Vertigo’s Fables: Fate, Duty, and Redemption in the Modern World

Snow White and Bigby Wolf from Fables
The world of Fables is incredibly expansive.

This past month marked the end of an era for fans of the long running comic series Fables. After a hundred and fifty issues and thirteen long adventure filled years, Fables tells its last tale. The series has been both a critical and commercial success earning fourteen Eisner awards and supporting several spin offs and even a prose novel. And a Telltale video game entitled The Wolf Among Us was produced in 2014. To put it simply, the series concerns a community of characters from fairy tales and folklore, who calls themselves Fables, exiled to our world after they were chased out of their magical homelands. Living out in the mundane world proves to be a greater challenge than initially believed, as those who cannot pass for human are forced to live on a farm, far away from the non magical folks called mundies. The series chronicles their fight to stick together, protect their new home, and live out the rest of their existence how they please.

Part epic fantasy, part political thriller, and part war story the series covers a variety of themes and ideas. The chief of which concerns morality and humanity. At its essence Fables is about fate, duty, and redemption in our modern world. By examining its chief players we can pinpoint how these themes are explored and perhaps gain a new appreciation for this beloved series. This article will include spoilers for the last issue, as a warning for those not caught up.

Fables kicks off its first issue with a murder mystery. The “victim” is Rose Red, of Snow White and Rose Red fame, who is found missing from her apartment with blood caking the walls. Sheriff Bigby Wolf, known as the Big Bad Wolf back in the homelands but now in human form, alerts Rose’s sister Snow White, the deputy of mayor of Fabletown, of the crime scene. Snow and Bigby have run Fabletown, home of human looking Fables, for 400 years and although they have difficulty showing it; they care deeply for the fellow Fables. It is revealed that Rose and her on-and-off again boyfriend Jack, faked her murder to get rich and get Rose out of marriage contract with the villain Bluebeard. This first arc set up the world in which these characters inhabited and served as a small introduction to its many characters. Although Fables shifts its focus between many characters throughout the years, Bigby and Snow are often the primary focus.

Snow White

Snow White, of both Snow White and Rose Red and Seven Dwarves fame, is not the typical Snow White archetype. Often called the ice queen by citizens of Fabletown, Snow has been through a lot back in the homelands. After rescuing a prince from a magical spell with her sister Rose, Snow is shipped off to live with her stepmother by her mother to avoid a terrible fate. What follows are years of abuse and neglect by those very people who were supposed to love her. Eventually she is awoken from an enchanted sleep by Prince Charming but that marriage is short-lived.

With her sister at her side, she escapes the homelands after the Adversary’s forces take over and helps create Fabletown. She asks Bigby Wolf to become the Sheriff of Fabletown and the two form a partnership the lasts 400 years before it becomes something more. Snow and Bigby fall in love, marry, and have seven children over the course of series. Towards the end, it is revealed that Snow and Rose have powerful magic passed down from their mother. As fate would have it their family line will only produce daughters and the daughters must kill each other off to gain that magic.

As deputy mayor, Snow is willing to make sacrifices for Fabletown. She serves her fellow Fables loyally, even after she is forced to step down from office after the birth of her children. In the days before that, Snow served as ambassador for Fabletown, stopped a revolution at the Farm, prepared them for war with the Adversary, and led the Fables against an army of wooden soldiers while pregnant. Raising seven children who can shape shift from wolf to human among many other abilities, does not leave Snow out of the loop of Fabletown business. She serves as an advisor and war planner when the Fables finally face the Adversary.

Throughout the series, Snow strives to never be overcome by anything. She commands her own fate the best she can and never goes down without a fight. This is why she decided to help run Fabletown in first place to gain back the control she had lost back in the homelands. Back home she was often cast aside to be a sort of damsel in distress, as fate or her story dictated. When her story comes to end or at least as the mundies know it, Snow vows revenge against those who have harmed her. The dwarves who took advantage of her and forced her into servitude are slain by her hand. As she sees it, she is reclaiming her fate, reclaiming who she was. Fortunately, Snow learns that revenge did not at all do what she hoped and she is left feeling worse then ever. To redeem herself she founded Fabletown and vowed to serve her fellow Fables dutifully.

Snow is not one to back down from a fight.
Snow is not one to back down from a fight.

Bigby Wolf

Bigby Wolf shares a similar struggle with fate and destiny as his wife and partner Snow White. Back in the homelands, Bigby was known as an unrepentant and intelligent monster. This wasn’t always the case, for Bigby was once ridiculed by his brothers for his size. He too has powerful origins. His mother, Winter, was a white wolf capable of speech. His father was the North Wind, a god of incalculable power. Mister North fell in love with Winter and took the form of a wolf to seduce her. They spent a wonderful season together before he left her with seven cubs. Bigby and his brothers inherited shape shifting, flight, among other powers from their father. Bigby who loved his mother above all else, refused to be anything other than a wolf to spite his father.

Winter died from a broken heart and no one mourned her but her smallest son. From then on Bigby vowed to be the biggest baddest wolf in all the land. He ate anything and everything and moved from pigs, to little girls, to the Adversary’s armies. One day while invading an enemy camp, Bigby came across Snow White and Rose Red. He fell for Snow right there. He set her free and tried to forget her. Many years later he came across her again, and she offered him the role as Fabletown Sheriff. He took the job along with a new human form.

Whereas Snow was the brains of Fabletown, Bigby was the muscle. As Sheriff, Bigby was tough but fair with a strong focus on justice (for the most part.) Although he came to the mundane world for Snow, he quickly developed life long friendships with many Fabletown residents such as Flycatcher and Boy Blue. He hired special recruits to be his eyes and ears all across the mundane world. He dealt terrible blows to enemies of Fabletown such as the Adversary and his army. He was willing to do what’s best for his people even if it means accusing Snow of murdering her sister. He even protects mundane from run ins with Fables that mean them harm such as Bluebeard and even served the Allied powers in World War II. Bigby is also a devoted father and husband while still serving Fabletown when needed.

In later issues, we learn Bigby almost had a different fate entirely. A woman called Lake, who deals out fates, cursed Bigby with dying at the hands of an enemy a few days after encountering her. Not one to take defeat, Bigby attacks Lake again prompting to change his fate again to what he did not know. Through out the series Bigby is challenging fate, destiny, and perception. He fights to reform himself into a man, someone deserving of Snow and Fabletown’s love and respect. He fights to not be like his father and refuses any title available to him. But he is not always victorious as Brandish defeats him in battle and turns him into glass.

Bigby is not called the Big Bad Wolf for nothing.
Bigby is not called the Big Bad Wolf for nothing.

The Wolf family has a whole struggles against fate more than any other characters. Bigby has his fate set out for him the moment he was born. He was meant to be nothing more than a weakling, a creature to be pitied. But his heart was big enough and determined enough to fight this fate. Its only later after becoming a monster that Bigby realizes fate still had a hold on him. He became what his father wanted him to be a powerful and unrelenting god. He then works to undue those monstrosities through Snow and his service to Fabletown. Fate will never control the Big Bad Wolf.

Flycatcher

Fabletown has many soliders and one big player is Flycatcher, the former Frog Prince. In the homelands, Flycatcher lived happily with his wife and many children. There was one downside though. Whenever he got nervous or scared he turned back into a frog and only his wife’s kiss could turn him back. When the Adversary’s armies came to his palace, Flycatcher failed his family. He turned into a frog while his wife and eldest daughter were raped and murdered. His other children were killed instantly.

After one last kiss from his wife’s dead lips, he became human again and headed to Fabletown. His guilt and terror were so great that for many years he was in denial. He took up a job as janitor which Bigby gave him, in hopes that he would heal in time. When at last he remembers, Flycatcher, or Ambrose as he was once known, must go on a quest to reclaim a Kingdom in the homelands.

Ambrose is not a fighter and has no experience leading people, but out of duty to Fabletown and duty to his family he will no longer stand aside while the enemy gets stronger. The journey back to the homelands is long and arduous. But with his army by his side ( a rag-tag group of deceased Fables) he can set up Haven. Ambrose welcomes anyone to Haven rather Fable or villain as long as they promise to live peacefully. Geppetto sends army after army to Haven.

The old Ambrose would have quivered in fear. But Haven’s King is willing to put himself on the line for his people. Thanks to the armor of Lancelot, Ambrose is able to best all the armies that come his way. Once defeated the armies come to Haven deciding Ambrose is worth their devotion and not the Adversary. From then on Ambrose is huge defender of Fabletown and is at last able to forgive himself for the loss of his family.

Flycatcher’s story does not revolve around fate, exactly but he does work to become more than what he is. He believed that his story had ended when he met his wife. As he saw it he finally got his happily ever after. When that ending shatters it leads him to do nothing. He forgets who he was and who he could be. He is in some way resigned to his fate. Thankfully, after finally facing the truth Ambrose challenges fate once again. Through his army of deceased Fables he draws a new fate. One that will ensure Fabletown’s victory against the Adversary and of course make his lost family proud of him once again.

At first, Flycatcher is a simple janitor.
At first, Flycatcher is a simple janitor.

Cinderella

Another surprising defender of Fabletown is non other than Cinderella herself. Known as Cindy by those close to her, Cinderella is Charming’s third ex wife. We as readers are not given many details about her past. But we do know her story. She lived with her stepmother and two-step sisters and was treated as a maid. Thanks to her fairy godmother she attended a ball where she met Prince Charming.

As the last of the Fables headed into the mundane world, Cindy stayed with Charming to make sure he got to safety despite the fact their marriage was over. In the mundane world Cinderella runs a small unimpressive shoe store called The Glass Slipper. To most citizens, Cindy is just an airheaded spend thrift, but in reality she is a secret agent and has protected Fabletown for a long time.

For Fabletown, Cindy does assassinations, interrogation, and diplomatic missions throughout the series. She stops Ichabod Crane from contacting the Adversary, she got the Cloud Kingdom to ally with Fabletown, and protected Pinocchio from being kidnapped by Geppetto, among other things. When the powers begin to shift and a civil war is about to erupt in Fabletown, Cinderella puts her loyalty into Snow White who she sees as the true leader of Fabletown.

Unlike other Fables, Cinderella seems to have control over her fate the entire run. Becoming a spy for Fabletown requires Cindy to be active and in control most of time. She must always be one step ahead. This means Cindy makes her up her own fate. She no longer allows her story to be dictated by outside forces. In her original story she had to wait for her fairy godmother. This time there is no waiting around for a signal. Cinderella becomes more than what she is expected to be. She does not allow fate to pigeon hole her and she can redeem herself on her own terms.

There is much more to Cinderella than meets the eye.
There is much more to Cinderella than meets the eye.

Boy Blue

Boy Blue on the other hand was a trained solider, who wanted nothing more to be lowly office clerk away from any war. Blue was originally a simple trumpet player in haystack but then joined a force to get his fellow people into the mundane world. Along the way he fell for Little Red Riding Hood, or what he believed was her. The last night in the homelands, Blue was to be hidden under a magical cloak to make sure all the Fables got onto the ship safely. The Riding Hood imposter refused to get on the ship and decided to fight resulting in her death. Blue not only had her death on his hands but the blood of his fellow soldiers he wasn’t able to save. Once in the mundane world, he worked closely with Bigby and Snow. He formed friendships with Flycatcher and Pinocchio.

During the battle with the wooden soldiers, Blue learns the real Riding Hood is alive and enslaved by the Adversary. Determined to save a girl he never met and redeem himself, Blue heads back into the Homelands while stealing Fabletown property. Blue meant to end the Adversary once and for all in a single hit. What he ended up doing is uncovering the true Adversary, Geppetto.

Geppetto has been building armies of wooden soldiers with magic stolen from the Blue Fairy. Blue faced much hardship after that. He is transported to the farm, gets his heart broken by Rose Red, and ends up dying shortly after they win the battle against Geppetto. Blue’s story revolves around duty and redemption. His service to Fabletown like Cinderella’s is worth his life. He sees his service as a sort of redemption, something that is just.

Blue plays a tune.
Blue plays a tune.

Rose Red

Similar to Blue, Rose Red also seeks redemption and a second chance at being a force for good. After Snow was sent away by their mother, Rose fell into a deep depression. She remained numb for several years until the day Snow married Charming and invited Rose to live in the castle. Rose took every chance she got to make life miserable to anyone who dared to be kind her. She was responsible for the death of an innocent man and eventually slept with Charming. Rose and Snow stuck together through the Adversary seizing control of their kingdom. They met Frau Totenkinder and thanks to Rose she survived her run in with Hansel and Gretel.

In the mundane world, Rose was a party girl and mooched over anyone who was kind to her. She and Snow had a falling out when Rose’s partying ways threatened to reveal her magical nature. After Bigby uncovered Rose’s plan to fake her death, Snow and Rose headed to the farm as a punishment. There they discovered a revolution in which Rose took the side of the animals. Snow foiled the plans for revolution and gave Rose a chance to redeem herself, as keeper of the Farm.

For a time Rose did well running things. She was much happier out of Snow’s shadow. When Blue confessed his feelings for her, she broke his heart telling him she did not feel the same way. But when Blue was dying after the battle with the Adversary, Rose told him she loved him. He rebuffed her angrily, accusing her of being cruel to him even when he lay dying. His words stung Rose so deeply that she retreated into herself for many issues.

Rose is one character that often is resigned to her fate. She does not believe in herself that way Snow and Bigby do. Unlike her sister, Rose is not a popular Fable and her story if often untold. For this reason among many other confidence issues, Rose lets fate control her. As she sees it fate has already claimed her as a loser. She will never amount to anything and will always be second fiddle. She does not believe redemption is possible for her. When she becomes of knight of Hope and at last she feels worthy, she allows arrogance to consume her. She thinks I will take people down and then no one will control her ever again. Fate and everyone involved in it becomes meaningless to her.

Rose prepares for a new order.
Rose prepares for a new order.

The final issue of Fables was so large that it got its own trade paperback. The civil war in Fabletown comes to head as Rose, who had become a knight of Hope, has turned to the dark side after discovering that as fate would have it, only Snow or Rose can inherit ancestral magic. The castle of a villain named Mister Dark which had become the new Fabletown crashed before their very eyes. Before the battle between Snow and Rose can start, there are several casualties including Cinderella and Frau Totenkinder. Bigby who came back to life thanks to a dark magic has become a beast once more and Rose has seized control of him. Thankfully, he is able to regain his sanity after speaking with his family. Just as Rose is preparing for battle, Blue or what we readers can infer as Blue speaks to her. He reminds her of all she has gained and what she will lose if she goes through with this fight.

Rose, Snow, and Bigby meet several hours later and Rose promises there will be no battle. Rose points out that the ancestral magic said their line could only produce daughters. But Snow and Bigby had four sons and three daughters. This leads Rose to believe that the ancient magic is broken and there is no need for war after all. To ensure events like these do not happen again Rose vows to keep away from Snow and her family. Fabletown no longer exists and now the wide world knows of its existence. The mundane world has becoming anything but mundane. Fables are no longer restricted to the farm or Fabletown. They can go anywhere they please and that includes any world they imagine. But Bigby and Snow stay where there are, as their family tree grows with each passing decade.

It’s hard to classify Fables into one single theme or story. Its tale was spread through a variety of worlds and years. But certain ideas and themes are present in all the Fables stories. This was a story about a journey, about forgiveness, about morality, and about duty. Fabletown was a community of soldiers, protectors, and agitators with one single goal–to survive in the new world. In the mundane world they were forced to hide and their happily ever afters came and went. Its characters had such simple stories back in the homelands, but those stories became more and more complicated.

Fate which sounds like a simple thing has many facets. As Bigby says fate is not just one single option but a buffet of options open to you. No matter if you come from magical background, a royal background, or even a simple peasant background there is not one single path you must take. Bigby, Snow, and Rose all fought against fate deciding there was more to themselves then just lineage. They had duties to their families, to themselves, and the greater community at large. Fate does not care what those duties are and prefers the characters to simply go along with what is in store. But these duties were worth fighting tooth and nail for, as we’ve seen.

Through duty, characters like Rose, Blue, Bigby, and Flycatcher can redeem themselves. Through the events of the series these characters have faced terrible trials in the mundane world and in the homelands. Through their duty to the community, their families, and themselves they are able to see something new in each other. They see their value when they are working together for a greater purpose. Cinderella who started out as simple shoe clerk blossomed into a hero of Fabletown through her service.

Fables was a comic with intelligence, heart, and rich storytelling. In thirteen years it managed to be political thriller, epic fantasy, and war story. While simultaneously re inventing the characters we thought we knew. Hopefully, a movie or television adaptation will find its way out in the world someday. That way Fables can at last get the wide-spread attention it deserves.

What do you think? Leave a comment.

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Edited by DClarke, Adnan Bey, YsabelGo.

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56 Comments

  1. All good stories have to have an end at some point. It’s sad to see something end but it always better than something just going on forever with no conclusion. Well done for the team behind Fables for having the courage to do this.

  2. Thank you for this! I’ve just started to play the game and it got me interested in reading the comics.

    • I also came in from the game, I hope you enjoy the comic if you choose to read it. Thanks for the comment!

  3. I will be honest, I have never read nor heard of this series. I will give it a shot, because I like fairy tales and fantasy.

    This was a great and very informative post of the series. Thank you.

  4. I’ve loved Fables since the first issue. With so many reimagined fairy tales today, it might be hard for some to appreciate just how refreshing Bill Willingham’s storytelling and characters were. He wasn’t the first to do it, obviously, but, man, he did it well.

  5. Hiram Marvin
    0

    I really hope they release all of Fables in one gorgeous monster volume. I’d drop good money on that.

    • I’m not sure that is physically possible. It’s twenty-something TPBs.

  6. Fables kinda lost it after the Adversary. Everything after it just felt too forced. It also just became incredibly shitty and fell into many, many dumb tropes and bad writing after they tried to play off Jack raping an out of her mind Rose Red and played it off as “lol, oh that Jack”.

  7. Woodrich
    0

    I LOVE Fables. I hope Vertigo keeps it alive in different ways beyond issue #150.

  8. Jamison
    0

    I used to LOVE this book. But really it has dragged on. I got tired of the endless usage of deus ex machina to end plots (I really hate that plot device). Even when they made fun of themselves doing it with the character Dex, it just didn’t make up for it. Mister Dark has been the villain far too long. Many series don’t rely on a setting as a main part of the series. But Fabletown was vital to what made the show great. But what Fables does great: It kills/destroys the best aspects of the book. But than doesn’t replace it/them with equal or better things. Really after getting sucked into The Unwritten… its hard not to see the flaws in Fables. Hell they even did Fables better with their crossover lol! I gave up on Fables several months ago. Considering catching up after reading this love letter. Thank you for the article!

    • Thank you for the comment! I agree Fables is flawed, it seemed odd to me that they went after the Adversary so early on in the series. I came in from the game, The Wolf Among Us, and was disappointed initially after the first two volumes. But I love the characterizations so much I had to continue. I hope you do catch up with the series someday!

  9. Glad to see there’s an actual conclusion to this series.

  10. When people ask what my favorite comic is I always answer with “Fables” nothing compares to it

  11. Aaron Hatch

    I’ve always wanted to read fables, and this article only makes me want to read it even more.

  12. DClarke

    Great article, you do a very good job of covering the material without making it dry or boring. I can add my name to the list of people that you have made interested in reading the comics as well!

  13. There are a ton of great books on the stands right now fables has gone for a long long time. Thanks Bill, Mark, Steve, Todd, and the rest of the crew for such an Imaginative and fun yet adult series.

  14. Jerry Sith
    0

    I am very sad to the see the end of this series. I do like having series end at some point, a la (DMZ, scalped, 100 Bullets, sandman, etc.) but… I am not ready to see this go, even after 150 issues.

  15. GREAT post. I’ve loved Fables from beginning to end, although the Rose Red vs. Snow story is a bit weird and abrupt, probably making it my least favorite arc outside of the zombie evil Bigby stuff. I haven’t gotten to read #150 yet, but I’m going to be sad to see fables go.

  16. Fables is consistently one of the best books on the market.

  17. I just got vol 1 and 2 today

  18. I was just wondering if I should read the comics before playing the game by telltale? Or is it best to play the game first?

    • Hello! The game takes place twenty years before volume one and has its own comic series called the Fables: Wolf Among Us. The game provides more background to the comics but is very much its own thing. So you could do either one.

    • the game doesn’t spoil anything from the comics and it won’t matter what order you do it in

    • Ali Gauthier
      0

      I completed the Wolf Among Us game this week and it contains no spoilers whatsoever.

  19. I’m a new fan of Fables.

  20. Ledbetter
    0

    I’ve read none of this series. On the other hand, I won’t have to wait for the latest book if I start with Vol.1, I’ll have plenty of reading ahead!

  21. This is awesome awesome awesome! You’ve sort of made me want to start reading them all over again.

  22. I’m still trying to forget the mess that was literal storyline( I hate ‘larger than life’, ‘save the world’ storylines)…..

  23. Fran Mcfarland
    0

    I myself would really love to see FABLES as a cable maxi-series than a movie. Something a little more akin to Game of Thrones.

  24. This has been a series that has never lost steam and I’m sorry to see it close, but I’ll be looking forward to whatever Bill Willingham writes post Fables!

  25. This is great! Funny, I just finished playing the “Wolf Among Us” game this morning on my iPad. As I was going through the chapters, I became very interested in the series, and picked up the first 4 volumes. I’m one of those nuts who tends to be a completist, so I can easily see myself also picking up all of the side series, too…

  26. I just read vol 13 of Fables and realized… man I need to read Jack.

  27. FABLES has ,overall, been a conisitently high quality series. Willingham’s ability to juggle such a large cast of charcters so seamlessly always impresses me.

  28. I really hope there will be a Fables TV show, it’s a fun source material that really belongs on HBO or something.

    • Waldrop
      0

      Well, Supernatural does deal with monsters of the week stuff, like Grimm does. Except Grimm’s been consistent for a while, and Supernatural’s been on and off its past few seasons…while I enjoy Once Upon a Time, DVDs and all, I would give for a Fables TV show…only in the context it gets animated ala Archer or Spawn.

    • Do you think it’s likely, though, with Once Upon A Time covering that corner of the market? (I know, I know, but you have to admit.)

  29. In an extremely selfish way, I’m glad it has ended. I haven’t followed since around issue 100, and now it will be infinitely easier to catch up.

  30. The series jumped the shark when Willingham went overboard and decided to turn the series into a soapbox for his right wing political beliefs. I means the barbs against France weren’t particularly bad given that it was in an era where France was not popular due to its opposition to the Iraq, but after all the subsequent stuff including how fast the Adversary’s Empire fell. I pretty much jumped ship after that.

  31. I have to get myself up-to-date on this, keep pre-ordering, so have them but am letting them collect dust instead of reading.

  32. It’s been one heck of a comic run, but its time for it to end. The series overall has been felling a bit fatigue.

  33. i didn’t want it to end

  34. Patience
    0

    I love this post so much. I’m a huge Fables fan, but I got SOOO behind reading them after I finished my Masters degree. This helps me pick back up!

  35. Fables was one of my favourite series but I am super behind. I am happy it’s over though so I can catch up.

  36. Lexzie

    My friend adores Fables and has been nagging on me to get to reading the series. I really want too and this article reminds me why I should get on it!
    I think, because it has no ended, there will ultimately be a massive Fables collection that will come out. That will make it easier, at least for me, in order to pick up the series and just go with it.

  37. this is one of my favorite series I wish they had tried for two hundred it has consistantly been one the best written books on the market

  38. Gabrielle Perales
    0

    I’m a couple of books behind, I had no idea Fables was ending!

  39. Genoveva
    0

    I have been a fan of this series for so long.

  40. I love FABLES,but actually intended on taking a break for a while. I was always a little disappointed that there was no concrete end point, as all the Vertigo books I’ve enjoyed over the past 15 years did have one (except HELLBLAZER) and I was worried the book would meander eventually, which, for me, it kind of did starting with Super Team. Still an enjoyable read, mind you, but nothing like those volumes leading to War and Pieces, you know?

  41. SomeOtherAmazon
    SomeOtherAmazon
    0

    Cinderella was probably my favorite for this series. Her story was somewhere between Once Upon a Time, James Bond, and the Terminator. very cool

  42. I really miss reading articles by you! It’s been a while since you published something. Are you still writing or have any plans to publish again? I need my analytical comics fix!

  43. Good analysis of Flycatcher whose story of redemption ranks as my favourite arc of the series. To combine his quest with that of Lancelot was intriguing and the end of his arc was definitely thought-provoking – with the temptation to destroy and rule over everything with his invincible army. That being said, I am personally happy that Willingham did not elaborate on that sequence.

  44. Rather interesting fan fiction world.

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