Fables #100 is here, and to celebrate, this post is full of Fables goodness! The main feature being the new and improved Fables gallery and an all new Jack of Fables gallery. There is information to share and a new interview with Bill Willingham to discuss. Fables fans, keep reading.
The art of Fables
James Jean has been the main artist since Fables began in 2002, providing covers for the first 81 issues. From 83 onward the artist switches to Joao Ruas, whose style is equally whimsical. (Yes, whimsical. Find a better word, I challenge you.) Here are some examples: Joao Ruas with Fables #101 and #90, James Jean with #67 and #72.
Jack of Fables started in 2006. The first 11 covers were done by James Jean, but Brian Bolland has dominated the cover art for the series since issue 12. Examples: James Jean with Jack of Fables #9 and Brian Bolland with #12, #28 and #30.
Not many other artists have made covers for either series. Mark Buckingham, Alex Maleev and Zachary Baldus being the lucky few.
You can see most of the covers, some pencils and mid-process works, for both series in their new galleries. They are organized from newest to oldest issue and will be continuously updated. Note that some of the early issues of Fables don't have cover art, as quality versions are hard to find.
Fables gallery & Jack of Fables gallery
Interview with Bill Willingham
As Fables neared it's 100th issue, io9 took the time interview Bill Willingham about his series. You can read the full interview here. Major points and discussion are below.
Peter Pan was the original Adversary.
Apparently Bill Willingham thought Pan was the bad guy when he was a little kid. He has a point, Peter Pan did encourage the kids to follow him to the magic candy van Neverland. He was unable to use Peter Pan because of copyright issues. Enter... Gepetto. I'm thinking Pan would have made a better villain. He can fly and use magic; every situation would have been different.
Bill went to Narnia and followed Tarzan into the jungle.
If he could, Willingham would love to use characters from stories he read as a kid. Some of these include characters from Narnia and those in Edgar Rice Burroughs work. Not sure about bringing the Chronicles of Narnia into this, but I have no doubt Willingham could have made it work. Actually, Narnia would be the perfect place for the Fables to go. They could pretty much move there and live happily every after, depending on what point in the Narnia chronicles they entered.
You should thank Rocky and Bullwinkle for Fables.
Depending on your age, you may remember a segment of the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show called Fractured Fairy Tales. These shorts are what gave Willingham the idea for Fables. Meant to be funny, they retell fairy tales using modern settings. It's easier to understand if you watch. Here is the Three Little Pigs' fractured fairy tale.
Superheroes are coming!
The title of the next arc is "Super Group", an examination of superhero comics via Fables "with a twist". Seeing as half of all Fables have some sort of special ability, he'll have no problem adding a superhero spin to it.
That's the end of the Fables post. Here's to hoping the next 100 issues are as great as the first.
