Fables Review: Bill Willingham’s Fairy-Tale Epic
Bill Willingham's fairy-tale characters in exile — a Vertigo epic.
By Web Admin
Imagine every fairy-tale character you grew up with — Snow White, the Big Bad Wolf, Prince Charming, Cinderella — driven out of their storybook homelands by a conquering tyrant and forced to build a secret life in modern-day New York City. That’s the deceptively simple hook of Fables, one of the great long-running epics of the Vertigo era. Created by writer Bill Willingham with primary artist Mark Buckingham, it ran for 150 issues from 2002 to 2015, winning a stack of Eisner Awards along the way. This is our full review of a series that turned nursery-rhyme figures into complex, dangerous, unforgettable adults.
What is Fables?
Fables is a creator-owned series written by Bill Willingham and drawn primarily by Mark Buckingham (with Lan Medina illustrating the first arc and many guest artists throughout). Published by DC’s Vertigo imprint, it launched in 2002 and concluded its main run at issue #150 in 2015. The premise: the “Fables” — sentient versions of folklore, fairy-tale, and legend characters — were driven out of their magical Homelands by a mysterious conqueror called the Adversary. The human-looking refugees now live secretly in a Manhattan neighbourhood called Fabletown, while those who can’t pass as human are hidden on a rural upstate property known as the Farm.
Volume 1, “Legends in Exile,” collects the first five issues and is structured as a murder mystery: Snow White’s wild-child sister Rose Red has apparently been killed, and Bigby Wolf — the reformed Big Bad Wolf, now Fabletown’s hard-boiled sheriff — has to solve the crime. It’s a brilliant, self-contained on-ramp to a much larger story.
The story: fairy tales grow up
Fables works because Willingham takes the premise seriously. These aren’t cutesy cameos; they’re people with centuries of history, grudges, and desires. Snow White is a steely deputy mayor running Fabletown’s bureaucracy. Prince Charming is a broke, philandering cad living off his reputation. The Big Bad Wolf is a chain-smoking detective in love with Snow White. Over 150 issues, the series moves from murder mystery to political thriller to all-out war against the Adversary, and then keeps going into rich, unexpected territory about family, governance, and legacy.
The scope is enormous but the storytelling stays grounded in character. Willingham has a gift for the long game — plot threads planted early pay off dozens of issues later — and for finding fresh angles on figures we thought we knew. The reveal of the Adversary’s identity, midway through the run, is one of the great “of course!” twists in modern comics.
The art: Mark Buckingham’s signature style
Mark Buckingham drew the vast majority of the series’ interiors, and his warm, versatile linework gives Fabletown its distinctive look — expressive enough for quiet domestic drama, grand enough for battlefield spectacle. Willingham often gave him decorative page borders that changed to reflect each arc’s theme, a lovely storybook touch. And no review can skip James Jean, whose gorgeous, painterly covers for the first 80-plus issues are among the most celebrated in comics and won multiple Eisner and Harvey Awards on their own.
Meet the cast
- Snow White — the no-nonsense deputy mayor holding Fabletown together.
- Bigby Wolf — the reformed Big Bad Wolf, now sheriff, in human form.
- Prince Charming — a charming, feckless schemer with three famous ex-wives.
- Boy Blue & Flycatcher — unlikely heroes who grow enormously over the run.
- The Adversary — the conqueror whose identity is the series’ central mystery.
Themes: exile, home, and the stories we tell
Beneath the intrigue, Fables is about immigration and exile — a community of refugees preserving their culture while adapting to a new world. It’s also about the durability of stories themselves: characters literally grow more powerful the more humans remember and believe in them. Willingham threads in meditations on war, leadership, marriage, and parenthood, and the later volumes become a surprisingly moving study of building a life after you’ve lost everything.
Content warning
Fables is a mature Vertigo series. Expect graphic violence, war, sexual content and nudity, and some dark, disturbing imagery — these fairy-tale figures live very adult lives. It’s for grown-up readers. (Note, too, that the series’ creator has been a subject of public controversy; we review the comic here strictly on its own merits as a work.)
Pros and cons
Pros
- An inventive, deeply satisfying long-form epic
- A huge cast of clever twists on familiar characters
- Gorgeous James Jean covers and consistent Buckingham art
- A complete, planned 150-issue story with a real ending
Cons
- A big commitment — 150 issues is a lot of book
- Later arcs are more uneven than the celebrated middle
- Mature content throughout
How it compares to other fantasy comics
The natural comparison is The Sandman, Vertigo’s other great mythological epic. Both raid the world’s stories for characters and both treat fantasy with literary seriousness — but where Sandman is dreamlike, episodic, and cosmic, Fables is plottier, funnier, and more grounded in soap-operatic character drama. If you love one, you’ll likely love the other; our guide to comics like Sandman covers the whole neighbourhood. For the wider genre, see our best fantasy comics list, where Fables is a fixture.
It also stands as one of the definitive Vertigo achievements, alongside Sandman, Preacher, and Lemire’s Vertigo work. Few series demonstrate the imprint’s blend of mature themes and mainstream readability as well as this one.
Which edition should you buy?
With 150 issues to collect, the format you choose really matters for both cost and shelf space.
| Edition | Collects | Approx. price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vol. 1: Legends in Exile | Issues #1–5 | ~US$13 | Trying it out |
| Deluxe Editions (hardcover) | ~2 volumes each | ~US$30 each | Showcasing the art |
| Compendium Editions | ~30+ issues each | ~US$60 each | Best value binge |
Volume 1 is a perfect, cheap test — its self-contained mystery tells you immediately whether the series is for you. If you’re hooked, the compendiums are the most economical way to read all 150 issues.
AmazonCheck price on AmazonIs it a good first comic?
Volume 1 absolutely is — it’s accessible, funny, and requires zero comics background. The challenge is the length: committing to 150 issues is a bigger ask than a single graphic novel. If you want to start smaller, our best fantasy comics guide has plenty of shorter picks. But if you love the idea of settling into a long, rewarding saga, few are more welcoming than Fabletown.
The verdict
Fables is one of the crowning achievements of the Vertigo era — a witty, sprawling, deeply human epic that reinvents characters we’ve known all our lives. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, but it’s paced by a writer in full command of the long game, and it lands a genuine ending. It sits proudly on our best Vertigo comics and best fantasy comics lists, and it remains one of the most rewarding long reads in the medium.
Frequently asked questions
Is Fables finished?
The main series concluded at issue #150 in 2015 with a definitive ending. Willingham later returned for a follow-up arc, but the original 150-issue run is a complete story.
How long is Fables?
The core series is 150 issues, collected in 22 standard volumes, roughly a dozen deluxe hardcovers, or a handful of large compendium editions.
Is Fables appropriate for kids?
No — it’s a mature Vertigo title with graphic violence, sexual content, and dark themes, despite the fairy-tale premise. It’s written for adult readers.
Should I read Fables or Sandman first?
Either works — they’re independent. Sandman is more experimental and cosmic; Fables is more plot-driven and grounded. Fans of one very often love the other, as our comics like Sandman guide explains.
Next, explore more of the imprint’s best in our best Vertigo comics guide, or find your next epic in our best fantasy comics list.
