Fables
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Fables |
| Abbreviation(s): | |
| Creator: | Bill Willingham |
| Date(s): | July 2002 – July 2015 (original comic) Dec 2014 - Nov 2015 (derivative comic) |
| Medium: | comic books, video game |
| Country of Origin: | United States |
| External Links: | at Wikipedia (original comic) at Wikipedia (game) at Wikipedia (derivative comic) |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Fables is a Vertigo comic book series that follows the the inhabitants of Fabletown, "a clandestine community within 1980s New York City consisting of various fantastical characters from fairy tales and folklore"[1] who are divided into groups of those with a human appearance who live in the center and those with an animalistic appearance who are on the farms. Snow White is the deputy mayor while the Big Bad Wolf—a shifter called Bigby Wolf—is the sheriff.
A prequel game was made in mid-2013, titled The Wolf Among Us, a comic derived from the game was also created as well as a continuation of the game. The Wolf Among Us has a cult following fandom.
Creator Bill Willingham released "the comic book property called Fables, including all related Fables spin-offs and characters" into the public domain in 2023 in response to an extended contractual dispute with DC.[2][3]
Characters
- Bigby Wolf
- Snow White
- Boy Blue
- The Woodsman
Relationship
The most common pairing in transformative works is Bigby/Snow White which is canon in Fables universe. A small number of slash works can also be found focused on Bigby/Boy Blue, and also Bigby/The Woodsman which appeared shortly after the game's release. On AO3, there are a number of Bigby/Reader fanworks.
Fandom
The Fables fandom is small, diverse and dispersed with few communities and websites still active, but they are feral. The fan reaction to the discontinuation of the Vertigo label (where the comics were published) and the launch of the video game and the derivative comic only shows this loyalty and how small the fandom there still lives. Due to the simple title, fanfic archives often don't have proper tags.[citation needed]
Reviews
The series is the brain-child of Bill Willingham, whose writing is brisk, funny, and creative. He has twists you don't expect, like the Big Bad Wolf is a shapeshifter who here poses as Bigby, the sheriff.[citation needed]
also I know it’s been two years but I’m still deep in mourning for DC shutting down the Vertigo imprint because it was a home for a lot of really creative and unique titles and it’s deeply tragic that the Vertigo corner of DC’s publishing slate been diminished to an occasional Swamp Thing mini, a couple of Black Label Sandman universe minis, and a Fables mini every so often[4]
Example Fanworks
Fanfiction
- Pas de Deux of Fables by AfterDarkWolfie (Bigby/OFC) - Odellia, black market witch and nightly lounge singer, is called upon by an old friend to retrieve an Oz artifact in exchange for a favor. (2026)
- can't help myself by sillylily07 (Bigby/Snow, The Wolf Among Us video game) - After the Crooked Man trial, Snow and Bigby have a moment alone. (2026)
- The prince and his city by Eilisande (gen) - Prince Charming is not devoid of heart and has discovered a true Great Love at last. It's not Snow White, Briar Rose, Cinderella or any other woman. This time he fell in love with Fabletown. (2023)
- A Scent Remembered by Rhiw (Bigby/Snow, Bigby/Boy Blue) - Only two scents had ever really appealed to Bigby Wolf, only two out of thousands and thousands that had ever suggested 'mate.' (2018)
- Do Not Worry by kittenspawn (Bigby/Snow) - AU in which Bigby and Snow met when she’s a little girl and he’s a little cub. Snippet scenes over several centuries. (2015)
- The Last Mowgli Story by LuxaLucifer (gen) - You can't have both, the bear and the panther told Mowgli as a child. You can't be both a beast of the jungle and a man of the cities. Some would have him be neither. Shere Khan would have him be dead. (2015)
- Afterthoughts by Crimson-Eyed-Angel99 (gen) - Going up against the Snow Queen to save Kay was futile, so Gerda never tried. Now, inheriting some fragment of his curse has driven her back to the Homelands in search of the Snow Queen, where she is pulled into a search for an ancient weapon and quite possibly the rescue of Kay. (2012)
Fan Art
Cosplay
This article or section needs expansion. |
Meta
- Bitch. To a Wolf, it's a Good Thing. by dotiscute, a Bigby/Snow essay for ship_manifesto (Dec 2004)
- Fables by Bill Willingham: A Series Overview, Story and Somnomancy at Wordpress (Sep 2017)
Archives, Communities & Resources
Archives
- Fables (Willingham) - All Media Types tag at AO3
- The Wolf Among Us tag at AO3
- Comics > Fables at FanFiction.Net
Fansites
- into the woods, a Fables fansite (defunct)
- Once Upon a Time, a Fables fansite (defunct)
- Fabletown Virtual Library, a Fables fansite (defunct)
- Fables Wiki at Fandom.com
Communities
- Fabletown.com, the official forum (defunct)
- fables_comic, a Fables community on LiveJournal
- snow_n_bigby, a Bigby/Snow community on LiveJournal (defunct)
- r/Fables - subReddit
References
- ^ Wikipedia:The Wolf Among Us, accessed 17 February 2023.
- ^ Matt Schimkowitz, "He couldn’t afford to sue DC Comics, so Bill Willingham put Fables in the public domain", The A.V. Club, 14 September 2023
- ^ Adele Ankers-Range, "Fables Creator Releases Hit Comic Book Series Into the Public Domain After Dispute With DC", IGN, 15 September 2023
- ^ fantastic-nonsense (2022-10-02). "also I know it's been two years but I'm still deep in mourning". Tumblr. Archived from the original on 2023-02-17.