Willingham Talks "Fables: Cubs in Toyland" and Beyond

[CBR News]

Creator Bill Willingham discusses the grim tale he and Mark Buckingham just completed in "Fables" and also revealed the title and storyline of the next major arc of the multiple Eisner Award-winning series.


Full article here.

[Huskie]

That arc was epic and awesome. Random question with upcoming Snow White arc: Has the Evil Queen appeared yet in Fables? I don't seem to remember seeing her.

[The Adventurer]

That arc was epic and awesome. Random question with upcoming Snow White arc: Has the Evil Queen appeared yet in Fables? I don't seem to remember seeing her.

Its been a while, but she must have come up during that whole Rose Red flashback arc before 100. Or maybe she didn't? I gotta reread it.

[Samorai_black]

I can't wait! I have wanted to read "Werewolves of the Heartland" for so long now. The trade for for the current arc looks like it is going to be put together pretty well, I want to read the Oz storyline in one piece.

[Kizmet]

This arc has been great, disturbing, creepy, dark, oh yeah, but incredible.

Its been a while, but she must have come up during that whole Rose Red flashback arc before 100. Or maybe she didn't? I gotta reread it.

She was there, but I don't remember her as much more than a cameo. Snow is sent away for her own safety only she's sent to the Evil Queen, but not really an Evil Queen story as such. The focus was on Rose feeling abandoned by Snow. It was about Rose's belief that Snow left her behind to go off, have an exciting life and marry a prince vs. the reality that Snow was sent away, fell into one awful situation after another and as soon as she had control over her life again she reunited with Rose... only to have Rose sleep with her husband.

[Acrid]

Haven't liked Fables since the fall of the empire. All that Mister Dark crap drove me away.

[The Adventurer]

Haven't liked Fables since the fall of the empire. All that Mister Dark crap drove me away.

Mr. Dark was a bit over long. But I feel we've definitely come out the other side the better for it.

[Sandinista]

Fables needs to end period. There's absolutely nothing sadder than a great series that doesn't know when to end and keeps going on and on for the sake of going on and on. Look at the X Files...I would hate to see Fables end like that. Willingham is a great writer but clearly enamored with the bags of money Fables generates. The comic has been lifeless and on auto-pilot for years now. The Dark Man saga was the last straw...a careful build up and a ridiculous, lazy, anticlimatic ending. Pinocchio's Super Team was just embarrassing. Please, Bill, end this once great comic before it becomes an embarrassment.

[The Adventurer]

Fables needs to end period. There's absolutely nothing sadder than a great series that doesn't know when to end and keeps going on and on for the sake of going on and on. Look at the X Files...I would hate to see Fables end like that. Willingham is a great writer but clearly enamored with the bags of money Fables generates. The comic has been lifeless and on auto-pilot for years now. The Dark Man saga was the last straw...a careful build up and a ridiculous, lazy, anticlimatic ending. Pinocchio's Super Team was just embarrassing. Please, Bill, end this once great comic before it becomes an embarrassment.

I'd agree with this, IF the series wasn't still being handled by its original creative team (Willingham and Buckingham). If you don't want to keep buying it because its no longer your cup of tea, that's fine. But I still enjoy it and wouldn't see it end for anything.

[Sandinista]

I'd agree with this, IF the series wasn't still being handled by its original creative team (Willingham and Buckingham). If you don't want to keep buying it because its no longer your cup of tea, that's fine. But I still enjoy it and wouldn't see it end for anything.

What would you like? The series to go on forever? How is that sustainable? Do you think Fables is right now just as good as it was during its War Against the Geppetto years? I don't. I feel like it's direction-less. When they were fighting against the Empire you had a clear enemy, a clear goal and an foreseeable end point. Everything was carefully building up to a final, cataclysmic confrontation, one which I feel would have been epic and rivaled The Sandman's or Lucifer's ending in its scope.

Instead (SPOILERS FOLLOW) Bill did what he does best...got cold feet, didn't want his cash cow to end and gave us what has become his trademark: an incredibly anticlimatic ending. The pardoning of Geppetto was a HUGE misstep and completely out of character with everything he had written before. It would be like Jews capturing Hitler and then pardoning him and letting him live comfortably in the suburbs of Tel Aviv. It was ridiculous.

Now that he had made the decision to turn his series into another never-ending soap opera Bill needed a new angle..a new enemy...but he had spent his creative juices and gave us a much weaker, much less interesting enemy. Even he knew it. That's why the Dark Man saga lasted about a fifth as long as the Geppetto Saga. Now what does he have?

I don't feel like I'm petulant here...I want Fables to end because of artistic reasons. I feel Bill is only doing it for the money and tarnishing the memory of an once great series. I want it to go out on top. Like right now.

[The Adventurer]

What would you like? The series to go on forever?

300 issues sounds like a good round number.

How is that sustainable?

Ask Stan Sakai and Erik Larsen

Do you think Fables is right now just as good as it was during its War Against the Geppetto years?

No. But that doesn't mean its not still entertaining (and I argue Cubs in Toy Land is a return to greatness), and I'm still largely enthralled by the characters and their on-going story. Since the Mr. Dark story ended things have been on a significant upswing (and I sort of liked what Super Team did).

Personally I love how large the world is and all things that can be done with it. I loved Jack of Fables, Fairest is a good replacement. I like the occasional spin-off like Cinderella and one-off like Werewolves of the Heartland. Its a comic universe in microcosm. Its awesome what Willingham has built up in his corner of Vertigo.

[MillerFan]

Is Fables any good? I have been waiting for a long time to catch up on it but never felt any compelling reason to do so. Can someone plz suggest me some TPBs and info regarding it?

[Dubbilex]

What would you like? The series to go on forever? How is that sustainable? Do you think Fables is right now just as good as it was during its War Against the Geppetto years?

Yes, I do. Honestly, I felt the war against the Empire was getting rather stale towards the end. I was glad when we moved onto something new. And I like the fact that we no longer have one clearly defined Big Bad on the horizon. It makes the saga a lot less conventional, in a good way.

Everything was carefully building up to a final, cataclysmic confrontation, one which I feel would have been epic and rivaled The Sandman's or Lucifer's ending in its scope.

Instead (SPOILERS FOLLOW) Bill did what he does best...got cold feet, didn't want his cash cow to end and gave us what has become his trademark: an incredibly anticlimatic ending.

I think you misunderstood the nature of the series. It was *always* meant to keep going and going and going. Willingham's been saying as much from the start. Ending at #75 was never in the cards.

[Kizmet]

I don't feel like I'm petulant here...I want Fables to end because of artistic reasons. I feel Bill is only doing it for the money and tarnishing the memory of an once great series. I want it to go out on top. Like right now.

Apparently he's still interested in writing it, plenty of people are still enjoying reading it. If you don't like it, drop it, but there's no reason everyone else that enjoys it should lose out because of your 'artistic vision'.

The Mr. Dark stuff was a bit of a slump admittedly, but "Cubs in Toyland" has been as good as anything that's come before and Buffikins has been pure fun.

[edhopper]

Apparently he's still interested in writing it, plenty of people are still enjoying reading it. If you don't like it, drop it, but there's no reason everyone else that enjoys it should lose out because of your 'artistic vision'.

The Mr. Dark stuff was a bit of a slump admittedly, but "Cubs in Toyland" has been as good as anything that's come before and Buffikins has been pure fun.

I was at the Fables Panel at the NYCC yesterday. Judging by the near capacity crowd, I would say many people are interested in Fables going on. They have at least two years of stories planned out and it seems Bill and Co. see never ending possibilities, considering how many characters and stories they have to play with.

And a heads up to those who read Fables and Unwritten. The Fables characters will appear in Unwritten starting in issue #50 for a 5 issue arc.