| “ | Take my advice. Some topics are best never brought up. Never discuss personal hygiene with a bridge troll. Never trade casserole recipes with a Black Forest Witch. But above all, when talking to the Deputy Mayor--never mention the dwarves! | „ |
| ~ Boy Blue to Beauty and Beast |
"Chapter One: Old Tales Revisited" is the first issue of Fables, released on May 8, 2002.[1] It was reprinted as a Special Edition on October 11, 2006.[2]
Publisher's summary
Original
A new VERTIGO series takes a decidedly dark spin on familiar fairy tale characters.[1]
Led by Snow White, a reformed Bigby Wolf, and a slew of others, the secret community of Fabletown is adjusting to life among the "mundanes." But this is no fairy tale, and when Snow White's estranged sister, Rose Red, goes missing - her apartment a grizzly, bloody scene - it's up to her sister and Mr. Wolf to find the culprit. But the question remains, will they find Rose intact, or will the cryptic message on her wall come true: "No More Happily Ever After?"[1]
Special Edition
Don't miss this specially priced reprint of the classic FABLES #1, featuring a sneak peek at FABLES: 1,001 NIGHTS OF SNOWFALL! This is the issue that introduced Jack, Snow White, Bigby Wolf and the citizens of Fabletown, setting the stage for Bill Willingham's Eisner award-winning Vertigo series. A perfect entry point for new readers, this issue also includes ads highlighting FABLES collected editions and more.[2]
Plot
Once upon a time, in a fictional land called New York City, a young man named Jack dashes from a taxi into a vast building called the Woodlands and into the Security Office of Bigby Wolf. As Jack struggles to catch his breath, he claims to Bigby that something terrible has happened.
In the Business Office next door, Director of Operations Snow White has a meeting with Lady Beauty and Lord Beast. Beast's appearance has been increasingly monstrous lately, as his ancient curse reasserts itself when his wife is mad at him, and he is in risk of breaching Fabletown's most vital law: no Fable shall cause the community's magical nature to become known to the mundane world. Fables that cannot pass as human must be relocated upstate to The Farm. Beauty becomes upset that Snow will not help them, but when she mentions Snow's "tawdry little adventure with those seven dwarves," she crosses the line. Snow White looks like she's about to explode, until her secretary Boy Blue quickly pushes Beauty and Beast out of the door. "Some topics are best never brought up," he explains to them. In particular, "when talking to the Deputy Mayor — never mention the dwarves!"
As Beauty and Beast leave, Bigby arrives with bad news for Snow. She initially suspects he is going to tell her that her ex-husband, Prince Charming is in town, which she already knows. In fact, he explains that Jack has reported that Snow's sister, Rose Red, is missing and presumed dead. Snow insists on accompanying Bigby to the crime scene, despite his objections.
Elsewhere, at Gottfried's Steak House, Prince Charming finishes eating a meal. When the waitress, Molly Greenbaum, asks him back to her place, he reveals that he cannot afford to pay for the meal and convinces her to pay for him. They depart together, and later have sex at Molly's apartment.
Bigby and Snow arrive at Rose Red's apartment, where Jack has been guarding the crime scene — Bigby trusts him to do so since he discovered the crime in the first place. Inside, the room is covered with blood and furniture is tossed about. Giving Snow his cigarette so that he can keep his senses clear, Bigby investigates the crime scene. When he finally emerges, he takes Jack into custody, ostensibly for "resisting arrest." Jack immediately swings at Bigby, who slams him against the wall. Snow asks Bigby if Jack's the one, but Bigby only says, "We'll see."
Appearances
Characters
- 13th Floor witches (first mentioned, indirectly)
- Beauty (first appearance)
- Beast (first appearance)
- Bigby Wolf (first appearance)
- Boy Blue (first appearance)
- Bufkin (first appearance)
- Flycatcher (first appearance)
- Frau Totenkinder (first mentioned, indirectly, as "Black Forest Witch")
- King Cole (first mentioned)
- Forsworn Knight (first appearance)
- Grimble (first appearance)
- Jack Horner (first appearance)
- Magic Mirror (first appearance)
- Molly Greenbaum (first appearance)
- Prince Charming (first appearance)
- Rose Red (first appearance; flashback)
- The seven dwarves (first mentioned)
- Snow White (first appearance)
- Three Little Pigs (first mentioned, indirectly)
- Trusty John ("Johnny") (first appearance)
Fictional species
Multispecies
Species
- Dwarf (first mentioned)
- Flying monkey (first appearance)
- Troll (bridge troll) (first appearance)
- Wind (hybrid) (first appearance)
Items
- Beanstalk (first mentioned)
- The egg (first appearance)
- Excalibur (first appearance)
- The stone (first appearance)
Locations
- Homelands (first mentioned)
- The Black Forest (first mentioned)
- Houses of the Three Little Pigs (first mentioned)
- Mundane world (first appearance)
- Europe (first mentioned, indirectly)
- New York City
- Fabletown
- Bullfinch Street
- The Woodland Luxury Apartments
- Management offices
- Business Office
- Security office
- Management offices
- The Woodland Luxury Apartments
- Kipling Street
- Bullfinch Street
- Gottfried's Steak House
- Molly Greenbaum's Midtown Manhattan apartment
- Rose Red's Greenwich Village apartment
- Fabletown
- Upstate New York (first mentioned)
- The Farm (first mentioned)
Other
Continuity
- When Snow White converses with Beauty and the Beast in the Business Office, she speaks to them in a hostile and unsympathetic manner. It is revealed in Fables #16 — "Duel: Storybook Love Part Three" that the reason for this demeanor is that Snow begrudges Beauty due to her successful marriage to Beast and his loyal treatment of his wife.
- On pages 7 and 8, a stone can be seen in Snow White's office with a sword in it. In Fables #62 — "The Good Prince, Chapter Three: Knighthood," this is revealed to be Excalibur.
- Snow White mentions that King Cole is the Mayor of Fabletown. King Cole briefly appears in a flashback from last year's Remembrance Day in Fables #2 — "Chapter Two: The (Un)Usual Suspects," and makes his first major appearance in Fables #3 — "Chapter Three: Blood Tells."
- Beauty states that Snow White divorced Prince Charming centuries ago.
- Boy Blue mentions the Black Forest Witch, who appears for the first time in Fables #3 — "Chapter Three: Blood Tells."
- When Beauty mentions Snow White's "tawdry little adventure with those seven dwarves," Snow looks furious, and Boy Blue warns Beauty not to ever bring up the dwarves again. The reason Snow reacts so strongly is that she was sexually abused by the dwarves; something that is implied in Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall, and confirmed in Fables #96 — "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Chapter Three of Rose Red" and Fables #133 — "Straight Through the Heart: Part Three of Camelot."
- Bigby smokes almost constantly, except when he wants to keep his senses clear to investigate the crime scene. It is revealed in Fables #16 — "Duel: Storybook Love Part Three" that Bigby smokes to deaden his senses enough to avoid sensory overload in a bustling city like New York.
- The restaurant where Prince Charming lays eyes on Molly Greenbaum is Gottfried's Steak House, the same establishment where Nurse Spratt enjoys her meals in Fables #102 — "The Next Big Plan: Chapter One of Super Team."
- When Bigby investigates the crime scene, he takes note of several clues that will be brought up again in Fables #5 — "Chapter Five: The Famous Parlor Room Scene (Sans Parlor)." These include: a fallen lamp, an overturned ashtray, a stereo system, a blood-spattered compact disk, a damaged toaster, and a padlock that fits onto the refrigerator.
- There's a continuity error in the geography. The first page shows the Woodland building as being at the corner of Bullfinch Street and Kipling Street. Later material will show that the entrance is halfway down the block on Bullfinch Street. The Yellowbrick Roadhouse is at the corner, and the Web 'n' Muffet Market is between the roadhouse and the gate.[3][4]
Trivia
- The Woodlands is on the corner of Bullfinch Street and Kipling Street. These are named after Thomas Bullfinch, author of The Age of Fable; and Rudyard Kipling, author of The Jungle Book.[5]
- Bigby asks Jack if he has "climbed any beanstalks lately," a reference to the tale "Jack and the Beanstalk." In response, Jack asks if Bigby has "blown down any piggies' homes," a reference to the "Three Little Pigs."
- When Bigby is sitting on Snow's desk and telling her about Rose Red's death, a suit of armor can be seen immediately behind him. But there's no suit of armor in that location in any of the wider views of the room.
- As Prince Charming has sex with Molly Greenbaum, two girls can be seen listening to them through the wall, while a man walking by outside also takes notice of the commotion.
- When Bigby casts a shadow on the wall outside Rose Red's apartment, it takes the form of a wolf even though he is in human form.