Fables is one of the best comic series of the 21st century. It tells the stories of Fabletown, a community of fairy tale characters driven from their fantasy homelands by the armies of the evil Adversary and forced into exile in present-day New York City. Pretty much every character you remember from childhood or Disney movies is here, but not in the forms you might expect. Snow White, no longer a damsel in distress, is quite possibly the strongest character in the series. The Big Bad Wolf goes by Bigby now, as he’s put aside his monstrous ways and taken human form in order to act as Fabletown’s only sheriff. Prince Charming is a compulsive womanizer, Cinderella is a deadly assassin, and the Three Little Pigs are Marxist revolutionaries. The series ran for 150 issues (plus spin-offs), with Bill Willingham writing all of them and Mark Buckingham providing the art for over 110 issues. The series has been reprinted many times, with collections readily available in libraries and bookstores. Fables is very much an arc-driven series, but since I’m a huge fan of great single issues, I went through Fables and selected the top ten issues from the main series. As always, I’ll try to keep this list free of any major spoilers.
10 – ISSUES 122/123: “The Destiny Game”
Is it cheating to start a best single issues list by putting two issues in one slot? These two are perfectly continuous and make a self-contained story, so I’ll let it slide. Guest artist Gene Ha joins Fables for a flashback to Bigby’s monster days in the homelands. With moody, shadowy artwork befitting a story taking place in the deep dark woods, the Big Bad Wolf finds himself entangled in the dealings of the Fates, and has to battle an ancient sorcerer in order to change his fate before he meets his doom. In true fairy tale fashion, a conversation with an enchanted turtle carrying a world in its back on a teacup sets in motion the events of the entire Fables series. This short arc provides fans with unexpected yet fun explanations, and proves to be one of the most satisfying stories in Fables’ second half.
9 – ISSUE 69: “Eternal”
Mark Buckingham and I share a favorite Fables character: Flycatcher, the Frog-Prince-turned-janitor who ends up having one of the most important roles in the battle against the Adversary. One of Fables’ best qualities is its character development, and perhaps no character develops more than Flycatcher in the arc “The Good Prince”, which issue 69 concludes. Fables is rife with literary influence, and this issue weaves in aspects of the legend of King Arthur to elevate Flycatcher to almost mythic status while simultaneously showing that deep down he’s still the same kind-hearted man fans came to love. It’s an uplifting story of sacrifice, peace, and power in the hands of the good serving as a source of healing rather than corruption.
8 – ISSUE 100: “Single Combat”
Fables knows how to make milestones issues an event. Issue 100 is 100 pages long featuring side stories, an illustrated Q&A with some of the series’ celebrity fans (including Cobie Smulders and Phil LaMarr), a board game, and, believe it or not, cut-out paper puppets. There’s a lot of substance underneath the gimmicks as well, featuring a magical duel between Fabletown’s elder witch, Frau Totenkinder, and immortal boogeyman Mister Dark.
This issue’s art is what catapults it into the top ten. It’s some of the best art of the entire series, as colorist Lee Loughridge uses watercolor painting techniques to make Buckingham’s art look even more like a book of fairy tales than usual. The amazing art and the straightforward comic-book action make this an enjoyable read from start to finish.
7 – ISSUE 40: “He’s Only a Bird in a Gilded Cage”
Boy Blue (of “Come Blow Your Horn” nursery rhyme fame) has been captured by the Adversary, but the Adversary’s true nature is not all it seems to be. From the very first, the Adversary’s identity has been a mystery to the residents of Fabletown, and in issue 40 it is revealed in unexpected fashion. I won’t spoil it here, but the Adversary’s monologue attempting to justify their actions makes for one of the most enthralling and enlightening issues of Fables. Pieces of the puzzle rapidly fall into place, the series begins to make more sense than ever, and the longstanding Fables theme that political power can be more powerful than military or magical might is driven home in chilling fashion.
6– ISSUE 75: “The Fire Ship”
The citizens of Fabletown return to the homelands to bring the fight to the Adversary on his home turf, and Bigby squares off with an enemy even bigger and badder than himself. This double length milestone issue features multiple full-page and double-page spreads, giving it a very cinematic feel. Mark Buckingham really flexes his fantasy chops, depicting fantastical battle scenes featuring dragons, giants, and flying carpets, with an added dash of modern automatic weaponry. This issue brings a conclusion to many of Fables’ longest running plot threads, and serves as a well-defined demarcation point between the series’ first and second halves.
5 – ISSUE 16: “Duel
It’s not often that a 22-page comic can concurrently tell two stories and succeed on both fronts, but issue 16 pulls it off. Bigby and Snow are stranded in the woods three thousand miles from home, being hunted by an armed Fable with a grudge against Snow. In the midst of these dire circumstances, Bigby reveals his true feelings for Snow, and their relationship, which would come to define Fables, is thrust into the spotlight. At the same time, back in New York, it’s swords at dawn for Prince Charming and Bluebeard the wife-killer, as they fight to the death for justice, honor, and control of Fabletown’s gold.
The two Hams, Willing- and Bucking-, are both at the top of their game here. Willingham’s dialogue beautifully expresses Bigby’s love for Snow without losing any of the gruff, bluntness that makes Bigby’s voice so distinct. It’s also the first time in the series he’s ever tries to make Prince Charming likeable, which, despite the odds, he accomplishes.
I’m a sucker for unusual panel layouts, so I love the way Buckingham lays out the duel, making every page look like a medieval coat of arms. This is also the first time Bigby’s famed “Huff and Puff” powers are used, and Buckingham provides some wonderfully expressive shots of Bigby in his full wolf form for those scenes. The stark contrast of the dense woodland scenes and the isolation of the figures sword-fighting in the Woodlands Building allow this issue to succeed in a way many comics don’t even attempt.
4 – ISSUE 26: “The Battle of Fabletown”
War comes to Fabletown in this issue, as the Adversary sends an army that knows no fear and feels no pain to slaughter every Fable man, woman, and child. The Fables is forced to make their last stand in a ferocious gunfight, paying dearly in blood to defend their home. I rank this issue above some of the other battle issues because it takes place in New York, rather than in a far-off fantasy land. One of Fables’ core themes is the meeting of the magical and the mundane, exemplified perfectly in this issue’s fantasy warfare taking place on the streets of the Upper West Side. This issue also drives home the deadly seriousness of the Fables universe, as several characters meet their ends in the battle. All in all, this is one of Fables’ most suspenseful issues.
3 – ISSUE 3: “Blood Tells”
I would’ve been remiss not to include an issue from Fables’ first artist, Lan Medina. Although Mark Buckingham drew the majority of Fables, it was Lan Medina who defined the gritty New York aesthetic that made the early issues of the series so great and set them apart from traditional fantasy comics. His style fits the urban noir murder mystery of Fables’ first story perfectly, as Bigby tries to find the killer of Snow White’s sister, Rose Red. This is also the first time in the series we get a glimpse at Bigby’s true power, which, if this were a list of Top Ten Fables Moments, would come in first. I love the way Medina draws wolf Bigby here. Although he only drew seven issues, his designs were highly influential on the rest of the series. I find this first story arc to be, thematically and artistically, the most similar to the critically-acclaimed Fables video game, The Wolf Among Us.
2 – ONE-SHOT: “The Last Castle”
Fables almost always has an undercurrent of sadness and loss running through it. That poignancy is at its best in this special 50-page graphic novel with art by P. Craig Russell and Craig Hamilton. Boy Blue tells a story of the old days, when the last warriors to stand against the Adversary’s endless armies sacrificed themselves so others could escape to our world. It’s a somber, beautiful tragedy of war and survivor’s guilt, as Blue is forced to watch as his friends fight bravely against impossible odds and succumb to the inevitable. This is one of Fables’ most emotional issues, and it cements Boy Blue as one of the series’ most important characters.
1 – ISSUE 50: “Happily Ever After”
Fables is all about the subversion of people’s expectations when it comes to fairy tales. It takes characters from short stories with well-defined endings and moral compasses and puts them in long, sprawling sagas with lots of morally gray situations, taking established tropes of the genre and turning them on its head. That being said, one does get attached to the residents of Fabletown, and it’s nice if every once in a while, amid all the destruction and chaos the series is known for, they get a happy ending. Issue 50 is far from an ending, but it is incredibly happy, and very rewarding to every reader who has made it this far. It’s not short on action either, as Bigby goes on a covert mission into the homelands to finally strike back at the Adversary. Most Fables stories end with no one being particularly happy with the outcome, so this is a welcome change of pace. Of course, the Buckingham artwork is as lovely as ever, increasing the sentimentality of the issue. I chose this as Fables’ best issue because it’s a very fun read, it embraces modern fairy tale ideals, and it stands as a bold declaration of everything the series is about.
