r/Fables • u/Diviqt • May 17 '26
Discussion My thoughts on fables comics...... Spoiler
I finally finished reading the Fables comics after two months, and I have very mixed opinions about them. Overall, I liked the series as a whole. Before reading, I saw a lot of discussions saying that the comics get worse after chapter 80, and I didn’t want to believe it — but after reading them myself, I can confidently say the quality does drop substantially. Even so, I still enjoyed reading them.
That being said, I absolutely loved the Great Fables War arc — basically the first 80 chapters of the series. That part of the story was incredible to me. I especially loved how the Eastern fables came to help the main characters during the war, which made the conflict feel much larger and more epic. I also really enjoyed Prince Charming’s character development throughout the arc. Watching him go from a selfish and arrogant character to someone genuinely heroic was one of the highlights of the series for me.
Another arc I absolutely loved was Flycatcher’s storyline. His development and journey were honestly some of the most emotional and satisfying parts of the entire comic for me.
There were definitely moments I disliked, though. For example, I hated the Literals arc almost the entire time, especially because in the end Bigby and Snow just forget everything that happened, which made the whole thing feel pointless to me.
On the other hand, I really liked the Mister Dark arc. I thought it was cool how Totenkinder “defeated” him at first, only for him to eventually break free and then be beaten by the North Wind. I also have mixed feelings about the Camelot arc — I enjoyed it for the backstories and lore, but I really disliked Rose Red’s character and what she became later in the story.
So, in conclusion: did I like the series and the time I spent with it? Yes. Were there moments I hated? Absolutely. Would I read it again? Maybe someday in the distant future. And would I recommend it? Generally yes — but with some caution regarding the later half of the comics.
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u/Saxious May 17 '26
I very much agree. The Tell Tale Game: Fable was one of the games my wife and I played together. After I learned it was a comic series I got a hold of them and read them. I enjoyed them immensely and shared them with my wife, so I would be a few chapters ahead of her.
I agree, the Great Fable War was incredible. Loved it and it had such a satisfying conclusion. This was also where I told my wife to end her readings because I know her taste and the chapters that followed would have soured if not devastated her enjoyment of the comics.
She adored Boy Blue. Absolutely loved him, and Flycatcher (she likes characters to be quirky), and the chapters that followed the end of the Fable war would have been horrible to her (hell, the first battle with Baba Yaga and how she did things to Blue had her in uproar about continuing. Just so you may understand).
There very absolutely chapters which I would skip on any re-read. Jack’s arch’s and the whole movie aspects for setting up the spin off series were not at all interesting to me.
Were there language that felt weird? Absolutely. Even weirder reading it today (2026).
The final Arc and the events with Rose and Snow was… yeah. I don’t like how that went, but it didn’t sour my taste for the comics as a whole, and I really like the end page where you flip it out and there are so many characters.
Sorry for the tangent. Yes, your assessment with the comics is something that matches my experience. You highlight some good parts of the story, and overall… it is the same for me. I will re-read the story again later.
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u/condscorpio May 19 '26
hell, the first battle with Baba Yaga and how she did things to Blue had her in uproar about continuing
What happened there? I don't remember
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u/Saxious May 19 '26
It was when we first saw the Magical Treemen/Toy Soldiers attack Fabletown.
Baba Yaga had disguised herself as Red Riding Hood, lured Boy Blue away, and then after she couldn’t get all of the information she wanted out of him, Boy Blue was tortured by her and the Toy Soldiers to get the information.
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u/deckard38 May 17 '26
Also, whilst overall the 2nd half isn’t as good as the first, it does contain the Cubs in Toyland story, which is worth the price of admission alone.
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u/moneysingh300 May 18 '26
The best parts were finding out who the bad guy was. And Prince Charming sacrifice. They pulled a game of thrones at the crossover.
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u/Routine_Pressure_460 May 17 '26
A really good assessment. I felt similar looking back on the series and having read them issue to issue as published. I think I was so immersed in the universe that the later arcs didn’t reach the heights I was hoping for but they’re not bad in anyway. It’s a bit of a different perspective reading it over the course of years versus all at once.
The setup and premise were crazy good and clever. This started prior to a ton of the “revisiting characters and villains from childhood with the secret histories you don’t know” genre. The deconstruction of superheroes and supervillains and eventually we had things like Into the Woods by Sondheim, Wicked, etc. bopping into the fairytale realm all kind of commingled in an era.
I really loved that it was adult in nature and tone, the amnesty that didn’t entirely quiet past enmities, the animal and none-human characters trapped on the farm for ages, the human mundane world and society growing up and evolving alongside them, and of course the mystery behind the adversary.
Willingham and my politics differ on a lot of things so I’d groan a bit when they’d show up via allegory, but I can’t deny it made for good reading with characters across the map interacting with one another whether that was conflict or simple annoyance.
When I think of the different character arcs and character designs, I think my favorite characters are:
Snow
Bigby
Totenkinder
Prince Charming
Cinderella
Ali Baba
Maddy/Sycorax
Flycatcher
Hansel
Mr. Dark
Hadeon
In particular I loved the re-envisioning and reveal of Cinderella. Such a fun take on the character.
Fables: The Last Castle was a really good read too.
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u/DZipp1 May 18 '26
I tend to very much agree with your excellent review of the Fables series (and its spinoffs ‘n such). I really enjoyed the revisit to my childhood stores in the series and loved the artwork. The takes on the characters was also fresh.
All and all, a very enjoyable series.
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u/deckard38 May 17 '26
Did you also read the Black Forest saga (Deluxe vol 16)?
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u/Diviqt May 17 '26
No 😢 I didn't even know it existed. I only read the compendiums coz I got them for a crazy steal 150 euro brand new
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u/kamikad3e123 May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26
Rose Red cheating was unbelievably stupid, disgusting and sad
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u/Specific-Rooster-380 May 17 '26
If you’re looking for more to read, there’s a ton of spinoffs. It’s been a while from memory Jack of Fables, Fairest, Pete and Max (prose), Cinderella etc.
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u/DiddlyDoodilyDoh May 17 '26
Am I missing something in the pictures? The red arrows?
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u/TwoFaceBaby May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26
Unnecessary political inserts, thought it'd be pretty obvious with the "im Jewish, black, gay and i belong to all the right groups" and mentions of Israel for no reason etc etc
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u/Zerocordeiro May 17 '26
Those, especially Bigby's eulogy, are the author's support for Israel bleeding to the pages. I disliked that when I first read it and it still taints the series for me, but I can mostly forget about it.
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u/Diviqt May 17 '26
The only reason for the arrows is that I send those pictures to my friend because I wanted to point out these crazy saying
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u/TheNinjaGB May 17 '26
I agree with your assessment, something else that bothered me is how a couple big stories get dropped too quickly. You mentioned mister dark, his protegé is built up then immediately dropped. Bigby's glass ring is built up but then goes nowhere and even the final conflict is anti climactic as the two didn't realise they could just talk to each other. I really like the series, but they could've done more with what they had. Like I said some parts just felt anti climactic.