Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Storm Troopers), Sulyman, Summer Queen/Kesa, Swan Princess, Pigs (Three, Babe, etc), Tam Lin, Tarzan, Three Knights (White, Radiant, Dark), Three Men in a Tub (Butcher, Baker, and Candlestick maker), Three Sisters, Thrushbeard, Thumbelina and Tom Thumb, Tin Man, Tooth Fairy, Tortoise and Hare, Trusty John, Twelve Halk Brothers, Waldemar, Walking Cards (Wonderland), Walris and Carpenter, Werewolves and Vampires, Weyland Smith, Wicked John, Wolfrum, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Zombies and Skeletons
LEGEND (for the colored and bolded text below):
Fables
Jack of Fables spinoff
Fairest spinoff
Limited Series
One-Shots
Comments/Mini-reviews
Mini-Reviews in the
Suggested Reading Order:
I read most of the series about 10 years ago for the first time.
Now I've read them: 6/29/23-8/21/23 - 13 and 14 out of 23
I plan to pick it up again next summer.
Fables #1-5: Legends in Exile (2003)
Mini-review: This was a great introduction to the series, centered around a mystery. The main characters include Bigby Wolf, Snow White, and Jack.
Snow White and Bigby are featured in both images below.
Fables #6-10: Animal Farm (2003)
Mini-review: This one, as you can probably guess, is loosely based on Animal Farm by George Orwell. The main characters include Snow White, Rose Red, and Goldilocks. One of the revolutionary complaints was that their leader was a human, even though The Farm was for non-humans. In the end, they still replaced the previous leader with another humanoid, which I didn't like.
"The Farm" and a conversation between Snow White and Reynard the Fox.
Mini-review: This is a prequel story of how Bigby and Snow White met. I enjoyed the story. Though it was prose, it included some black/white images.
Fables #11-13: Bag O' Bones, A Two-Part Caper (2004)
Mini-review: The first story was about Jack besting Death and the negative consequences that ensued. The other two stories are about how Bigby, Briar Rose, Bluebeard, and others handle a Mundy (a normal person, not of the Fable community) who knows that they are immortal. I think Bluebeard is too big for his breeches and something bad is going to happen because of him.
Jack and his mom; Prince Charming and the Frog Prince
Fables #14-18: Storybook Love, Barleycorn Brides (2004)
Mini-review: These are all cute stories centered around Bigby, Snow White, Bluebeard, Goldilocks, and Prince Charming.
Snow White and Bigby Wolf; Flying Monkey
Mini-review: This is a sad story about the last boat out of the Homelands into the safety of the Mundane world, focusing on Boy Blue and Red Riding Hood.
Red Riding Hood; Robin Hood and Britomart
Fables #22: Cinderella Libertine (2005)
Mini-review: This is a spy story centered around Cinderella and Ichabod Crane. It can be read before or after March of the Wooden Soldiers.
Fables #19-21; #23-27: March of the Wooden Soldiers (2004)
Mini-review: This is a sad story where Fabletown is attacked and the reader learns a little more about the Adversary/Emperor. The main characters include Bigby, Snow White, Red Riding Hood, Boy Blue, Black Forest Witch, and others.
Mini-review: This is a sad story where Fabletown is attacked and the reader learns a little more about the Adversary/Emperor. The main characters include Bigby, Snow White, Red Riding Hood, Boy Blue, Black Forest Witch, and others.
Jack and Wooden Soldiers; Wooden Soldiers and a Mundy Family
Fables #28-33: War Stories, The Long Year/The Mean Season (2005)
Mini-review: The first 2 stories are a war story about Bigby's past. The rest of the stories are about Snow White and her babies. It's always fun to discover new Fable characters.
Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall (2006, graphic novel)
Mini-review: This is a wonderful short story collection that gives us the background stories of some of the Fables including Snow White and Prince Charming, Reynard the Fox, the Frog Prince, Bigby, the Black Forest Witch, King Cole, and others. The Frog Prince is one of my favorite characters!
Mini-review: This is a wonderful short story collection that gives us the background stories of some of the Fables including Snow White and Prince Charming, Reynard the Fox, the Frog Prince, Bigby, the Black Forest Witch, King Cole, and others. The Frog Prince is one of my favorite characters!
Bigby as a Baby; The full 3-page story of a Cursed Hare
Fables #34-35: Jack Be Nimble (2006)
Mini-review: Jack runs away with Jill to Hollywood and makes it big - but he's no longer welcome in Fabletown. This is a setup for Jack's own spin-off series.
Fables #36-41: Homelands (2006)
Mini-review: This story is based on Boy Blue's escapades in the Homelands, where it is discovered who The Adversary is. The main characters are Boy Blue, Snow Queen, Gepetto, and others.
Boy Blue fighting a Dragon; Boy Blue as a Bird
Fables #42-45: Arabian Nights and Days (2006)
Mini-review: This is a storyline about Arabian Fables coming to set up an alliance with Fabletown. The main characters include Sinbad, King Cole, Prince Charming, and others. This is a clever and humorous tale.
King Cole, Prince Charming, and Sinbad; Rose Red, Bagheera, and Boy Blue
Fables #46-47: Ballad of Rodney and June (2006)
Mini-review: This story is about Rodney and June, wooden soldiers who fall in love and request to be made into a 'real' man and woman.
Fables #48-51: Wolves (2), Happily Ever After, Big and Small (2006)
Mini-review: Wolves is about Mogli finding Bigby. In Happily Ever After, Bigby goes on a multiple-part secret mission. Big and Small is about a secret mission Cinderella goes on. These are great, heartwarming stories.
Bigby and Cinderella in the Cloud Kingdom
Fables #52-55: Sons of Empire (4) and Mini One-Shots (4) (2007)
Mini-review: This story is about a meeting in The Homelands about how they can destroy Fabletown. The main characters include Snow Queen, Gepetto, Pinocchio, Hansel, and others. I was a little confused about the use of some of the characters in this story. The mini-stories focus on Rapunzel (pictured below), a porky pine (how it's spelled in the comic), Kevin Thorne, and the Three Blind Mice - respectively.
Gepetto and Pinocchio (and Rapunzel); A full 3-page story about Rapunzel
Fables #56-58: Jiminy Christmas, Father and Son (2)
Mini-review: The first story is about Santa and Ambrose (both Fly and the cub). The other two stories are about Bigby, Snow, and the cubs visiting North Wind. They are all cute, though bittersweet, tales.
Snow, Bigby, and cubs decorating a Christmas Tree; Santa and Ambrose (cub)
Fables #59 and #64: Burning Questions, The Birthday Secret (2008)
Mini-review: Burning Questions is a handful of short stories answering some questions that the readers had about various Fable characters (one is pictured below). The Birthday story tells how Snow and Bigby told the cubs their litter consists of 7 instead of 6 cubs.
Besides Fly, who else has asked questions of the magic mirror?
Mini-review: I didn't like how the story first started, but it turned into an incredible story! The timeline is starting to get a little wonky, but that's expected with so many issues. It's my favorite tale, by far, out of all of Fables I've already read. This is a great story about Ambrose/Fly, Lancelot, and many others.
Ambrose killing a Dragon (which represents the Empire); Amrose fighting a Troll
Jack of Fables #1-5: The (Nearly) Great Escape (2007)
Mini-review: We are introduced to many new characters in the first Jack spinoff story where he is imprisoned with a multitude of other Fables. The main characters include Jack (obviously), Goldilocks, Mr. Revise, and others. Note: Jack #1-16 should be read either directly before or after Fables' The Good Prince.
Mini-review: We are introduced to many new characters in the first Jack spinoff story where he is imprisoned with a multitude of other Fables. The main characters include Jack (obviously), Goldilocks, Mr. Revise, and others. Note: Jack #1-16 should be read either directly before or after Fables' The Good Prince.
Jack leaving Fabletown; Wizard of Oz Characters escaping prison
Jack; Jack, Mother Goose, and Wicked John
Jack of Fables #6-11: Jack Frost (2), Jack of Hearts (4) (2007)
Mini-review: Jack Frost is the story about Jack's relationship with the Snow Queen. Jack of Hearts is about how Jack gets married in Vegas, how the Pathetic Fallacy (who goes by Gary and turns inanimate objects into living beings) becomes his sidekick, and how he becomes entangled with Lady Luck. Note: Jack #1-16 should be read either directly before or after Fables' The Good Prince.
Jack's Antics with the Soup Stone; Jack discovers the Snow Queen's castle
Gary and Lawn Flamingos; Jack and Gary at a diner
Mini-review: The Bad Prince tells the antics of Jack, Gary, Wicked John, and Kevin Thorne. Jack O'Lantern is about how Jack sells his soul to the Devil (edit: multiple devils) in order to live longer. Note: Jack #1-16 should be read either directly before or after Fables' The Good Prince.
Both pictures show banter between Jack and Gary
Jack of Fables #17-21: Americana (2008)
Mini-review: This is yet another get-rich-quick scheme by Jack, which also includes Gary, Humpty Dumpty, Paul Bunyan, and others in the land of American tales. It's humorous and there's a lot of... zombies. Note: I may move this story lower in the reading order.
Zombies, Jack, Babe, Raven, Gary, Hilary Page, Humpty Dumpty
Fables #70-72: Kingdom Come, Skullduggery (2) (2008)
Mini-review: The first story focuses on Boy Blue and Rose Red, but there's also a bit with Prince Charming. Beauty is annoying in this tale. The next two-parter is another secret mission completed by Cinderella.
Boy Blue and Stinky the Badger; Cinderella
Fables #73-75: War and Pieces (2008)
Mini-review: This story is about the final war in the Homelands and overcoming the adversary. There are three war fronts: one led by Prince Charming and Sinbad, another by Bigby, and the last one by Briar Rose. At home, Snow White is in charge and Boy Blue is the messenger between them all. This is the end of the major story arc we've followed from the beginning. I wonder if they will start a whole new arc with a new enemy - or if they will go off of the enemies in the Jack Comics.
Flying Carpet powered Blimp attacked by Dragons; Adversary Warriors
Peter & Max: A Fables Novel (2009, prose)
Mini-review: This is a tragic story of how a young man became the hate-filled Pied Piper. His name is actually Max and I think it could be a reference to Where the Wild Things are. Other characters include Peter Piper (who picked a peck of pickled peppers), Bo Peep, and the Black Forest Witch. There was no Peter Pan cross-over, which was a bit of a disappointment to me. Overall, it was a great story with an unexpected ending. Quotes:
"Most of the farmhands were fable animals earning their keep; talking horses, who talked seldom unless they really had something to say, and talking dogs, who chattered constantly, believing that just about anything that was possible to say should be said, just in case it turned out to be important."
"The trouble with witch trials is that once in a great while you actually capture a real one. And then the spectacle never turns out the way you anticipate. Often the one who ends up hanged, or drowned, or burned, isn't the one in the docket."
"A sly smile began to grow upon her lips. It was the sort of smile from which devils and hauntings and deadly secrets are born."
Cinderella: From Fabletown With Love #1-6 (2010)
Jack of Fables #22-27: Gary Goes to Denmark and Turning Pages (2009)
Jack of Fables #28-32: Books of War (2009)
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
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)
Note: 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.)
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)
Fables #101-107: Super Team (2011)
THE UNWRITTEN V9 #50-54 (2014) - non-canon crossover
Fairest #1-7: Wide Awake (2012)
Fairest #8-14: Hidden Kingdom (2013)
Fairest #15-20: The Return of the Maharaja (2014)
Fables #108-113: Inherit the Wind (2012)
Fables #114-123: Cubs in Toyland (2013)
Fables #124-129: Snow White (2013)
Fables #130: June Bug (2014)
Fables #131-140: Camelot (2014)
Fairest in all the Land (one-shot, 2013)
Jack of Fables #46-50: The End (2011)
Fairest #21-26: Of Men and Mice (2014)
Fables #141-149: Happily Ever After (2015)
Fairest #27-33: Clamour of Glamour (2015)
Fables #150: Farewell and Extras (2015)
Everafter #1-6: The Pandora Protocol (2017)
Everafter #7-12: The Unsentimental Education (2017)
Fables #151-162: The Black Forest (2023-?)
Batman Vs. Bigby! A Wolf In Gotham #1-6 (2021)
