Fables TV Ad for BBC America (An Old Post You Never Saw, Updated So It Makes Sense Now)

-- Look! It's an old draft that never got posted and is somehow relevant again! I've kept some of the old post, added updates and smeared the words around a bit to hopefully make a little more sense in regards to where we are with Fables today.--

People who don't read comic books wonder what the big deal is about Fables.

Fairy tale folk who don't read comic book are among them but there's good reason we should be keeping an eye on this graphic novel series by Bill Willingham: what if the fairy tale characters we know and love got chased out of their own land and ended up stranded in our modern day world, where nobody was allowed to discover their storybook backgrounds?

Update:
We now know that:
1) Fables is a HUGE hit. Continually critically acclaimed, winner of multiple awards and written and illustrated by heavy hitters in the writing and comic art world, they're currently into issue #131 (not including spin-off issues or specials so add maybe close to 100 issues on top of that) and have self-contained stories and spin-offs for different characters such as Jack and Cinderella and now there's a whole new series spin-off, Fairest, for the ladies of Fable town, which is proving just as popular.

2) Outside the comic geek community the idea of fairy tale characters stranded in our world has proved popular with ABCs TV series Once Upon A Time. The series has been accused called "Fables-light" for the similar premise, of which the public are eating up.

So why hasn't Fables (which is clearly excellent in its own field, as well as the premise and content proving popular in public viewing) made the move to TV or the movies yet? (Even though there have been numerous attempts to do so, none have resulted in anything except disappointment so far.)

One popular theory is that it's REALLY HARD to market comic books to non-comic book people. But I have to wonder: IS it really hard, or have people just not thought about the comic book property in the same way they do a show, book or movie, with regard to the marketing? With the rise in popularity (Update: and - FINALLY - in quality) of book trailers out there (Update: these have become almost standard now and people/companies are getting creative with production and presentation) it's about time someone thought to do something similar for Fables. (Update: this trailer is from October 2009.)

Take a look:

While I'm really glad this has helped garner interest in the general public, I do have to say I'm disappointed. (Really disappointed!) Apart from the stunning art stills, which are mostly from the covers, the quality is definitely on the low side. But why? I know people are probably still getting their feet wet with "how do you advertise a comic book (ie. a static art form /narrative combo) on a moving medium like TV?" issues but this could have been mind blowing (seriously mind-blowing!) if they'd presented it better.

Update: And I also have to wonder, if they'd gotten this ad "right" back in 2009 if Fables would have beaten Once Upon A Time to TV after all... Of course, we'll never know now but I do hope they figure out another marketing strategy to use in the lead up to the movie buzz, rather than just rely on what the production company produce and piggy-back off that. While I'm incredibly overjoyed to know that "thars-a-Fables-movie-a-comin'!" the Fables serial comics, graphic novels and spin-offs have their own well deserved merit and should be able to stand on their own two feet, er, spines. I worry that if they (DC & Willingham) can't figure out how to encourage people to enjoy the graphic novels in their original medium that a whole generation will "just-go-see-the-movie" and miss out on the richness of storytelling and fairy tale evolution happening on the Fables pages. Let's hope they figure out how to make the Fables movie an encouragement to go pick up the series instead.

Note: There are some more trailers on YouTube for the Fables series, and some tributes though none of them are official. This one HERE tries to transition people from Disney to Fables and show the difference. It's somewhat successful in concept but is lengthy and the text is difficult to read over the images (and using any sort of Disney property doesn't sit well with me here). You DO get to see some beautiful artwork from Fables though and get an idea of the twists the stories take, so if you're finally feeling interested in Fables and want more of an overview before buying, this should give you some idea of how the series develops and how the fairy tale characters play out their stories.

In the meantime, while we wait to see what happens with the movie and the marketing surrounding it, I'll keep up the Fables-watch and report anything I see happening.

Fairy Tale RoundUp For SDCC (San Diego Comic-Con) 2013!

My favorite of J. Scott Campbell's new Fairytale Fantasies illustrations - being released at San Diego ComicCon 2013

I haven't had much time this week to stay up to date on all the San Diego ComicCon fairy tale related goodness but I wanted to at least list it for you so that you can investigate more for yourself if you're interested (or already going) and to make it clear that fairy tales are big business right now - whether main stream, indie or in the Geek universe.

Here's a run down, in no particular order. All the links take you to pages with more information about when during SDCC they will be appearing, the times, booths & rooms and any extra preview info (note: if you can't see the show you clicked on at the top of the page they will be further down in the line-up list):

• Once Upon A Time, ABC series (going into season 3)
• Once Upon A Time In Wonderland, ABC limited spin-off series (premiere)
• Grimm, NBC series (going into season 3, including sneak peek of Dracula - new series)
• Beauty & the Beast, CW series (going into season 2)
• J. Scott Campbell Fairytale Fantasies 2014 (comics, calendars and illustration)
• *Grimm Fairy Tales Comics and Animated Pilot Premiere, Zenescope (comics and new animated pilot/possible series)
• Ever After High - Mattel (new toy line with animated webisodes, debut appearance)
• Spotlight on Ruth Sanderson, fairy tale illustrator and storyteller (presentation/interview & panel)
• Lost Girl , Syfy (going into season 4) (Why have I put this on the fairy tale list? Because it makes excellent use of folklore and fairy tale creatures in a witty and gritty "Olde Worlde meets Nu". Not for kids though.)
• Fine art poster company, Mondo, will be having a limited release of new designs for Miyazaki films Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke among others.
• There will be a limited release of Guillermo del Toro's character El Fauno from Pan's Labyrinth this year as well (last year, 2012, it was The Pale Man. 2013 is for the Faun). You can pre-order at the link and they will ship after SDCC.

*The animated pilot is getting a lot of buzz and interest. Zenescope's Grimm Fairy Tales use fairly tales and set them in a largely horror genre. They've had many, many issues and been popular for many years but the animated series is a first. More on that in a bit.

Other Fairy Tale Friends at SDCC 2013:

The Faun: Limited release at SDCC 2013

• Acclaimed indie filmmaker, Lisa Stock of InByTheEye will also be there from July 17 to 19th, promoting her new film Hell and other projects. A true mythmaker, Lisa creates myth and fairy tale films and other works (including a stage adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Snow, Glass Apples) and has much more fairy tale related goodness underway that I hope to be sharing very soon.
• Speaking of Neil Gaiman, he will also there on the 19th and, as usual, in great demand over everything from his comics to his books. He will be speaking on panels and presentations, including talking about his new "fairy tale for adults" book, The Ocean at the End of the Lane.
• Joss Whedon will be there for Dark Horse comics talking about what's next for him (including the Buffy movie rumors).
• Other topics and shows that may be of interest to fairy tale people: Game of Thrones, The Hobbit II, Seventh Son, Sherlock (apparently this is a very popular among fairy tale fans!), Doctor Who (don't you think the Doctor makes for a very different sort of Beast? ;) and The Walking Dead (yes - this is also popular among fairy tale people. I may have to post on why one of these days...), Hannibal, True Blood, Supernatural, Arrow, the pilot of Sleepy Hollow (Ichabod Crane gets thrown into the future) and Dexter.

In case you are wondering Bill Willingham (Fables) will NOT be attending SDCC this year so we're unlikely to get any further scoops on the Fables film in development at this time.

Hollywood giant, Disney, is also (largely) MIA at the San Diego ComicCon this year with only having a presence via their newly acquired Marvel properties and the ABC series OUAT & OUATinWonderland. Frozen and Saving Mr. Banks will be spotlit at Disney's own expo D23 in the following week or so.

If you have any other tip off for fairy tale folks attending, please put them in the comments and I'll send out a FB and Tweet to let people know as well.

All Zenescope's Grimm Fairy Tales Comics For 1/2 Price

These comics aren't everyone's cup of tea but if you're at all interested in them then this would be a good time to try them out (or to collect all 67). All of the issues are half-price, including the 3 big volumes (Vol 1 is #1-6, Vol 2 is #7-12 and Vol 3 is #13-18 and each of the volumes have exclusive content not in the individual issues).

In case you're not familiar with these comics, here's an overview of the tales in Volume 1, which will give you an idea of how the tales are handled. Please note, the cover artwork clearly shows this is adult fare:

For over two hundred years the powerful stories of the Brothers Grimm have enchanted millions around the world but there has never been an adaptation as intriguing or provocative as this. Grimm Fairy Tales volume 1 explores a much darker side of the infamous fables you heard as a child as these classic tales are retold and re-imagined with a terrifying twist you'll simply love as an adult. Red Riding Hood is forced to confront the insatiable hunger of terrifying beast; Cinderella seeks a shocking vengeance for the years of torture she's endured; Hansel & Gretel realize that the problems they left behind at home are nothing compared to the horror that awaits them on their ill-advised journey; A desperate girl makes a deal with the hideous Rumpelstiltskin only to find she may lose much more than she ever imagined; Sleeping Beauty learns that narcissism can be a very gruesome trait to possess and an envious sister finds her extreme measures to capture the man of her dreams may lead to much worse than just heartbreak from the Robber Bridegroom. Enter a world where morality is constantly tested and the shocking repercussions of one's choices must always be faced. Enter the world of Grimm Fairy Tales.

Here are some screencaps of all of the issues, including the volumes, so far.

You can browse and buy them HERE.

Fables Spin-Off "Fairest" Free Preview Now Available

Fairest Issue #3 cover art by Adam Hughes for April 2012 (just released)

Now is the time to head to your local comic book store and try out the soon-to-be-released Fables spin-off, Fairest, for FREE. The Vertigo 2012 32 page sampler is completely free and one of the four Vertigo monthlies being previewed is the brainchild of Bill Willingham. Many of the stories are apparently going to be "pre-Fables" stories so if you are curious about the Fables graphic novels but are daunted by the 100+ issues available, this is a good way to start, and we're told you don't need to know anything about the Fables world to enjoy it. If you're a dedicated Fables fan you can also put your fears to rest. Mr. Willingham assures there will be plenty of surprises for you too.

In case you haven't heard of Fairest before, here's the copy:

New York Times best-selling, award-winning creator Bill Willingham presents a new series starring the female FABLES. Balancing horror, humor and adventure, FAIREST explores the secret histories of Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Cinderella, The Snow Queen, Thumbelina, Snow White, Rose Red and others. 

The first 6-issue arc follows the misadventures of Briar Rose after she is stolen away by the goblin army in FABLES #107. Fan-favorite artist Phil Jimenez (WONDER WOMAN, THE INVISIBLES) returns to Vertigo to pencil the opening storyline. Award-winning cover artist Adam Hughes (WONDER WOMAN, BATGIRL) provides covers, starting with a wraparound cover on issue #1. 

Future arcs will be written by 2011 Arthur C. Clarke winner Lauren Beukes with art by Inaki Miranda, and iZOMBIE scribe Chris Roberson with art by Shawn McManus! And remember: They may be beautiful, but there will be blood. 

story by BILL WILLINGHAM
art by PHIL JIMENEZ
cover by ADAM HUGHES
PRICE: $2.99
IN STORES: March 7, 2012

In an interview HERE from January 20, 2012, Bill Willingham talks about his plans for Fairest, including the writers and artists, their approaches to the stories and his use (and other writers' uses) of fairy tales in this new "sister-series". Here are three excerpts that caught my attention:

Fairest Issue #1 wrap-around cover art by Adam Hughes for March 2012 

Let's understand that the tone and the diversity will come from the writers themselves because we're not assigning them stories. We're not saying, "Here, do a Cinderella story and have this, this, and this happen to her." It's more, "Do you have a Cinderella story?" Of course with Chris and Shawn, not only were able to answer yes to one of those, they were able to answer yes to many of those. That's the same template with the others. Lauren Beukes had a very particular Japanese mythology-based, folklore-based Rapunzel story in mind, which answers the question, "Where does the wishing well come from?" and it answers it nicely with a very sound folkloric base. We said, "Yes, of course that has to be what that story is!" These are different characters; we want them to be considered wildly different. We don't want a bunch of cookie-cutter beautiful female leads, we want vastly different ones, so having different writers is obviously the way to do that.

...Why did you want to tell the story of Sleeping Beauty in this very first arc rather than, say, Spratt or any of the other characters?

Well, interestingly enough I didn't think about Sleeping Beauty -- if I was to be one of the regular returning people in this rotation I was going to go with Thumbelina. The idea of a tiny character in a very big world appealed to me and I think there's a lot you can do with that that hasn't been explored yet. But Thumbelina couldn't really be the first arc in this because one thing we discussed is, if we are going to do this we've left poor Briar Rose sleeping away for years if not forever. So the very first thing we have to do with "Fairest" is get her awake and back in action, and we thought it was politic to kick off the series with me doing the first arc. So that's why those two combined together. We have a very specific place where all three of those characters -- Ali Baba, Briar Rose the Sleeping Beauty and the Snow Queen -- are going to be left in at the end of this arc. But they're places where other writers can pick them up and run with them if that turns out to be the case. My job is to kind of get these characters in the right place to be part of the whole "Fairest" rotation, the whole "Fables" rotation again, and hopefully tell a good story in the process of doing that. 

Fairest #1 variant cover by Phil Jimenez with color by Romulo Fajardo Jr.

...What is it about fairytales that originally captivated you as a storyteller?

Several things. One of the, I don't know if you'd call it faults, but one of the aspects of the way I write stories that I don't think is as strong with me as it is with other writers is I don't feel I introduce characters well. It takes me a while to get to know them. With using characters that have already been established, everybody's read and knows a little bit of, "Well of course I know Snow White, at least I know this much about her." That kind of awkward, ice-breaking introductory moment at the beginning of this kind of storytelling is bypassed. We can move right beyond that into the meat of it. Sure there are some introductory aspects in that, sure this isn't the Snow White you thought you knew and this is what's happened to her lately. But that's not quite the same, because that builds more intrigue. The reader interest is already written into the equation. You don't have to romance the reader into liking that character. That's one aspect of it.

The other aspect of it is just the idea that these are folktales in every sense of that. They're not just public domain characters that anyone can use because of vast collective ownership. If everyone owned every 100% piece of this character in some kind of multiple universe overlap kind of way, everyone who wants to can come along and do their own Snow White. That kind of just absolute freedom -- it's like the universe of a million previous authors and writers and story-spinners has left this to you in their will. Why not make use of these treasures that have been handed down to you? Interestingly enough they left it to everyone else too, but that's OK! It's having a treasure trove where you can play any kind of game you want. How could I resist that?

Fairest Issue #2 cover art by Adam Hughes for April 2012

You can read the whole interview HERE (please note that there is a large gap in the middle making it look like a short article but scroll on down for the rest).


Fairest Issue #1 is scheduled to go on sale March 7, 2012.

(I'm beginning to feel like there should be a fairy tale release calendar we can collaboratively keep plugging things into somewhere online. 2012 is a busy year for fairy tales!)

David Petersen Illustrates Muppets & Fairy Tales

Don't you just love Miss Piggy as the Evil Queen? She could definitely take on Regina from OUAT!

I know the Muppet fairy tale comics have been out for a while but I thought the artwork by David Petersen, creator of the award-winning Mouse Guard graphic novels, was worth a revisit. Not only is he a phenomenal illustrator he's been back in "fairy tale news" with his latest project, illustrating some old fairy tale affiliates we recognize and tackling some lesser known tales too.

I am, of course, talking about the new Jim Henson's The Storyteller graphic novel anthology. (And yes, this is on my  fairy tale wishlist too - which, admittedly, is actually a lot longer than the one on Heidi's blog!) Mr. Petersen was the artist behind the lovely cover/promo-poster artwork and he also illustrates The Tinderbox in the anthology (another of my favorite stories!).

Here's an excerpt of what he says about this project, from his BLOG:

I was lucky enough to be asked by the folks at Archaia to do a pinup for their Jim Henson's The Storyteller Anthology Graphic Novel.(This also marks the 3rd Henson property I have been fortunate enough to have done pinup/cover/promotional artwork for Archaia!) The show did a wonderful job of transitioning between the Storyteller character and his dog and the story he was telling. The characters from the tale would appear in the reflections of water in bowls, on the sides of decorative steins, and in the painting over the hearth. I focused much of my attention to a way I thought I could capture that transition idea in a single pinup.

The story I started with was called The Tinderbox by Hans Christian Andersen. The story starts with a soldier who, on the request of a old witch-like woman, climbs down the trunk of a hollow tree to a cavern where three giant dogs guarding piles of treasure dwelled, as well as a magic tinderbox capable of controlling the beasts. I only roughed-in these parts in my sketch and focused more on trying to get the linkess of John Hurt as the Storyteller and his Henson-furred dog. I scanned the sketches from my sketchbook and resized the elements (adjusting how close the Storyteller and his dog are sitting, where they sit in the frame, etc.) I also tinted the pencil work different colors to help me visualize what lines belong to which character or the window.

You can read more about his process and other projects HERE and below is the finished illustration of The Tinderbox that he shows some working steps for in his blog:

I'd love to see a panel with the Storyteller's dog meeting the three dogs with eyes like saucers. :D

I was so excited to pick up Jim Henson's The Storyteller book when it first came out. Although it doesn't approach the charm of the gorgeously puppeteered and animated TV series the collection is worth making a special spot on your bookshelf for. The comics, while having their own challenges in keeping the spirit of the series, once again pick up lesser known tales with a variety of illustrators and writers. While I'm picky about comics (I love the idea and much of the artwork but rarely find them truly readable) I can't wait to add this set (in hardcover if possible!) to my library when I can.

And, as promised, here are some of his beautiful cover pieces for the Muppet Fairy Tale comics:

I love Kermit as Peter Pan! It works really well.

I think this is from the King Arthur ones but it reminded me of Sleeping Beauty so I had to include it. :)

 

 

 

LOTS of info on the Muppet Snow White comic series HERE with behind-the-scenes insights on story and adapting the muppets to the characters and much more. You can also see additional illustrations for King Arthur and Robin Hood HERE and there's an additional illustration with Janice as Lady of the Lake HERE.

Since we're talking Muppets, as a completely silly segue I had to include a couple of the "Muppet Saga" posters recently released.

 

 

LOL! Now this is a version of Twilight I would like to see! :D

Between the Pages: Video Discussion on Fairy Tale TV, Movies & Fables

With all the recent fascination in fairy tales being updated and twisted, Bill Willingham's Fables have come up in discussion since day one of the Once & Grimm TV premieres, the concern being that his long popular idea has been "ripped off" (with special finger pointing at the Once Upon A Time producers).

Bill Willingham himself met with the Once Upon A Time producers to sort out any misunderstandings (a meeting which went very well) and has assured fans in a self-interview/essay that there is no "rip off" in progress but instead more of a "fairy tales in the zeitgeist" situation. You can read all about it in this article HERE from earlier in the month which has the "self-interview" and a more recent one HERE in which the Once creators are interviewed on their view of the meeting (this is the one The SurLaLune Blog linked to this week).

I have to post an excerpt because no matter what gripes and niggles I have about anything based on fairy tales, this is my main feeling too. Mr. Willingham asked himself this (and I'm posting the "general" answer part, though he gets more specific in the article):

"Do you like (the ABC series) Once?" 

I like anything that raises the awareness of fairy tales and folklore as the raw stuff from which some of our best stories are being told today. The mercenary part of me hopes that every single fan of "Once" will also check out "Fables." Remember, stories aren't automatically in competition with each other. If I like Batman, it doesn't mean I have to dislike Captain America. I'd hate for "Fables" to be the only fairy tale-based story out there. If that were the case, I'd have nothing to read or watch for pleasure in this genre I love. I want more of what I want. Snacks are nice, but a feast is better.

Not all fans are so accepting of this trend though, particularly comic book enthusiasts, despite Mr. Willingham's plea to fans to back-off with the accusations:

As grateful as I am to discover so many loyal Fables readers, willing to man the barricades, to help protect a story they love; as much as it moves me to realize I’ve been part in creating something that clearly moves you, affecting your lives in ways only a good story, well-told can, I think it’s time to lay off.

Some of the fan responses haven't been nice at all, calling Mr. Willingham a "coward" (among other things!) but I think it's clear that despite it all, Fables is very likely to attract a whole new slew of fans because of Once. (Maybe that's the fan-plan after all. :D ) As far as I can tell Mr. Willingham hasn't responded to these comments and personally, I don't think he should have to. I think he said it all incredibly well in his interview/essay.

This leads me up to today's actual post topic (apparently I had more preamble in me than planned!) which is a new web show called "Between the Pages". It discusses issues going on in the comic book world with a guest and right now, fairy tales are the hot topic. This week they discuss everything from comics to TV series to the variety of movies coming out based on fairy tales. Take a look:



What do you think? Do you agree with their assessments for the TV series? How about their movie success (or lack of) predictions?

While we're on the topic of comparisons, I thought I'd throw this is in for some extra fun. Here is a "pre-Once" article from October which pits Disney characters against their Fables counterparts to see who wins. Here's the idea:

The idea of fairytale characters exiled into the real world appeals to readers because of their familiarity with the characters -- or at least the kid-friendly version from Disney. But how would the Vertigo revamps stack up against their all-ages counterparts? We've asked Invincible Super-Blogger Chris Sims to put some of our favorite Fables against their Disney counterparts for a head-to-head comparison to find out!

It's a recommended read and should leave you smiling. :) Check it out HERE.

Comic Book Stores Gear Up for the Holiday Season With Fairy Tales

With two popular TV series based on fairy tales and lots of buzz about fairy tale movies in the making, comic book stores are looking to grab a piece of the pie during this season-of-selling.

In this article - written for Black Friday sales - a number of comic book stores tell what - beside many, many copies of Fables - these stores are stocking up with and recommending for fairy tale fans.

See this article HERE and scroll down for the lists of recommendations. There may be a few ones here you haven't heard of.

Also - Fables Covers by James Jean is still on sale at Amazon.com.

"Muppet Snow White" Comic Coming in April

There's a new set of comics coming our way in the form of Muppet Fairy Tales (so far released in the series are Peter Pan, Robin Hood and, this month, King Arthur). The series is by Boom! Studios and sounds like a lot of fun. The idea is that classic tales are given a "Muppefication", complete with classic Muppet characters playing the roles.

You'll be pleased to know the next one is an 'actual' fairy tale: "Snow White". It's scheduled to debut in April as a four-issue mini-series. This particular four part version of "Snow White" is being written by "Toy Story" writer Jesse Blaze Snider.

From an interview with Mr. Snider at Comic Book Resources:

Snider explained that, in his story, "'The Seven Dwarfs are a rock band, who work in the mines by day to finance a career in rock 'n' roll by night. The original seven dwarfs leader was 'Doc,' ours is Dr. Teeth. You don't get more 'Happy' than Janice. Zoot's long nights of playing gigs has made him quite 'Sleepy.' Floyd Pepper has always been sarcastic and maybe a little 'Grumpy.' Lips has never really gotten the chance to develop a personality as a Muppet, so he is pretty 'Bashful.'

...Rounding out the cast are Miss Piggy as the evil queen, Fozzie as the magic mirror, Kermit as the prince, and Spamela Hamderson as Snow White. "A lot of people don't know Spamela, but she is from the short-lived 'Muppets Tonight,' which I am a big fan of, especially the second half. Anyway, she was a perfect foil for Piggy, she is really a sexy looking Muppet and when you see her you'll agree and the story is all about jealousy," Snider said. "If this was a movie, they would cast a live actor to play Snow White and be Piggy's foil, so I cast the ditzy but gorgeous Spamela. I really had a good time using her, but the best part was, I modernized her by giving her something most Disney Princesses have, but she didn't…her very own 'talking animal companion'…Pepe the King Prawn!

...Playing the Brothers Grimm are Gonzo and Rizzo! That's actually my favorite part of the book, having Gonzo narrate and Rizzo correct him constantly. It's a lot of fun."

There's a lot more information in the article and it sounds like a lot of fun for all involved. Interestingly the writer wasn't thrilled about tackling a fairy tale first thing but ended up having a lot of fun. You can read the whole article HERE.

The Muppets have a long history with fairy tales and we owe them a debt of gratitude for helping keep fairy tales in the popular consciousness right from the early days of Sesame Street with their Muppet Newsflash stories. As fractured and funny as they were, The Muppets (under Jim Henson of course) managed to keep the essentials of the tales intact, unlike many fractured versions today - something easier said than done. The company kept their link with fairy tales through the years since, in various ways, and it's wonderful to see a reportedly good quality rendition of Muppet versions of fairy tales being released currently.

I just wish they'd release all the Muppet's Sesame Street News Flash stories (with intrepid roving reporter Kermit the Frog, who barely survives many of the fairy tale interviews) in a single DVD... (hint, hint Henson Company!)

Below you'll see a couple of the Peter Pan comic issue covers released in the latter part of last year (there are quite a few issues for this story!) and you can read more about the Muppefication of J.M. Barrie's beloved story HERE. The blog linked to has other information on the comics too. Just check the 'comics' tag.

Grimmer Tales: A Wicked Collection of Happily Never After Stories

There's a new book out (released December 9, 2009) of fairy tale retellings in which the stories are told in comics with a rather grim version of a funny bone.

The author/illustrator is Erik Bergstrom and the reviews are using phrases like "homicidal whimsy" and "joyfully morbid masterpiece" so this won't be everyone's cup of tea.
From Cory Doctorow at BoingBoing:

The book consists of a series of extremely nasty comic-strips telling the aftermath of the classic folkloric fairy tales. For example, one running gag has Pinnocchio telling polite social lies in panel 1, while panel 2 depicts his sprouted nose gouging out the eye of some innocent (i.e., "Cute baby! -- stab").

These running gags are pretty funny, but the really standout moments are the longer strips, especially the "What a Witch" strip, in which two witches standing over a cauldron extol the virtues of Kiddee Flakes, which are much more convenient for kidnapped-child-fattening than candy-houses. This is good, wicked humor at its finest -- if you loved Fractured Fairy Tales...

The link for more information is HERE.

Creator Nick Percival Talks About His Dark Steampunk Comic "Legends: The Enchanted"

I posted on this coming-in-2010 comic HERE last week and, seeing as there was quite a bit of interest between comments and Twitter, I thought I'd point you to an excellent interview with the creator Nick Percival.

In the interview with Comic Book Resources, he reveals more about the fairy tale characters he's using and how they've been given a new twist. Here's an excerpt from the long, informative and interesting article:

"The Enchanted are looked upon with fear and distrust by normal everyday folk and despised by their dark counterparts, known as The Wicked," says Percival. "Most of the Enchanted operate as vigilantes, outlaws, bounty hunters and so on - trying to find their place and purpose in a land that is growing increasingly hostile towards them. Armed with a hard attitude, unique abilities and customized weaponry, the Enchanted's world is shattered when they discover that some unknown enemy has found a way to break through their mystic immortality and begins slaughtering them one by one beginning with the killing of the half bionic/half wooden warrior, Pinocchio."

Nick Percival: We've got Red Hood, who lives with her daughter in a very dangerous place known as the Bionic Woodlands - this area is overgrown with spiked bio-mechanical trees and living, organic plant life, populated by mutated wolf creatures. Basically, she just wants to be left alone and raise her child, but the murder of Pinocchio and the kidnapping of her daughter force her to reluctantly seek out help from other Enchanted.

Jack the Giantkiller pretty much just looks out for himself. He's sly, likes to drink and burns around on a beast of motorcycle that uses Giant's blood as fuel. Jack acts as a kind of "creature killer for hire." For the right price, he'll sort out any towns terrorized by Ogre problems, which he usually solves by popping one of his "magic beans" that grant him cool powers for a limited amount of time as he starts cracking heads together.

Filling out the rest of the cast are psychic siblings, Hansel and Gretel (Paranormal Exterminators), Goldilox and Bear, her nine-foot half man/half bear boyfriend. They have a "rob the rich to give to the poor" type quest, which involves them coming up against the crime boss, Humpty Dumpty and the Billy Goats Gruff Biker Gang - it doesn't end quietly.

Amongst these, we've got cameos from Rapunzel, a soldier with unbreakable hair that she uses to attack her enemies, Miss Muffet, Rumpelstiltskin, Pied Piper, Jack Nimble and many others all depicted in the same gritty style with attitudes to match in a world filled with goth-type giants, vampire fairies, pissed off trolls, demon street gangs, and all manner of unsavory folk.


Do you have a favorite fairy tale or fable?

I have a lot of versions of the classic tales that the Brothers Grimm collected together, some great old German editions as well. I've also been heavily into Hans Christian Andersen's work, so there are way too many to choose from. But a lot of the ancient Russian folklore is fascinating, and there are some themes in that material that I'm thinking about including in later stories for "Legends: The Enchanted."

You can read the entire article HERE and see LOTS of (very gory) images throughout (which can be viewed larger by clicking).

All the details of the website, when it's available and the preview are in my previous post HERE. A warning again: please keep this away from children. This is dark stuff and definitely in the horror genre. All these new images severely cropped for posting purposes on this blog. If you can deal with the images though (the illustrations are amazing in addition to being ultra-gory), this comic and the developing story sounds like it's worth checking out.

"Legends: The Enchanted" - Dark Steampunk Fairy Tale Comic Coming in 2010

The girl above is Redhood (a.k.a. Red Riding Hood) and she's not the only familiar character getting a dark fantasy/post-apocalyptic/steampunk/horror makeover. Coming in April 2010 is "Issue #0" (yes, that's a zero) of a new comic series titled "Legends: The Enchanted".

Please be warned: despite the title, this comic crosses the line into horror, which is one of the reasons I'm posting on it - so you'll know what you're in for should you ever pick it up. While the feel is dark fantasy, the images are very graphic in both the gallery and on every page in the preview. I'm not even comfortable posting the cover (which has Redhood in a different pose with some scary-looking supernatural creatures flanking her) or the other character images beyond those included in this entry for my blog readers. Please do NOT have children around when viewing the comic website. The official blurb:

From award-winning illustrator and acclaimed comic book artist Nick Percival comes a dark, original fairy tale.

You think you know them. Think again.

Violently ripped from the pages of folklore come the Enchanted. Supernatural immortals living in a dark, steampunk, creature-infested world where nature, technology and foul magic are in constant conflict. When the twisted, burnt remains of the half-wooden, half-mechanical warrior, Pinocchio, are discovered, wolf hunter Red Hood and giant killer Jack realize the fragile rules of their existence have been shattered. With the help of other powerful Enchanted (the mercenary, Goldilocks [edit FTNH: the character illustration in the gallery is tagged Bear/Goldilox, Bear being her hairy, ogre-like companion] and psychic exterminators, Hansel and Gretel), Jack and Red team up on an adventure to stop whatever, or whoever is destroying their powers and murdering their kind.

Poor Red has had so many makeovers, this version isn't surprising enough on it's own, but teaming her up with the other characters in their various bounty-hunter/killer-for-hire personas there might be something interesting there. Steampunk Pinocchio sounds like he never made it past the introduction but Hansel & Gretel as psychic exterminators? Should be enough like "Fables" to draw some fans in for a 'looksee', yet different enough (very, very dark!) to form a new set too. From the preview (available at the website) this is just so violent and gory, as much as I'm curious to see the steampunk variation, I'll likely be giving this one a miss.

If you're still interested you can find out more about the comic HERE and see more pictures in the gallery tab HERE (including possibly the scariest Pinocchio I've ever seen - yikes!).