Jack of Fables
Encyclopedia
Jack of Fables was a spin-off
of the comic book Fables, both of which were published by DC Comics
as part of that company's Vertigo imprint
. It shows the adventures of Jack Horner
after his exile from Fabletown
. A preview of the series was shown in Fables #50, and the series itself debuted in July 2006
. It was written by Fables writer Bill Willingham
and Matthew Sturges
.
In the first issue Jack was abducted whilst hitch-hiking across America and taken to the Golden Boughs Retirement Village, where he is essentially held prisoner. Following his first encounter with "Revise", who wants to purge the world of superstition by locking up Fables until the world forgets them, he then plans and executes the first successful breakout from the Golden Boughs. While some of the escapees were captured or killed, many are now free and on the run from Revise's team.
Following his escape, Jack met up with some other refugees in the Rocky Mountains and hid there, until he made his way to Las Vegas. After meeting up with the Pathetic Fallacy, he decided to swindle The Grande Duche de Luxembourg casino, only to find a bride in Holly Wagner, the daughter of the owner. Tragically, Holly and her father were killed by Belgian
mobsters working under the orders of Lady Luck.
After the events in Las Vegas, Jack and Gary are captured again by Priscilla Page who already captured Wicked John. After a fight between Jack and John starts in the van, it crashes off the road into the Grand Canyon
. After recovering from the crash, Jack, Gary and Priscilla are sitting near a campfire, when a mysterious man appears. He plunges the sword Excalibur
through Jack's chest and dies shortly thereafter. Once John appears with the Gertrude (Priscilla's assistant), Gary explains that Jack is actually a copy of John and Jack, delighted with the news, pulls Excalibur out of his chest and impales John with it. Raven shows up after that and the party decides to move out of the canyon while leaving John behind (as the sword would draw too much attention to his Fable nature) but Jack, Raven and Gary soon ditch Priscilla and Gertrude and end up in a motel near the interstate in New Mexico
.
During these events, Hillary Page cooks up a plan to venture in the Fable Land of Americana
and blackmails Paul Bunyan
to go with her.
In the motel, Jack does the impossible, and puts Humpty Dumpty
(who had died during the Golden Bough breakout) back together again. Jack explains he brought the Humpty Dumpty parts with him, as Humpty promised to lead Jack to a hidden treasure. The treasure lies in Americana, so the foursome breach the magical border by jumping on the Great Train and bump into Hillary and Paul Bunyan.
Once in Americana, they find out that the man Hillary thought to be her father, the "Bookburner", isn't and that he holds a grudge against Revise for stealing her mother away from him. He sends Natty Bumppo
and Slue-Foot Sue after them until they finally shake them off and end up on the spot where Humpty's hidden treasure lies. In the end, Humpty and Hillary are captured by the Bookburner and he begins his march against the Golden Boughs.
The first issue also sees the return of Goldilocks, who seemingly died in a much earlier issue of Fables.
After the events of Americana, a Literary character explains the back story of the Page sisters, (Robin, Priscilla, Hillary) as well as sets up the march of the Bookburner's Eidolon army arriving at the Golden Boughs retirement center to destroy all the Fables there.
In Volume 6: The Big Book of War, Jack leads the Retirement Village against the Bookburner's siege, in an ironic twist as he works together with his former captors.
, a wide-ranging comparative study of mythology and religion. Despite its innocuous name, not all the residents live there voluntarily. In the first issue Jack is abducted to there while hitch-hiking.
Americana
.
Jack Frost (issues 6 & 11) tells the story of Jack's identity as Jack Frost
.
Jack of Hearts (issues 7 - 10) recounts his trip to Las Vegas after escaping from the Golden Boughs.
The storyline titled The Bad Prince (issues 12 - 15) is a counterpart to the Fables storyline The Good Prince and involves Jack and his relationship to Wicked John.
Jack O Lantern (issue 16) tells the story of Jack's identity as Jack O'Lantern.
Following this, Americana
(issues 17 - 20) focuses on the "American Fable homeland".
Gary Does Denmark (issue 21) is a flashback story set in the Golden Boughs Retirement Village
.
The fifth story arc, 1883 (issues 22 - 24), is a flashback story set in the Old West.
The sixth story arc is called Turning Pages (issues 25 - 27), detailing each of the Page sisters' past and personality.
The seventh, The Big Book of War (issues 28 - 32), is about Bookburner's war against the Golden Boughs Retirement Village.
The eighth storyline is part of The Great Fables Crossover (issues 33 - 35) and takes an twist as Jack is not present in the second and third issues during the story-arc, instead focusing on Bigby Wolf and Snow White joining Mr. Revise, The Pathetic Fallacy, and Babe The Blue Ox in stopping Kevin Thorn.
Jack 'n' Apes (issue 36) tells the story of Jack's identity as "Jack of the Apes".
The ninth story arc is The New Adventures of Jack and Jack (issues 37 - 40) which focuses on the new Jack Frost, Jack Horner's son.
Jack's son remains the principal protagonist of the next story The Fulminate Blade (issues 41 - 45).
Jack Horner returns in the eleventh and final story arc, The Ultimate Jack of Fables Story (issues 46 - 50), collected in the trade paperback The End. The series concludes with a chaotic battle in which most of the series' characters are killed.
magazine's Lev Grossman named it one of the Top 10 Graphic Novels of 2007, ranking it at #5.
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
of the comic book Fables, both of which were published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
as part of that company's Vertigo imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
. It shows the adventures of Jack Horner
Jack Horner (Fables)
Jack Horner is a fictional character in the comic book series Fables by Bill Willingham. His first appearance was in issue #1 of Fables and continued as a regular character of the series until leaving the series for his own title, Jack of Fables...
after his exile from Fabletown
Fabletown
Fabletown is the fictional, clandestine community of "Fables" resident in New York in the Fables comic book universe. It exists in two locations, one being Bullfinch Street in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and the other on a large farm in upstate New York, protected with magical spells that...
. A preview of the series was shown in Fables #50, and the series itself debuted in July 2006
2006 in comics
-January:*January 1, 2006: Newsweek offer a look back at 2005 through editorial cartoons. *January 2, 2006: The Cincinnati Enquirer cartoonist Jim Borgman starts a blog to detail his creative process...
. It was written by Fables writer Bill Willingham
Bill Willingham
Bill Willingham is an American writer and artist of comics.-Career:Willingham got his start in the late 1970s to early 1980s as a staff artist for TSR, Inc., where he illustrated a number of their role-playing game products...
and Matthew Sturges
Matthew Sturges
Matthew Sturges is an American writer of comics and fantasy novels.-Biography:Sturges is best known for the Eisner-award nominated Jack of Fables from DC/Vertigo...
.
Plot
The series follows Jack's adventures following his time in Hollywood where he successfully completed a hugely popular series of movies based on himself and his life. However, he had his power and money stripped from him by Fabletown authorities.In the first issue Jack was abducted whilst hitch-hiking across America and taken to the Golden Boughs Retirement Village, where he is essentially held prisoner. Following his first encounter with "Revise", who wants to purge the world of superstition by locking up Fables until the world forgets them, he then plans and executes the first successful breakout from the Golden Boughs. While some of the escapees were captured or killed, many are now free and on the run from Revise's team.
Following his escape, Jack met up with some other refugees in the Rocky Mountains and hid there, until he made his way to Las Vegas. After meeting up with the Pathetic Fallacy, he decided to swindle The Grande Duche de Luxembourg casino, only to find a bride in Holly Wagner, the daughter of the owner. Tragically, Holly and her father were killed by Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
mobsters working under the orders of Lady Luck.
After the events in Las Vegas, Jack and Gary are captured again by Priscilla Page who already captured Wicked John. After a fight between Jack and John starts in the van, it crashes off the road into the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
. After recovering from the crash, Jack, Gary and Priscilla are sitting near a campfire, when a mysterious man appears. He plunges the sword Excalibur
Excalibur
Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was...
through Jack's chest and dies shortly thereafter. Once John appears with the Gertrude (Priscilla's assistant), Gary explains that Jack is actually a copy of John and Jack, delighted with the news, pulls Excalibur out of his chest and impales John with it. Raven shows up after that and the party decides to move out of the canyon while leaving John behind (as the sword would draw too much attention to his Fable nature) but Jack, Raven and Gary soon ditch Priscilla and Gertrude and end up in a motel near the interstate in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
.
During these events, Hillary Page cooks up a plan to venture in the Fable Land of Americana
Homelands (Fables)
The Homelands are the mythical lands from fairy tales, folklore, and nursery rhymes in the comic book series Fables. The majority of those listed have been conquered by the mysterious Adversary, as he has conquered most of the European Fable lands...
and blackmails Paul Bunyan
Paul Bunyan
Paul Bunyan is a lumberjack figure in North American folklore and tradition. One of the most famous and popular North American folklore heroes, he is usually described as a giant as well as a lumberjack of unusual skill, and is often accompanied in stories by his animal companion, Babe the Blue...
to go with her.
In the motel, Jack does the impossible, and puts Humpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty is a character in an English language nursery rhyme, probably originally a riddle and one of the best known in the English-speaking world. He is typically portrayed as an egg and has appeared or been referred to in a large number of works of literature and popular culture...
(who had died during the Golden Bough breakout) back together again. Jack explains he brought the Humpty Dumpty parts with him, as Humpty promised to lead Jack to a hidden treasure. The treasure lies in Americana, so the foursome breach the magical border by jumping on the Great Train and bump into Hillary and Paul Bunyan.
Once in Americana, they find out that the man Hillary thought to be her father, the "Bookburner", isn't and that he holds a grudge against Revise for stealing her mother away from him. He sends Natty Bumppo
Natty Bumppo
Nathaniel "Natty" Bumppo is the protagonist of James Fenimore Cooper's pentalogy of novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales.- Fictional biography :...
and Slue-Foot Sue after them until they finally shake them off and end up on the spot where Humpty's hidden treasure lies. In the end, Humpty and Hillary are captured by the Bookburner and he begins his march against the Golden Boughs.
The first issue also sees the return of Goldilocks, who seemingly died in a much earlier issue of Fables.
After the events of Americana, a Literary character explains the back story of the Page sisters, (Robin, Priscilla, Hillary) as well as sets up the march of the Bookburner's Eidolon army arriving at the Golden Boughs retirement center to destroy all the Fables there.
In Volume 6: The Big Book of War, Jack leads the Retirement Village against the Bookburner's siege, in an ironic twist as he works together with his former captors.
Locations
An important location for the series is the Golden Boughs Retirement Village, named after Sir James George Frazer's The Golden BoughThe Golden Bough
The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion is a wide-ranging, comparative study of mythology and religion, written by Scottish anthropologist Sir James George Frazer . It first was published in two volumes in 1890; the third edition, published 1906–15, comprised twelve volumes...
, a wide-ranging comparative study of mythology and religion. Despite its innocuous name, not all the residents live there voluntarily. In the first issue Jack is abducted to there while hitch-hiking.
Americana
Homelands (Fables)
The Homelands are the mythical lands from fairy tales, folklore, and nursery rhymes in the comic book series Fables. The majority of those listed have been conquered by the mysterious Adversary, as he has conquered most of the European Fable lands...
.
Story arcs
The (Nearly) Great Escape (issues 1 - 5) is the first story arc, detailing Jack's capture and time in the Golden Boughs.Jack Frost (issues 6 & 11) tells the story of Jack's identity as Jack Frost
Jack Frost
Jack Frost is a sprite-like character with roots in Viking lore. There, he is known as Jokul Frosti . In Britain and United States, Jack is a variant of Old Man Winter and is held responsible for frosty weather, for nipping the nose and toes in such weather, coloring the foliage in autumn, and...
.
Jack of Hearts (issues 7 - 10) recounts his trip to Las Vegas after escaping from the Golden Boughs.
The storyline titled The Bad Prince (issues 12 - 15) is a counterpart to the Fables storyline The Good Prince and involves Jack and his relationship to Wicked John.
Jack O Lantern (issue 16) tells the story of Jack's identity as Jack O'Lantern.
Following this, Americana
Homelands (Fables)
The Homelands are the mythical lands from fairy tales, folklore, and nursery rhymes in the comic book series Fables. The majority of those listed have been conquered by the mysterious Adversary, as he has conquered most of the European Fable lands...
(issues 17 - 20) focuses on the "American Fable homeland".
Gary Does Denmark (issue 21) is a flashback story set in the Golden Boughs Retirement Village
Golden Boughs Retirement Village
The Golden Boughs Retirement Village is a fictional prison masquerading as a retirement home for fables in the Fables spin-off Jack of Fables. It is run by a man called himself Mr. Revise...
.
The fifth story arc, 1883 (issues 22 - 24), is a flashback story set in the Old West.
The sixth story arc is called Turning Pages (issues 25 - 27), detailing each of the Page sisters' past and personality.
The seventh, The Big Book of War (issues 28 - 32), is about Bookburner's war against the Golden Boughs Retirement Village.
The eighth storyline is part of The Great Fables Crossover (issues 33 - 35) and takes an twist as Jack is not present in the second and third issues during the story-arc, instead focusing on Bigby Wolf and Snow White joining Mr. Revise, The Pathetic Fallacy, and Babe The Blue Ox in stopping Kevin Thorn.
Jack 'n' Apes (issue 36) tells the story of Jack's identity as "Jack of the Apes".
The ninth story arc is The New Adventures of Jack and Jack (issues 37 - 40) which focuses on the new Jack Frost, Jack Horner's son.
Jack's son remains the principal protagonist of the next story The Fulminate Blade (issues 41 - 45).
Jack Horner returns in the eleventh and final story arc, The Ultimate Jack of Fables Story (issues 46 - 50), collected in the trade paperback The End. The series concludes with a chaotic battle in which most of the series' characters are killed.
Critical reaction
TimeTime (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine's Lev Grossman named it one of the Top 10 Graphic Novels of 2007, ranking it at #5.
Collected editions
| # | Title | ISBN | Release date | Collected material |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack of Fables - The (Nearly) Great Escape | ISBN 1-4012-1222-0 | February 28, 2007 | Jack of Fables #1–5 |
| 2 | Jack of Fables - Jack of Hearts | ISBN 1-4012-1455-X | October 3, 2007 | Jack of Fables #6–11 |
| 3 | Jack of Fables - The Bad Prince | ISBN 1-4012-1854-7 | June 25, 2008 | Jack of Fables #12–16 |
| 4 | Jack of Fables - Americana | ISBN 1-4012-1979-9 | December 16, 2008 | Jack of Fables #17-21 |
| 5 | Jack of Fables - Turning Pages | ISBN 1-4012-2138-6 | March 10, 2009 | Jack of Fables #22-27 |
| 6 | Jack of Fables - The Big Book of War | ISBN 1-4012-2500-4 | October 7, 2009 | Jack of Fables #28-32 |
| 7 | Jack of Fables - The New Adventures of Jack and Jack | ISBN 1-4012-2712-0 | June 23, 2010 | Jack of Fables #36-40 |
| 8 | Jack of Fables - The Fulminate Blade | ISBN 1-4012-2982-4 | January 26, 2011 | Jack of Fables #41-45 |
| 9 | Jack of Fables - The End | ISBN 1-4012-3155-1 | July 13, 2011 | Jack of Fables #46-50 |