| “ | Ah ha, Mister rattle bones! I've got you now! Clickety clack! Get into my sack! | „ |
| ~ Jack Horner to Death |
"Bag o' Bones" is the eleventh issue of Fables, released on March 12, 2003.
Publisher's summary
In which death itself proves to be just another occasion for Jack to hatch his schemes.[1]
Plot
During the American Civil War, Jack Horner finds himself in the swamp with an old man, who turns out to be Nick Slick, the Devil himself. Jack manages to get back his stuff after gambling with Nick, who really wanted his soul. Jack receives a magic bag that will never get full. He tests it with animals and then finally Death himself in order to have sex with a beautiful dying woman in a mansion. However when animals cannot be killed, and deceased mundies return from the graves, Jack releases Death. Rather than being angry with Jack, he thanks him for the day off and goes back to work. The dying woman gets another year to live, but it is likely that she was killed by Death sometime after.
Appearances
Characters
- "The Cornwelles line" (first appearance)
- Death (first appearance) ("the dark angel," "the Reaper," "rattle bones")
- Jack Horner
- King David (first mentioned)
- King David's wives (first mentioned)
- Nick Slick (first appearance)
- Sally Cornwelles' nan (first mentioned)
- "Traveling preacher and whiskey drummer" (first mentioned)
Fictional species
Multispecies
Items
Magic bag (first appearance)
Locations
- Mundane world
- Louisiana (first appearance)
- New Orleans (first mentioned)
- Saramore
- Thailand (first mentioned, as "ol' Siam")
- Louisiana (first appearance)
Other
Continuity
Jack later sought out Nick Slick again in Jack of Fables #16 — "Jack o' Lantern."
Trivia
- The song that Jack sings while traveling through the swamp is the Civil War song "Lorena." As he continues on his journey, he sings the minstrel song "Camptown Races."
- The narrator states that Nick Slick "had him a run of cards like old King David had him a run of wives." King David was known for having many wives, although only eight of them are named.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Fables #11, League of Comic Geeks
- ↑ Griffin, Anette (July 9, 2021). How Many Wives Did King David Have and What Do We Know about Them?, Bible Study Tools. "In 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, and in 1 Chronicles the Bible records the names of eight women who married King David. However, this list is not complete. Oftentimes biblical genealogies only mention the names of wives who have given birth to sons or who are otherwise noteworthy. Scripture tells us that David had other wives and many concubines, but their names and details are not mentioned (2 Samuel 5:13-16 and 1 Chronicles 14:3-5)."