This page lists minor characters featured in Vertigo's Fables and its spin-off titles, published by DC Comics.
Contents
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
A
Air
Air is a Fable who appears in The Unwritten #50 — "The Unwritten Fables, Part 1: The Summoning," which takes place in an alternative universe where Mister Dark was never defeated. She is one of the Great Powers who appears before Mr. Dark in his castle, in a futile attempt to persuade him not to claim their territories for his own, with Air representing the elements. | |
Alderman Poppy
Alderman Poppy is a Fable that resides at the Farm and first appears in Fairest #30 — "Five Rhymes and a Riddle: Chapter Four of The Clamour for Glamour." He lives in André Gardens, along with the bees, the Dormouse Juggler, Old Maid Hollyhock, Snapdragon and Mister Sunflower, and becomes one of the suspects after the Queen Bee's hive is vandalized: According to Mister Sunflower, Alderman Poppy's sleep beneath the poppy shade is often interrupted by the bees' buzzing. | |
Original source
He is based on the titular character of "Alderman Poppy," a poem from the book Little Blossom, an obscure collection of illustrated poems from 1884, written and illustrated by R. André. André Gardens, where Alderman Poppy and other characters from the book live, is a reference to the author. The poem goes: "I see you, Alderman!" | |
Ambrose's wife
History
She broke the Frog Prince's curse and married him, and she and Ambrose had a happy marriage and eight children. The wife and her children died during the Exodus, with her and her eldest daughter being raped before their deaths. In Fables #56 – "“Jiminy Christmas”," Santa Claus presented his wife's ghost to Ambrose, so she could once again reset his curse. | ||
Original source
This character is based on the princess from the "The Frog Prince." | ||
Arrow
Arrow is a Fable who lives at the Farm and first appears in Fables #18 — "Barleycorn Brides." He is a falcon who is part of the Farm Air Control, and helped John Barleycorn retrieve a jar of magic barleycorns from the Homelands. | |
Askeladden
Askeladden is a Fable who lives in Ultima Thule, the Homelands version of Norway. He first appears in Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love #5 — "Part Five: Cold Wars." He is now without his boat. | |
Original source
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Aunty Em
Aunty Em is a Fable who is mentioned in Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love #4 — "Part Four: Suffragette City." Dorothy Gale mentions her aunt, stating that she said "you should find something you love to do and then do it." Dorothy, having killed two witches and liking it, was inspired to become a killer for hire. | |
Original source
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Aurac
Aurac was created by Bill Willingham, and appears in flashbacks in Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall. He was the first love of Frau Totenkinder, when she was young. He betrays her, after finding out she is carrying his son, and pays for it. | |
Ayesha
Ayesha, also known as She Who Must Be Obeyed, is a Fable who is part of a secret intelligence organization known as the Shadow Players. She first appears in Everafter: From the Pages of Fables #1 — "The Show Me State: Chapter One of The Pandora Protocol." | |
Original source
Ayesha ("She-who-must-be-obeyed") is a character from H. Rider Haggard's novel She, and its sequels. | |
B
Baby Joe Sheppard
Baby Joe Sheppard is a Fable who lives in Fabletown. He is first referred to in Peter & Max: A Fables Novel and is a member of Boy Blue's band who plays the drums. He can also be seen with members of the band in Fables #100 — "Single Combat" and Fables #112 — "All in a Single Night," and is one of the main characters of Fables #139 — "The Boys in the Band, Part 1 of 2" and the following issue. | |
Bad Sam
Bad Sam is a Fable who resides at the Farm. He first appears in Fables #79 – "Mountbatten, Part Three of Five" and is a kinkajou who loves to drink. He is the companion of Lord Mountbatten, and came with him to the Farm. | |
Baloo
Baloo is a Fable bear who lives on the Farm. He appears in Fables #39 — "Meanwhile." Baloo is briefly seen prior to Mowgli travelling to Fabletown to start his mission to find Bigby; on the condition that Prince Charming will release Bagheera from his imprisonment. | |
Original source
Baloo is one of the main characters in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book. Baloo, a sloth bear, is the strict teacher of the cubs of the Seeonee wolf pack. His most challenging pupil is the "man-cub" Mowgli. Baloo and Bagheera, a panther, save Mowgli from Shere Khan the tiger, and endeavor to teach Mowgli the Law of the Jungle. | |
Bandarlog
The Bandarlog are a group of Fables who live at the Farm. King Louie, the only member of the Bandarlog who is actually seen, debuts in Fables #7 — "The Guns of Fabletown: Part Two of Animal Farm," where he informs Kaa that he has the entire Bandarlog scouring the forest for Reynard the Fox, who is being hunted by Goldilocks's revolutionaries. | |
Original source
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Baobhan sith
The baobhan sith appears in Fables #139 — "The Boys in the Band, Part 1 of 2" and Fables #140 — "The Boys in the Band, Part 2 of 2." A self-proclaimed witch queen, she seized power in Hybernia in the wake of the Empire's defeat, with the help of the monstrous dogs known as the cu sith; and declared herself as its queen.[2] |
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Original source
She is based on the baobhan sith (Scottish Gaelic for "fairy woman";[3] pronounced baa'van see), fairy creatures from Scottish folklore who take the form of beautiful women. Lurking in the Scottish Highlands, they seduce young hunters by inviting them to dance with them until they are too exhausted to put up a fight, before slitting their throat with their long sharp fingernails and drinking their blood.[4] | ||
Barbara Allen
Barbara Allen is a Fable who lives in Fabletown. She is first mentioned in Fables #33 — "Until the Spring." Barbara Allen was one of the people accidentally killed by Ghost.[5] Later, while beating up the Blue Fairy for making him stuck as a boy for centuries, Pinocchio lists Allen as one of the women he nearly got to make out with. According to Pinocchio, it was the Harvest Festival at the Farm of 1909, and she wouldn't sneak out behind the barn with him because he was too young; even though Pinocchio was chronologically older than her by a couple of centuries.[6] | |
Original source
The character is most likely based on the titular character of the folk song of the same name. | |
Baron Ryald
Baron Ryald is a Homelands character who appears in Fables #97 — "Dark Age Party Girl, Chapter Four of Rose Red." | |
The bees
The bees are Fables that reside at the Farm. One of them first appears as a background character when Rose Red arms herself in the cave in Fables #7 — "The Guns of Fabletown: Part Two of Animal Farm," while the rest debut in Fairest #30 — "Five Rhymes and a Riddle: Chapter Four of The Clamour for Glamour." | |
History
The bees, led by the Queen Bee, live in André Gardens, along with Alderman Poppy, the Dormouse Juggler, Old Maid Hollyhock, Snapdragon and Mister Sunflower. When their hive is vandalized, a criminal investigation is performed. | |
Original source
The Queen Bee is based on the titular character of the Grimm fairytale of the same name, while the bees as group are based on the characters from Little Blossom, an obscure collection of poems from 1884, written and illustrated by the Victorian artist R. André; more specifically the poems "Mister Sunflower" and "The Battle of the Bee and the Snap Dragon." André Gardens, where the bees live, are named after the author. | |
Benjamin Bunny
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Original source
He is based on the character from The Tale of Benjamin Bunny and other children's books by Beatrix Potter. | ||
Beowulf
Beowulf is a Fable who appears in flashbacks from the Homelands in Fables: The Wolf Among Us #11 — "Chapter Eleven." He is also mentioned in Fables #91 — "Geppetto: Chapter Five of Witches" and Fables #124 — "A Revolution in Oz, Chapter Eleven: Emperor Bufkin." | |
Original source
He is based on the titular character of the epic poem Beowulf. | |
Black Caroline
Black Caroline is a Fable imprisoned at the Golden Boughs Retirement Village. She is mentioned in Jack of Fables #1 — "The Long Hard Fall of Hollywood Jack," where Gary refers to the cottage that Jack Horner moves into as "Black Caroline's place." | |
Original source
Black Caroline is based on one of the titular characters of the fairytale "White Caroline and Black Caroline" by Edmund Dulac, from Edmund Dulac's Fairy-Book. | |
The black sheep and the little boy
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Original source
They are based on the characters from the nursery rhyme "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep." | ||
Bliss
Bliss is a character who first appears in Fables #100 — "Single Combat." She is the daughter of Beauty and Beast. Her father lost his shape changing power when she was born due to the Beast curse passing on to Bliss herself. Bliss and her mother lived in Haven for some time to escape the dangers of Fabletown and the Farm. In the chapter story Fables #147 — "The Last Beauty and the Beast Story," it reveals that years later, a grown up Bliss and Beauty have a business in Beauty's old homeworld where they solve the problems of people (such as murders and kidnappings) using Bliss' beastly abilities. | |
Bookburner
Bookburner is a Literal who first appears in Jack of Fables #18 — "Americana, Part 2: Welcome to Americana — Mind the Zombies." As his name implies, he is the embodiment of book burning. | |
History
Bookburner is the son of Kevin Thorn, brother to Mister Revise and father to Priscilla and Robin Page. Bookburner takes a different approach in dealing with magic to his brother, choosing to burn books completely, effectively removing those characters from existence. He does, however, claim to keep copies in what he refers to as his 'private collection', which appears to give him power over what remains of those characters, allowing him to compel them to act on his behalf. He has not been seen since the destruction of the Golden Boughs Retirement Village. | |
The boy who cried wolf
Original source
He is based on the titular character of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," one of Aesop's Fables. | ||
Brave little tailor
The brave little tailor,[7] also known as the valiant little tailor,[8] appears in flashbacks from the Homelands in Fables: The Last Castle. He is identified through the text on his clothes, which says, "seven at one stroke." He was killed by goblins early in the battle at the Last Free Gateway from the Homelands. In addition, his name can be seen on one of Kevin Thorn's books in Jack of Fables #13 — "The Bad Prince, Part 2: I Forget." |
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Original source
He is based on the little tailor from the fairytale "The Brave Little Tailor," also known as "The Valiant Little Tailor." | ||
Brer Bear
Brer Bear is a Fable that resides at the Farm. He appears in silhouette in Fables #7 — "The Guns of Fabletown: Part Two of Animal Farm," taking part in Goldilocks' search for Reynard the Fox at night. Brer Bear leads one team, while Br'er Rabbit leads the other, in a classic pincer movement. |
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Original source
He is based on Br'er Bear, also spelled Brer Bear, from American folklore, and the tales of Uncle Remus. | |
Trivia
In the Fables Encyclopedia, his name is spelled as "Br'er Bear,"[9] but the comic says "Brer Bear."[10] | |
Brer Wolf
Brer Wolf is an animal Fable that resides at the Farm and appears in Fables #53 — "Sons of the Empire, Part Two: The Four Plagues." He is seen chasing Peter Cottontail with Isengrim before being stopped by Bigby Wolf. | |
Original source
He is based on Brer Wolf from the tales of Uncle Remus by Joel Chandler Harris. | |
Trivia
In the Fables Encyclopedia, his name is spelled as "Br'er Wolf,"[11] but the comic says "Brer Wolf," like the source material.[12] | |
Briar Rose's parents
History
Unhappily childless for many years, a grand celebration was held in honor of their newborn daughter, Briar Rose. Fairies from the nearby Twilight Lands attended to bestow the baby magical blessings. Upset at not being invited, the dark fairy Hadeon cursed Briar Rose to prick her finger and die. Leysa used her power to mitigate the curse so that instead of death, Briar Rose would fall into a deep sleep that spread to those near her, with true love being the way to reset the curse. | ||
Original source
They are based on the King and Queen from the "Sleeping Beauty" fairytale. | ||
Bright Day
Bright Day, the White Rider of the Dawn, is a Fable knight who is one of Baba Yaga's servants in The Rus, along with his brothers, Radiant Sun and Dark Night. He first appears in Fables #37 — "The Saint George Syndrome: Chapter Two of Homelands Fables." | |
Original source
Bright Day is based on Day, the rider in white from the Russian fairytale of "Vasilisa the Beautiful." | |
Britannia
Britannia is a Fable who appears in The Unwritten #50 — "The Unwritten Fables, Part 1: The Summoning," which takes place in an alternative universe where Mister Dark was never defeated. She is one of the Great Powers who appears before Mr. Dark in his castle, in a futile attempt to persuade him not to claim their territories for his own, with Britannia representing the nations. | |
Original source
She is based on Britannia, a goddess from Roman mythology, who is the national personification of Britain, typically appearing as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield with the British flag on.[13] | |
Britomart
Britomart is a Fable who appears in flashbacks from the Homelands in Fables: The Last Castle. She was one of the soldiers who died defending the Last Gateway from the Adversary's forces. Her final action, before being killed, was throwing her magical spear, which would find any target she set for it; killing the enemy's general. | |
Original source
She is based on the character from the epic poem The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser. | |
Bruin the Bear
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Original source
Bruin the Bear is from the literary cycle of Reynard the Fox.[14] | ||
The Bubblehead Family
The Bubblehead Family first appears in Everafter: From the Pages of Fables #1 — "The Show Me State: Chapter One of The Pandora Protocol." Hailing from St. Louis North Country, they were among the many figures from St. Louis folklore that Jordan Yow raised from the collective unconscious.[15] | |
Original source
The Bubblehead Family are based on the Bubbleheads from an urban legend from St. Louis.[16] | |
Butterball
Butterball is a Fable who lives in Ultima Thule, the Homelands version of Norway. He first appears in Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love #5 — "Part Five: Cold Wars." According to Mrs. Gudbrand, he is always hungry. | |
Original source
"Buttercup" or "Butterball" (Norwegian: "Smørbukk," literally "Butter-buck") is a Norwegian fairytale collected by Asbjørnsen and Moe. It is Aarne-Thompson type 327 C, the devil (witch) that carries the hero home in a sack. Buttercup is so named because he is "plump and fat, and fond of good things." | |
C
The cat and the fiddle
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Original source
They are based on the character from the nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle." | |||
The cat with bagpipes
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Original source
They are is based on the titular character of the nursery rhyme "A Cat Came Fiddling." | ||
Cendrée
Cendrée is a Homelands character who appears in flashbacks in the graphic novel Fairest: In All the Land. He was an enchanter and blacksmith who forged the Maerorgladi. | |
Chanticleer the Cock
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Original source
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Charlene Speck
Charlene Speck is a mundy woman who appears in Fables #34 — "Jack Be Nimble: Part One of Two" and Fables #35 — "Jack Be Nimble: Part Two of Two." She works for Jack Horner's film studio, Nimble Pictures. | |
Chernobog
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History
According to the final issue of Jack of Fables, they are all the Devil. Chernobog's home, Bald Mountain, is identified as a place in the Fable Homelands. Chernobog is eager to show off his nature as an embodiment of evil. | ||
Original source
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Chernomor
Chernomor is a Fable who appears in Fables #36 — "Death & Taxes: Chapter One of Homelands." | |
History
Chernomor is a Governor-General in the Adversary's Empire. During a reconnaissance mission in the Homelands, Blue finds Chernomor reading aload a poem about the battle of Vestiri, in which the latter is described as "the captain of the west, birthed from crashing sea--his home" and the leader of "the fabled thirty and three, puissant knights, also birthed out from the sea." Blue interrupts his reading, claiming that the poem is not accurate: Despite what it says about Chernomor's victory, it was actually Boy Blue's side that emerged as the true winners. Blue then strikes him down with the Vorpal Blade. After his death, Blue impersonated the governor, ordering his underlings to lower the tax rate. As stated in the next issue, he is the Imperial governor of Kardan. | |
Original source
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Cheshire Cat
The Cheshire Cat is a Fable that resides at the Farm. It appears in Fables #6 — "Road Trip: Part One of Animal Farm," and is mentioned in Cinderella: Fables Are Forever #3 — "Part Three." | |
Original source
The Cheshire Cat is based on the character from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. | |
Chicken Laundress
Chicken Laundress is a Fable imprisoned at the Golden Boughs Retirement Village. She is referred to in Jack of Fables #1 — "The Long Hard Fall of Hollywood Jack," where Priscilla Page mentions that she works in the clothing comissary. | |
Original source
She is based on the titular character of "The Chicken Laundress," an Italian fairytale by Italo Calvino.[18] | |
Clever Hans (comic series)
Clever Hans is a Fable who lives in New York City. He first appears in Fables: The Wolf Among Us #18 — "Chapter Eighteen." |
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History
Hans is present when Sheriff Bigby Wolf arrives at the Pudding & Pie investigating the murders of Faith and Lily, two prostitutes who worked there. After his employer Georgie Porgie dies, Hans seeks employment elsewhere. | ||
Original source
He is based on the titular character of the Brothers Grimm fairytale "Clever Hans." | ||
The cobbler
Original source
The cobbler is based on the shoemaker from "The Elves and the Shoemaker," a fairytale by the Brothers Grimm. | ||
Cobweb
Cobweb is a Fable who is imprisoned at the Golden Boughs Retirement Village. She first appears in Jack of Fables #3 — "You Don't Know Jack." | |
Original source
She is based on the character from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. | |
Colonel Thunderfoot
Colonel Thunderfoot is a Fable who resides at the Farm. He appears in Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall and Fairest #32 — "Glamour Day: Chapter Six of The Clamour for Glamour," and is a hare colonel who was cursed to remain a human until a female hare could love him back. | |
Trivia
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Cottingley Fairies
The Cottingley Fairies are two fairy Fables who are prisoners at the Golden Boughs Retirement Village. They first appear in Jack of Fables #3 — "You Don't Know Jack" and are a lesbian couple named Lola and Doris. | |
Original source
These characters are based on the Cottingley Fairies hoax from 1917. | |
The Count
History
According to "A Wolf in the Fold," the Count was a nobleman from Carpathia who was a friend of the Big Bad Wolf after the latter arrived from the Homelands. The Wolf's predations of the local villagers were blamed on the Count, and many people believed him to be a fell spirit who had risen from the dead. However, the Count enjoyed the notoriety this gave him, and befriended the Wolf. The Wolf described him as "not a bad fellow and a good conversationalist." It is implied that he provided hospitality to Snow White and Feathertop when they offered to let the Wolf join their community of Fabletown. In Fables #101 — "The Ascent," Frankenstein's monster specifically makes references to a vampire Count back in Transylvania, saying that he had fought the Count once, years before he fought the "wolf man" (Bigby) during World War II. When fighting Bloody Mary in Fables: The Wolf Among Us #31 — "Chapter Thirty—One," Bigby notices that his opponent casts no reflection, just like the Count that he once knew, but Mary seems like something different and much worse than him. | ||
Original source
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Count de Beaucaire
Count de Beaucaire is a Fable who appears in flashbacks from the Homelands in Fables: The Last Castle. |
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History
During the final stand at the Last Castle, the Adversary's army was being led by Count Aucassin de Beaucaire. The count and Colonel Bearskin had a history, he previously lost to the colonel in a past skirmish. But de Beaucaire was a man of some honor, and gave the Fables a chance to surrender themselves before his massive army took them all out. He never received a reply. The next morning he launched a full-scale assault on the castle, his army eventually overcoming any who remained behind to defend it. Unfortunately for him, de Beaucaire never saw his victory fulfilled, being impaled and killed by Britomart's enchanted spear, that she sent out to find him. | |||||||
Original source
He is based on the Count of Beaucaire from the French chantefable Aucassin and Nicolette. | |||||||
Courtoys the Dog
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Original source
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Coyote
Coyote is a Fable mentioned in Fables #110 — "Allies: Chapter Three of Inherit the Wind." He is one of the many Fables that the West Wind has had to deal with in the Lands of the West. According to the West Wind, wolves such as Bigby can be as cunning as "Coyote himself" when pressed. | |
Original source
Coyote is a character from Native American mythology. He takes on many roles, serving as a creator, lover, magician, glutton, and trickster figure. He is often depicted as a demiurge (an independent force of creation), making fateful decisions and providing humans with essential elements like fire and daylight. He is also credited with introducing art to humanity. In every instance, his violation of accepted social norms leads to chaos and disorder, which is eventually resolved by the end of each folktale.[22] | |
The crow
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History
The crow officiates the wedding between Mary and the Knave of Hearts, with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum acting as witnesses. It is later set to officiate the wedding between King Edward and his chosen bride in Fables: The Wolf Among Us #47 — "Chapter Forty-Seven." | ||
Original source
The character is based on the monstrous crow from the nursery rhyme of "Tweedledum and Tweedledee," and the crow mentioned in the novel Through the Looking-Glass, which adapts the poem. According to the rhyme, the crow is "black as a tar-barrel" and of a monstrous size. In the novel, the Tweedle brothers are terrified of the crow, and when the pair sees the White Queen's shawl being blown around by the wind at the end of Chapter Four of the novel, they mistake it for the dread bird and flee through the woods. | ||
The Crow Brothers
The Crow Brothers[23][24] are a group of twelve Fable brothers who can transform into crows. They first appear in a flashback from the Homelands in Fables: The Last Castle. Out of the twelve, only Ephram, Joel and Vulco Crow survived and made it to the mundane world. | |
Original source
They are based on the titular characters of the fairytale of "The Twelve Brothers." | |
Cuchulain
Cuchulain is a Fable who is a prisoner at the Golden Boughs Retirement Village, and first appears in Jack of Fables #3 — "You Don't Know Jack." Cuchulain lost most of his strength after being revised. When Mister Revise allowed Cuchulainn's original story to be restored, the spear of Morrigan magically appeared back in his hand. After the destruction of the Golden Boughs, Cuchulainn and Kiviuq set out on a quest to find Fabletown; whether they did succeed remains unknown. | |
Original source
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D
Dallas Goat Man
Original source
He is based on the Lake Worth Monster, also known as the Goatman, from Texan folklore. | ||
Dark Knight
Dark Night, the Rider Under the Stars, is a Fable knight who is one of Baba Yaga's servants in The Rus, along with his brothers, Bright Day and Radiant Sun. He first appears in Fables #37 — "The Saint George Syndrome: Chapter Two of Homelands Fables." | |
Original source
Dark Night is based on Night, the rider in black from the Russian fairytale of "Vasilisa the Beautiful." | |
Dolittle
Dolittle is a Fable who works as a doctor for the secret Fable intelligence organization known as the Shadow Players. He first appears in Everafter: From the Pages of Fables #2 — "Train In Vain: Chapter Two of The Pandora Protocol." | |
Original source
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The donkey that passed gold
Original source
The donkey that passed gold is based on the character from the fairytale "Donkeyskin" by Charles Perrault. | ||
Don Quixote
Don Quixote[26] is a Fable that appears in a brief flashback from the Homelands in Fables #4 — "Chapter Four: Remembrance Day," appearing in a single panel alongside Sancho Panza as they watch as ships come in after the Adversary's forces attack. | |
Original source
He is based on the titular character of the novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. | |
Dormouse
The Dormouse is a Fable who is a former prisoner at the Golden Boughs Retirement Village. He first appears in Jack of Fables #27 — "Turning Pages, Chapter Three: Hillary." | |
Original source
The Dormouse is based on the character from the novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. | |
Dormouse Juggler
The Dormouse Juggler is a Fable that resides at the Farm and first appears in Fairest #30 — "Five Rhymes and a Riddle: Chapter Four of The Clamour for Glamour." | |
History
The Dormouse Juggler lives in an area of the Farm called André Gardens, along with Alderman Poppy, the bees, Old Maid Hollyhock, Snapdragon and Mister Sunflower. She becomes one of the suspects after the Queen Bee's hive has been vandalized. According to Mister Sunflower, the bees have stopped the Dormouse Juggler from performing because her show attracted the attention of birds who flocked to watch the show, including a woodpecker who kept tapping at the bees' hive to show his approval. | |
Original source
She is based on the titular character of "The Dormouse Juggler," an obscure poem written and illustrated by the Victorian artist R. André, from his book Little Blossom from 1884. André Gardens, where the Dormouse Juggler and other characters from the book live, is a reference to the author. The poem goes: Wee Dormouse Juggler, I think you play | |
Duck
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The eagle
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Original source
The eagle is based on the character from the fairytale of "Snow-White and Rose-Red." | ||
Elizabeth Benton
Elizabeth Benton is a mundy who first appears in flashbacks from the mundane world in Fables: The Wolf Among Us #22 — "Heart of Glass Part 1." | |
History
Elizabeth is one of Mary's "friends,"[28] who constantly criticizes and belittles her. When Mary tells her that she has a secret "gentleman caller," Elizabeth doesn't believe her and ridicules Mary.[29] Some time after Mary is brutally murdered, Elizabeth hosts a Halloween party. Afterwards, she — along with Jane and Henrietta — hold a candlelight vigil for Mary. However, in doing so, they unintentionally summon the wrath of Bloody Mary, who steps out of the mirror and lunges at Elizabeth. | |
The elves
The elves are Fables who appear in two incarnations: One version first appears in Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love #2 — "Part Two: An Arabian Knight," while a second incarnation of the characters first appear in Everafter: From the Pages of Fables #2 — "Train In Vain: Chapter Two of The Pandora Protocol." | |
History
As seen in the spin-off miniseries Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love, the first version of the Elves work for Crispin Cordwainer, the shoemaker, in Fabletown. According to Fables #100 — "Celebrity Burning Questions," they have also been secretly working for Beauty in making the Fable comics sold at Nod's Books, while Beauty was working there.
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Original source
The elves are based on the creatures from the Brothers Grimm fairytale of "The Elves and the Shoemaker." | |
Ephram Crow
Ephram Crow is a Fable who lives in Fabletown in New York City. He first appears in Fables: The Last Castle, where he fought in the battle to defend the last Homelands stronghold against the Adversary. He now works as a security guard at the Knights of Malta Hospital.[30] | |
Original source
He is based on one of the titular characters of the Brothers Grimm fairytale of "The Twelve Brothers." | |
Erwin
Erwin is a Fable who appears in Everafter: From the Pages of Fables #12 — "The Bones of What You Believe: The Conclusion of The Unsentimental Education." He is a cat who is sometimes dead and sometimes alive: Due to his unique condition, he was sent in to bring down a force field sustained by a magical superposition of a quantum eigentstate. | |
Original source
Erwin is based on the feline from Erwin Schrödinger's thought experiment Schrödinger's cat. It is designed to illustrate the paradox of quantum superposition and postulates that if you put a cat in a box with something that has the potential to end its life, you won't know if the animal is living or dead until you open the box. Therefore, at any given moment before you open it, the cat is both alive and deceased simultaneously.[31] | |
Etan Wolf
Etan Wolf is a Homelands character who appears in Fables #150 — "The Last Snow and Bigby Story." He is a descendant of Bigby Wolf and Snow White. Together with Tannika Wynn, he escorted Rose Red to their family reunion. | |
F
Fair Katrinelje
Fair Katrinelje is a Fable who lives in Fabletown and is briefly mentioned in Fables #59 — "Burning Questions," and indirectly in Fairest #30 — "Five Rhymes and a Riddle: Chapter Four of The Clamour for Glamour." She has been dating Vulco Crow when he's human. | |
Original source
She is based on the character from the Brothers Grimm fairytale "Fair Katrinelje and Pif-Paf-Poltrie." | |
Fairy Godmother's sisters
The Fairy Godmother's sisters are Fables who appear in flashbacks from the Homelands in Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love #6 — "Part Six: Ever After." They were Cinderella's Fairy Godmother's sister fairies and were implied to have been poisoned by Frau Totenkinder. | |
The false bride
History
The false bride wanders at the edge of the living world, night after night, never to know rest. She appears to Rose Red as one of the paladins of Hope, more specifically Hope of Revenge. She explains to Rose that "all those good men and women" had their revenge on her; for her crimes, they locked her in a barrel, pounded iron spikes though it and sent her tumbling down the cobbles to her death. The people who sentenced her to death are lying in their graves, but each Christmas Eve, they are freed from their resting places and allowed to walk about as ghosts. They all hope to be released from their confinement and pass on to "rewards long delayed," but the false bride tells Rose that they hope in vain, because "they attend me and I'll never dismiss them." | ||
Original source
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Farmer Giles
Farmer Giles is a Fable who lives at the Farm, and is referred to in Fairest #14 — "Aldered States." He had a one-night stand with Princess Alder. | |
Original source
He is based on the titular character of Farmer Giles of Ham, a comic medieval fable by J. R. R. Tolkien. | |
The fat yellow bird
Trivia
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Fière the Lioness
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Original source
Fière the Lioness is from the literary cycle of Reynard the Fox.[14] | ||
Fire dragon
Original source
The fire dragon is based on the dragon from epic poem Beowulf. Unlike in the comic, Beowulf survived the encounter. | ||
The flowers
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Original source
They are based on the flowers from the novel Through the Looking-Glass. The talking flowers that Alice meets in the novel includes the Tiger-lily, the Rose, the Daisy, another Daisy, the Violet, and the Larkspur. Only the Rose and the Tiger-Lily appear in the comic; the rest are different species. | ||
Friar Tuck
Friar Tuck is a Fable who appears in flashbacks from the Homelands in Fables: The Last Castle. He a member of the Miry Men and died alongside Bearskin's Free Company. | |
Original source
Friar Tuck is based on the character from the ballads of Robin Hood. | |
G
Gawain
Gawain is a Fable who briefly appears in a flashback from the Homelands in Fables #62 — "The Good Prince, Chapter Three: Knighthood." | |
History
Gawain was one of the Knights of King Arthur, along with Sir Lancelot. The tales of Lancelot's invincibility in battle were renowned, yet this reputation was ruined when he was defeated by Gawain in a duel. King Arthur suspected that Lancelot had forsaken his moral code, leading to his defeat. | |
Original source
Gawain is based on the character from Arthurian legend. | |
Geirvé
Geirvé is a Homelands character whose first appearance was in Fables #147 — "The Peaceable Kingdom: Chapter Seven of Happily Ever After." She was an elder sister to Lauda, whom Lauda killed personally. | |
General Blug
General Blug is a Fable from the Homelands, who first appears, with his fifty thousand soldiers, in Fables #110 — "Allies: Chapter Three of Inherit the Wind." Jack Pumpkinhead; Bungle, the Glass Cat; and the Sawhorse attempt to recruit him and his troops in their revolution. | |
Original source
He is based on the character from The Emerald City of Oz. His fifty thousand soldiers are from the same story. | |
Glinda
Glinda is a Fable who appears in a brief flashback from Dorothy Gale's adventures in Oz in Cinderella: Fables Are Forever #6 — "Part Six." |
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Original source
Glinda is based on the character from the children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and its many sequels. In the comic, she is merely referred to as a "good witch." | ||
Trivia
In Fables #4 — "Chapter Four: Remembrance Day, there is a brief flashback from the exodus from the Homelands, where an unnamed character is shown flying in a swan-drawn chariot while fleeing the Adversary's forces. In the books, Glinda is said to ride a fancy chariot driven by swans or storks; however, while the figure appears to be a woman, a closer inspection reveals that the person is wearing a hood, and what appears to be a mane of long flowing hair is actually part of the chariot. Annotations in the Fables Encyclopedia speculate that this may be Apollo.[26] | ||
Godzilla
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History
When Katagiri sent out many enchanted origami cranes in order to call forth all of the hidden Japanese Fables and have them join him in the fight against Tomoko, some of the origami birds settled on the waves of the Japan Trench and drifted down to an undersea crevasse, awakening the beast. After the battle, one of the tengu grabbed and flew off with Jack Horner, and dropped him into the ocean, right into the claws of the legendary monster. | ||
Original source
Godzilla is based on the monster from Japanese horror films. | ||
The Good Witch of the North
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Original source
She is based on the Good Witch of the North from the children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and its many sequels. In the comic, she is merely referred to as "the Good Witch." | ||
Grandfather Oak
Grandfather Oak is a sentient tree who grows in the forest surrounding the Farm. He appears in Fables #90 — "Ozma: Chapter Four of Witches" and Fables #138 — "Root & Branch," and is one of the few magical beings that are native to the mundy world. He is regarded as the Patriarch of all the trees in the woods in not just the area around the Farm, but in others. After being buried alive by King Noble and his followers, Geppetto managed to dig himself out and wandered into the deep woods and met Grandfather Oak. The old woodcarver recognized the tree's power and proposed an alliance between the two. Grandfather Oak complied to Geppetto's offer and gifted the former Adversary two of his sapline to serve as his guards. | |
The Great Lion
Original source
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Greyheart
Greyheart[33] is one of the seven sons of North Wind and Winter, and brother to the infamous Bigby Wolf.[34] He first appears in the graphic novel Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall. | |
Grimauld
Sir Grimauld is a Fable who briefly appears in a flashback from the Homelands in Fables #62 — "The Good Prince, Chapter Three: Knighthood." He became a Knight of the Round Table after Sir Lancelot beat him in a duel. | |
Original source
Based on the color of his armor, Sir Grimauld may be the Green Knight from Arthurian legend, more specifically the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight[35] | |
Grimbard the Badger
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Original source
Grimbard the Badger,[14] also known as Grimbard the Brock,[36] is from the literary cycle of Reynard the Fox.[14] | ||
Gudrun
Gudrun, also known as the goose that lays the golden eggs, and the golden goose, is a Fable who secretly lives in Fabletown's Woodlands basement. She appears in Fables #31 — "The Long, Hard Fall," and is mentioned in Fables #88 — "Totenkinder: Chapter Two of Witches." Believed killed in the Adversary's assault on the Homelands, Gudrun actually escaped and now lives in a secret den within the Woodlands building. Her eggs provided Bigby with an untraceable source of funds for his covert activities. With Bigby moved on, Gudrun now fulfills the same role for his replacement, Beast. | |
Original source
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Guinevere
Guinevere is a Fable who briefly appears in a flashback from the Homelands in Fables #62 — "The Good Prince, Chapter Three: Knighthood." Lancelot, Camelot's most accomplished warrior, had been given a blessing by an elderly woman. She told him that he would be unbeatable in battle as long as he remained pure and honorable. Lancelot claimed many victories until his honor was shattered when he made the mistake of having a love affair with Guinevere, King Arthur's beloved wife. | |
Original source
She is based on the character from Arthurian legend. | |
H
Hakim
Hakim is a a newly freed Arabian slave who settled down in Fabletown. He first appears in Fables #42 — "Arabian Nights (and Days), Chapter One: Broken English." | |
History
He has had trouble adjusting to modern-day New York. He later became the bodyguard to Briar Rose when she agreed to use her curse to disable the Empire's capital city. Years later, he was still asleep together with Mrs. Someone, who acted as Briar Rose's magical guardian. Recently, the sleeping Briar Rose was carried out of the city by goblins, before the city was burned to the ground, and it is assumed that Mrs. Someone and Hakim were killed in the fire. | |
Halldis
Halldis is a Homelands character whose first appearance was in Fables #147 — "The Peaceable Kingdom: Chapter Seven of Happily Ever After." She is an elder sister to Lauda. | |
Hallerna
Hallerna is a Homelands character whose first appearance was in Fables #147 — "The Peaceable Kingdom: Chapter Seven of Happily Ever After." She is an elder sister to Lauda. | |
Hatter
Original source
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Headless Horseman (comic series)
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Original source
He is based on the Headless Horseman from Washington Irving's short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," himself based on a character that can be found in various forms throughout European mythology. In Irving's story, the Headless Horseman is depicted with a pumpkin for a head, much as he is in the comic. Another version of the Headless Horseman is the Dullahan from Irish mythology, a demonic entity depicted riding a horse and carrying his head under his arm. | ||
Trivia
The statuette used by Bigby to bludgeon Ichabod Crane's head in Fables #22 — "Cinderella Libertine" is a headless sculpture of Napoleon Bonaparte, drawing a parallel to the iconic Headless Horseman. In the next panel, a pumpkin is being smashed by a passing car, a clear nod to the infamous Horseman's head pumpkin described in the story. During the video game The Wolf Among Us, players can come across the same statuette in Crane's apartment during the episode "A Crooked Mile." This will unlock an entry about the Headless Horseman in the game's Book of Fables. According to the entry, the figure is a depiction of the Horseman. To be precise, both sculptures are modeled after the famous 1801 oil painting Napoleon Crossing the Alps, created by renowned French artist Jacques-Louis David.[40] | ||
Hel
Hel is a Fable who briefly appears in the Homelands in the chapter story Fables #150 — "The Last Snow and Bigby Story." She is a descendant of Bigby Wolf and Snow White. | |
Original source
Hel is based on the character from Norse mythology. | |
Henrietta
Henrietta is a mundy who first appears in flashbacks in Fables: The Wolf Among Us #22 — "Heart of Glass Part 1." Henrietta, as well as Elizabeth and Jane, are friends of Mary until her grisly murder. At a Halloween party, Henrietta and the others hold a candlelight vigil to remember Mary, although Elizabeth mocks the tribute by openly criticizing Mary's faults. Immediately afterward, Henrietta and Jane see Bloody Mary lunge out of a nearby mirror towards Elizabeth. | |
Holben
Holben is a Fable who appears briefly in flashbacks from the Homelands in Fables #96 — "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Chapter Three of Rose Red." | |
History
Holben is 's younger brother by two years. Unlike in the fairytale, the prince does not marry Snow White, nor does his brother marry Rose Red; Holben makes it clear that he has no wish to marry Rose Red, and their father, the king, is against letting Brandish marry a common peasant girl. | |
Original source
Holben is based on the prince's brother from the fairytale of "Snow-White and Rose-Red." The name "Holben" was invented for the comic; in the fairytale, the character is unnamed. | |
Hrotgar
Hrotgar is a Fable who was one of Grendel's neighbors in the Homelands. He is mentioned in Fables #124 — "A Revolution in Oz, Chapter Eleven: Emperor Bufkin" and Fables: The Wolf Among Us #11 — "Chapter Eleven." | |
The Huntsman
History
The Huntsman appears in flashbacks during the "Rose Red" and "Camelot" story arcs, playing the same role as he does in the fairytale. In the Fairest story arc "Of Men and Mice," it is established that he is a resident of Fabletown. It is implied that he and Crispin are close friends; when Crispin is in a coma after a bomb attack meant for Cinderella, the huntsman remains at Crispin's bedside for days. | ||
Original source
The Huntsman is based on the character from the "Snow White" fairytale. | ||
I
Incitatus
Incitatus, nicknamed Tate,[41] is a Fable who resides at the Farm. He appears in Jack of Fables #22 — "1883, Chapter One: The Legend of Smilin' Jack," Jack of Fables #23 — "1883, Chapter Two: Moon of the Wolf" and Jack of Fables #24 — "1883, Chapter Three: The Showdown." He is an anthropomorphic horse who was once a senator in the Homelands version of Rome.[42] Eager to get some time away from the Farm, he assists Bigby in tracking down Jack Horner during a flashback sequence set in the Old West.[43] He talks so much that he risks giving away his status as a Fable, and frequently mentions his former status as a Roman senator.[41][42] | |
Isengrim
Isengrim is a Fable that resides at the Farm and first appears in Fables #52 — "Some Ideas Toward the Prospect of a Final Solution for Fabletown: Part One of Sons of the Empire." In addition, a wolf that is presumably him appears alongside the rest of King Noble's citizens when they escape through the gateway to the mundane world in Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall. Years later at the Farm, Isengrim and Brer Wolf try, unsuccessfully, to catch and murder Peter Cottontail, and are warned off by Bigby. | |
Original source
He is based on Isengrim the Wolf from[44] the Dutch, Flemish, French, German, and English medieval cycles of Reynard the Fox.[45] | |
Ísond
Ísond is a Homelands character whose first appearance was in Fables #147 — "The Peaceable Kingdom: Chapter Seven of Happily Ever After." She was an elder sister to Lauda. | |
J
Jabberwock
The Jabberwock is a Fable creature mentioned in Fables #36 — "Death & Taxes: Chapter One of Homelands." Much like in the source material, it was felled by the Vorpal Blade. | |
Original source
The Jabberwock is based on the character from the nonsense poem "Jabberwocky" from the novel Through the Looking-Glass. | |
Jack Ketch
Jack Ketch is a Fable who lives in Fabletown. He appears in Fables #10 — "Twilight of the Dogs: Part Five of Animal Farm" and is mentioned in Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall — "The Fencing Lessons" and Fables #60 — "The Good Prince, Chapter One: Flycatcher." In the Homelands, he held the position of royal executioner for Prince Charming's family. After the revolution at the Farm is put down, Jack performs the task of executing Posey and Dun for their role as ringleaders of the event. | |
Original source
Jack Ketch is one of the few Fables in the series to be based on a real person, rather than a purely fictional character. In reality, Jack Ketch was an infamous executioner working for King Charles II of England in the late 1600s. | |
Jack Spratt
Jack Spratt,[5][46] also known as Jack Sprat,[47] is a Fable who lives in Fabletown.[5] He is married to Nurse Spratt,[48] and is first mentioned in Fables #33 — "Until the Spring." | |
History
Jack Spratt is mentioned by Jack Horner when the latter attempts to enter the gates of Heaven. The guardian of Heaven's gates cannot find Jack's name on the list but states that he has a "Jack Sprat" and asks if Jack is him. Unable to enter Heaven, Jack walks away while muttering to himself, referring to Sprat as "that skinny guy with the heifer of a wife" and says that he hopes "the little bean-pole chokes to death!"[47] Ironically, Jack Spratt is stated to be one of the people accidentally suffocated by Ghost centuries later.[5] It is later revealed that even though she was married to Jack Spratt, Nurse Spratt displayed a clear interest in her colleague, Doctor Swineheart. She was willing to break her wedding vows in order to pursue a physical relationship with him. However, Swineheart did not reciprocate her feelings and rejected her advances.[46] | |
Original source
He is based on the character from the titular nursery rhyme. | |
Jane
Jane is a mundy who first appears in flashbacks in Fables: The Wolf Among Us #22 — "Heart of Glass Part 1." Jane, as well as Elizabeth Benton and Henrietta, are friends of Mary until her grisly murder. At a Halloween party, Jane and the others hold a candlelight vigil to remember Mary, although Elizabeth mocks the tribute by openly criticizing Mary's faults. Immediately afterward, Jane and Henrietta see Mary's reflection, Bloody Mary, lunge out of a nearby mirror towards Elizabeth. | |
Jenny Wren
Jenny Wren is a Fable who lives at the Farm, and first appears in Cinderella: Fables Are Forever #1 — "Part One." She works for Cinderella as one of her animal spies. She hopes to find those who murdered her lost love Robin Redbreast during the Adversary's invasion of her homeland and take revenge. | |
Original source
Jenny Wren is based on the character from a cycle of nursery rhymes,[49] such as "Cock Robin Got Up Early," "Little Jenny Wren Fell Sick," and "The Wedding of Robin Redbreast and Jenny Wren." | |
Jill
Jill is a Fable mentioned in Fables #59 — "Burning Questions," where Jack calls her on a payphone before leaving Fabletown for Hollywood. | |
Original source
She is based on the character from the nursery rhyme "Jack and Jill." | |
Jill (Lilliputian)
Jill is a Lilliputian who used to live at the Farm and appears in Fables #34 — "Jack Be Nimble: Part One of Two," Fables #35 — "Jack Be Nimble: Part Two of Two," Fables #59 — "Burning Questions" and in a brief flashback in Jack of Fables #1 — "The Long Hard Fall of Hollywood Jack." She helps Jack Horner steal some of Bluebeard's fortunes in exchange for freedom from the Farm and to be able to see and experience the world. Jill is kept virtually a prisoner while Jack makes a name for himself in Hollywood[50] and retaliates by tipping off his activities to Beast.[51] | |
Trivia
Even though the two-issue Fables story arc "Jack Be Nimble" implies that she is the Jill of "Jack and Jill" fame (the first chapter of Fables #34 is called "Jack and Jill," and the final chapter of Fables #35 is called "Broken Crowns and Candlesticks"), this was not the case, as a story in Fables #59 — "Burning Questions" shows Jack calling "his Jill" on a pay phone before leaving Fabletown for Hollywood. | |
John Henry
John Henry is a Fable imprisoned at the Golden Boughs Retirement Village. He first appears in Jack of Fables #6 — "Jack Frost, Part One of Two." John Henry managed to escape with Alice and Pecos Bill during the big breakout from the Golden Boughs. The group briefly accompanied Jack Horner, who entertained them with the story behind his identity as Jack Frost. | |
Original source
He is based on the American legend of John Henry. | |
John Small
John Small is a Fable who briefly appears in flashbacks from the Homelands in Fables: The Last Castle. John Small was a member of the Miry Men (the Fables version of the Merry Men) and died alongside Bearskin's Free Company, defending the last gateway to the mundane world. | |
Original source
John Small is based on Little John from the ballads of "Robin Hood." | |
Junebug
Junebug is a Fable child who is the daughter of the wooden puppets turned human, June and Rodney Greenwood. She first appears in Fables #72 — "Skulduggery, Part 2 of 2." | |
K
Kaa
Kaa is a Fable who lives at the Farm and first appears in Fables #7 — "The Guns of Fabletown: Part Two of Animal Farm." | |
Original source
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Karynderon
Karynderon is a Homelands character who appears in flashbacks in the issue Fables #97 — "Dark Age Party Girl, Chapter Four of Rose Red." It was a dragon who dwelled in the mountains north of Prince Charming's lands. Although Charming had a peace treaty with Karynderon, Rose Red undid this by sending a brotherhood of knights to slay it in her name. | |
Káta
Káta is a Homelands character whose first appearance was in Fables #147 — "The Peaceable Kingdom: Chapter Seven of Happily Ever After." She was an elder sister to Lauda. | |
Kesa
Kesa is a Homelands character who appears in flashbacks in Jack of Fables #6 — "Jack Frost, Part One of Two" and Jack of Fables #11 — "Jack Frost, Part Two (of Two)." She is one of the Lumi's's three sisters and aunt to Jack Frost II. Kesa is the Summer Queen and summer would reign where she dwelled. | |
Trivia
Similar to the way "Lumi" is Finnish for "snow," her three sisters are also named after the seasons they represent: "Kesä" is Finnish for "summer." | |
Kevat
Kevat is a Homelands character who appears in flashbacks in Jack of Fables #6 — "Jack Frost, Part One of Two" and Jack of Fables #11 — "Jack Frost, Part Two (of Two)." She is one of Lumi's three sisters and aunt to Jack Frost II. Kevat is the Spring Queen, and she brought April showers and May flowers wherever she stayed. | |
Trivia
Similar to the way "Lumi" is Finnish for "snow," her three sisters are also named after the seasons they represent: "Kevat" is Finnish for "spring." | |
King Edward's wife
King Edward's wife is a Fable who appears in flashbacks from the Homelands in Fables: The Wolf Among Us #5 — "Chapter Five." | |
Original source
She is based on the King's wife from the fairytale "Donkeyskin" by Charles Perrault. | |
King Louie
King Louie is a Fable that resides at the Farm and first appears in Fables #7 — "The Guns of Fabletown: Part Two of Animal Farm." | |
History
In Fables #10 — "Twilight of the Dogs: Part Five of Animal Farm," King Louie is one of the revolutionaries who wished to overthrow the Fabletown government out of resentment at the apparent second-class status of animal Fables. Due to his peripheral involvement, he is given a sentence of hard labor — twenty years, reduced to five years conditional on good behavior. | |
Original source
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King of Bornegascar
Original source
He is based on the character from the story "Two Kings" in the short story collection Fantastic Fables by Ambrose Bierce. | ||
King of Madagao
Original source
He is based on the character from the story "Two Kings" in the short story collection Fantastic Fables by Ambrose Bierce. | ||
King of the Golden Realm
Original source
He is based on the King from the fairytale of "Snow-White and Rose-Red." | ||
King Pellinore
King Pellinore is a Fable who appears in flashbacks from the Homelands in Fables: The Last Castle. The ancient King Pellinore's rusty armor kept trying to fall apart during his weeks defending the gateway to the keep at world's end, where the last Fable refugees escaped from to the Mundy world. His squire had to follow him around, retrieving the pieces that were dropped off in his way. | |
Original source
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King Valemon and his queen
King Valemon and his queen are Fables who were the rulers of Ultima Thule, the Homelands version of Norway. They first appear in flashbacks in Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love #5 — "Part Five: Cold Wars." | |
History
Valemon and his queen were the rulers of Ultima Thule, first on their own, then in the name of the Empire, and then became the supreme rulers again after the Empire was overthrown. They were eventually deposed of when an unknown, powerful magic user from another realm invaded their kingdom. This usurper later turned out to be Cinderella's Fairy Godmother. However, in Fairest #22 — "Of Men and Mice, Part Two: Memories," it is revealed that King Valemon survived and reclaimed his land following the godmother's defeat. Like in the fairytale, he is a human who sometimes takes the form of a polar bear. | |
Original source
They are based on King Valemon and the Princess from the Norwegian fairytale of "White-Bear-King-Valemon." | |
Trivia
The painting seen behind Valemon and his queen in Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love #5 — "Part Five: Cold Wars" is based on White-Bear-King Valemon, a painting from 1912 by the Norwegian artist Theodor Kittelsen, who is known for his illustrations of fairytales and legends. | |
Kiviuq
Kiviuq is a Fable who is a prisoner at the Golden Boughs Retirement Village. He first appears in Jack of Fables #3 — "You Don't Know Jack." | |
Kiviuq's polar bear
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Kolbrún
Kolbrún is a Homelands character whose first appearance was in Fables #147 — "The Peaceable Kingdom: Chapter Seven of Happily Ever After." She was an elder sister to Lauda. | |
Kondili
Kondili is a Fable who appears in The Unwritten #50 — "The Unwritten Fables, Part 1: The Summoning," which takes place in an alternative universe where Mister Dark was never defeated. He is one of the Great Powers who appears before Mr. Dark in his castle, in a futile attempt to persuade him not to claim their territories for his own, with Kondili representing his own pantheon. | |
Original source
Kondili is another name for Kondole[53] from Australian Aboriginal mythology. Kondole possessed exclusive ownership of fire. He was cordially invited by the people to partake in their evening rituals, with the expectation that he would bring the fire along to grant them illumination. Despite their expectations, Kondole, driven by selfishness, concealed the fire and arrived without it. This act infuriated the others, who made efforts to coerce him into retrieving the fire and sharing it with them. However, Kondole, being physically larger and stronger, stubbornly refused. Eventually, a man named Riballe, filled with rage, pierced Kondole's neck with a spear. Immediately, nearly all the populace was turned into animals and birds. Kondole ran into the water, transforming into the whale, expelling water from the wound inflicted by the spear in his neck. The fire that belonged to Kondole was entrusted to Riballe, who then deposited it within the grass-tree, where it remains to this day and can be retrieved by rubbing.[54] | |
Kyward the Hare
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Original source
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La Llorona
Original source
She is based on La Llorona ("the weeping woman"), a vengeful ghost from Mexican folklore. | ||
La Llorona's husband
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Original source
He is based on the character from the ghost story of La Llorona from Mexican folklore. | ||
Lauda's husband
Lauda's mother
Lif
Lif is a Homelands character who first appears in Fables #147 — "The Peaceable Kingdom: Chapter Seven of Happily Ever After." She was an elder sister to Lauda. | |
Little Annie
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Original source
She is based on the titular character of "Little Annie the Goose Girl," a Norwegian fairytale. | ||
Little Freddy
Little Freddy is a Fable who lives in Ultima Thule, the Homelands version of Norway. He first appears in Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love #5 — "Part Five: Cold Wars." According to Little Freddy, he is now without his musket. | |
Original source
He is based on the titular character of the Norwegian fairytale of "Little Freddy with His Fiddle." | |
The little match girl
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History
The girl appears to Rose Red as one of the paladins of Hope, ostensibly on the night that the girl is doomed to die (Christmas Eve, in this telling). The child identifies herself as "the caretaker of hope deferred," braving the deadly cold and saving the meager pennies she earns towards the promise of a better life in the future, and stubbornly denying that her death is close at hand. Rose is heartbroken, because she knows that the girl will freeze to death, with all her hopes unfulfilled. | ||
Original source
She is based on the titular character of Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale "The Little Match Girl." | ||
Little Tommy Tucker
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Original source
He is based on the titular character of the nursery rhyme "Little Tommy Tucker." | ||
Lost Boys
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Lucifer
Lucifer is part of a group of Devils that Jack Horner made a deal with to prolong his life. He first appears in Jack of Fables #16 — "Jack o' Lantern," and is the banished angel who became the Devil. Lucifer is described by Jack as being "poncy." According to the final issue of Jack of Fables, he and the other Devils are all the Devil. | |
Original source
He is based on Lucifer from Christianity. | |
Lúta
Lúta is a Homelands character whose first appearance was in Fables #147 — "The Peaceable Kingdom: Chapter Seven of Happily Ever After." She is an elder sister to Lauda. | |
M
Maid Marian
Maid Marian is a Fable who briefly appears in flashbacks from the Homelands during Fables #4 — "Chapter Four: Remembrance Day." Marian can be seen among a large group of Fables fleeing the Adversary's forces. As mentioned in the one-shot Fables: The Last Castle, she was killed when the invaders took Robin Hood's lands. | |
Original source
Maid Marian is based on the character from the ballads of Robin Hood. | |
The man, the seven wives and the cats
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History
During their first appearance, the cats escape from the sacks, and Gary the Pathetic Fallacy animates the sacks to go catch them again. In Jack of Fables #4 — "Jackrabbit," some members of the family can be seen escaping the Golden Boughs during the mass breakout. | ||
Original source
They are based on the characters from the nursery rhyme "As I was going to St Ives." | ||
March Hare
The March Hare is a Fable who is a former prisoner at the Golden Boughs Retirement Village. He first appears in Jack of Fables #27 — "Turning Pages, Chapter Three: Hillary." | |
Original source
The March Hare is based on the character from the novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. | |
Mary Mary
Mary Mary is a Fable who is a prisoner at the Golden Boughs Retirement Village. She first appears in Jack of Fables #2 — "Jack in the Box." | |
Original source
She is based on the titular character of the nursery rhyme "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary." | |
Meng Chiang-Nu
Meng Chiang-Nu is a Fable who appears in Cinderella: Fables Are Forever #2 — "Part Two." | |
History
She is the former head of Shadow Fabletown, a network of hidden Fable communities scattered throughout the world, in China. Long ago, Meng searched for her husband at the Homelands version of the Great Wall, endured various struggles in order to inter his remains after his passing, and ended up transforming into a fish. She persevered even though her Emperor and his entire Empire were against her. Meng was killed by a Chiss just when she was about to tell Cinderella how to locate Dorothy Gale. | |
Original source
She based on Meng Jiang Nü from the Chinese folktale of "Lady Meng Jiang." | |
Merlin
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Original source
Merlin is based on the character from Arthurian legend. | ||
Mersey Dotes
Mersey Dotes is a Fable who resides at the Farm and first appears in the graphic novel Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall. | |
History
Mersey was a human girl who loved to explore new lands, but one day, she found that she had run out of lands to explore. A fisherman suggested that his wife may be able to solve her problem. The fishwife was able to turn her into a mermaid, and Mersey was able to explore the ocean's floor. She was in an underwater city when the Adversary managed to attack even there. Mersey managed to escape to the Sanctuary world, and was forced to live in a small pond at the Farm.[58] She later assists Owl and Pussy Cat with going on a boat trip.[59] Mersey is also pictured on a map of the Farm in the Fables: Wolves trade paperback. | |
Trivia
According to the Fables Encyclopedia, any similarity between her and the title of the song "Mairzy Doats" is likely coincidental.[60] | |
The Mice and the Cat
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History
During Boy Blue's exploits in the Homelands, Blue comes across the strange group in The Rus, the Homelands version of Russia. A train of mice are pulling a sleeping cat on a sledge, saying that they're planning a funeral for the cat. When Blue points out that the cat isn't dead but merely sleeping, the mice reply that "nevertheless, we have our plans." | ||
Original source
They are based on the characters from the Russian lubok "The Mice are burying the Cat." | ||
Minister Muddlecock
Minister Muddlecock is a Homelands character that first appeared in Fables #37 — "The Saint George Syndrome: Chapter Two of Homelands Fables." He acted as a scribe who took notes in one of the most important meeting in the Empire, he was "retired" after his duties were done in Fables #55 — "Over There: Part Four of Sons of Empire." | |
Minotaur
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Original source
The Minotaur is based on the mythical creature from Greek mythology. | ||
Miry Men
The Miry Men appear in a flashback from the Homelands in Fables: The Last Castle. Members of the group includes Robin o' the Woods, Friar Tuck and John Small. | |
Original source
They are based on the Merry Men from the ballads of Robin Hood. | |
Miss Mousey
Miss Mousey is a Fable who lives at the Farm. She is mentioned in Fables #24 — "The Letter: Chapter Five of March of the Wooden Soldiers" | |
History
In Fables #24 — "The Letter: Chapter Five of March of the Wooden Soldiers," Mustard Pot Pete can be seen writing down the mouse's complaints; the text says, "Miss Mousey complained about the frogs again." In addition, Ambrose is singing the song in Fables #2 — "Chapter Two: The (Un)Usual Suspects," as does one of the Three Blind Mice in Fables #100 — "Single Combat." | |
Original source
Miss Mousey is based on the character from the folk song "Frog Went a-Courting." | |
Miss Silkytail
Miss Silkytail is a Fable who resides at the Farm and briefly appears in the graphic novel Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall. Col. Thunderfoot tried, unsuccessfully, to woo her. | |
Missy Skunk
Missy Skunk is an animal Fable mentioned in Fables #24 — "The Letter: Chapter Five of March of the Wooden Soldiers" and Fables #125 — "Riding in Cars with Gods: Chapter One of Snow White." | |
History
The badger "Stinky" was bequeathed with his nickname after an encounter with Missy Skunk. According to Stinky, he fell down her hole once, which shouldn't be enough to warrant such a disreputable nickname. Rose Red labels the encounter as an interspecies romance, but Stinky claims there was no romance because she was a skunk.[61] However, he later reveals to Bigby Wolf that he actually doesn't mind the sobriquet. He confesses that his tumble into Missy Skunk's den was not an accident: In a drunken stupor, he found her alluring and she used her charm to seduce him.[62] | |
Mistral
Mistral is a Fable from the Homelands, who debuts in Fables #32 — "The Dark, Killing Winter." He is one of the winds who serve the North Wind. | |
Monkey-Faced Boy
The Monkey-Faced Boy first appears in Everafter: From the Pages of Fables #1 — "The Show Me State: Chapter One of The Pandora Protocol." He was originally a kid named William Lemp who lived in a haunted mansion, and is one of the many figures from St. Louis folklore that Jordan Yow raised from the collective unconscious.[15] | |
Original source
He is based on the Monkey Face Boy, a child said to haunt a mansion in St. Louis.[63] | |
Moth
Moth is a Fable who is imprisoned at the Golden Boughs Retirement Village. She first appears in Jack of Fables #3 — "You Don't Know Jack." | |
Original source
Moth is based on the character from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. | |
Mother Goose
Mother Goose is a Fable who is a prisoner at the Golden Boughs Retirement Village. She first appears in Jack of Fables #3 — "You Don't Know Jack." | |
Original source
She is based on Mother Goose, a fictional storyteller of French fairytales and English nursery rhymes. | |
The Mountain King
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Original source
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The Mounted Police
The Mounted Police,[73] nicknamed the Mouse Police,[73] are Fables who live at the Farm. They are a police force of Lilliputians mounted on Fable mice and first appear in Fables #14 — "The Mouse Police Never Sleep: Storybook Love Part One." | |
Trivia
The Mouse Police are inspired by the song "And the Mouse Police Never Sleeps" by Jethro Tull (from the album Heavy Horses), even though the song is actually about cats.[74] | |
The mouse and the bumble-bee
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Original source
They are based on the characters from the nursery rhyme "A Cat Came Fiddling." | ||
Mr. Badger
Mr. Badger is a Fable who appears in Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall. | |
Original source
Mr. Badger is one of the main characters of the children's novel The Wind in the Willows. | |
Mrs. Finch
Mrs. Finch is a Fable who resides at the Farm and appears in Fables #89 — "Baba Yaga: Chapter Three of Witches." She is also mentioned in Fables #90 — "Ozma: Chapter Four of Witches." Mrs. Finch was killed by Mr. Dark while on a reconnaissance mission and, since birds have no teeth, she was not temporarily resurrected as a slave by her murderer. | |
Mrs. Ford
Mrs. Ford is a Fable who lives in Fabletown in New York City. She appears as a corpse in the graphic novel Fairest: In All the Land. | |
History
Mrs. Ford is first referred to in a map of Fabletown in the trade paperback Fables: Wolves, which says that Ford Laundry is run by "the washer woman at the Ford." She also appears as a corpse in the Fairest graphic novel Fairest: In All the Land, which reveals that she has the ability to predict the deaths of other people. She, along with Morgan le Fay, were victims at the hands of Goldilocks and are found murdered in Ford's own laundry mat. Cinderella is able to bring back the victims of Goldilocks, but she's only allowed to choose half, and ultimately chooses Morgan Le Fay, seeing her more valuable an alley for Fabletown. | |
Original source
Mrs. Ford is based on the bean-nighe (Scottish Gaelic for "washerwoman," "laundress") from Scottish folklore. She is a female spirit regarded as an omen of death, said to haunt desolate streams and will wash the clothing of those who are about to die. | |
Mrs. Someone
Mrs. Someone is a Fable who is one of the 13th Floor magicians of Fabletown. She first appears in Fables #25 — "Our Right to Assemble Issue: Chapter Six — March of the Wooden Soldiers." | |
History
Mrs. Someone is a witch, formerly of the 13th Floor, who stays with Briar Rose and Hakim during the takeover of Calabri Anagni in order to protect Briar Rose, who is the Fables' secret weapon against the Adversary and the Snow Queen. Her true name is still unknown as she keeps it a secret, "tucked away where no fell power can discern it." | |
Ms. Magpie
Ms. Magpie is an avian Fable who used to reside at the Farm and is mentioned in Fairest #29 — "Sail Away: Chapter Three of The Clamour for Glamour." She used to live in a little house tucked away within a tree, where a set of stairs had been carefully constructed to allow Fables without wings to enter. The residence is filled with trinkets and baubles that the owner has amassed in her natural affinity for shiny objects. After Ms. Magpie departs for the Homelands, Pussy Cat claims the space for herself and transforms it into a storage area for her collection of postcards and souvernirs from different places in the mundane world. | |
Mustardseed
Mustardseed is a Fable who is imprisoned at the Golden Boughs Retirement Village. She first appears in Jack of Fables #3 — "You Don't Know Jack." | |
Original source
Mustardseed is based on the character from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. | |
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Natty Bumppo
Natty Bumppo, nicknamed Hawkeye, is a Fable who lives in Americana, the Homelands version of the United States. He first appears in Jack of Fables #18 — "Americana, Part 2: Welcome to Americana — Mind the Zombies." | |
History
Hawkeye is one of Bookburner's forces. In the Jack of Fables story arc "Americana," an angry Bookburner sends him and Slue Foot Sue after Jack Horner and his group. However, Jack and the others eventually manage to shake them off. In Bumppo's debut issue, Bookburner can also be seen holding up a copy of the Leatherstocking Tales. | |
Original source
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Nauma
Nauma is a Homelands character whose first appearance was in Fables #147 — "The Peaceable Kingdom: Chapter Seven of Happily Ever After." She was an elder sister to Lauda. | |
Neko
Neko is a Fable who first appears in Fairest #9 — "The Hidden Kingdom Chapter Two: Hard-Boiled Wonderland." | |
History
Hailing from the Hidden Kingdom, the Homelands version of Japan, Neko is one of many Japanese Fables who moved to a hidden community in Tokyo, Japan after the Adversary conquered their land. It can stand on its hind legs and morph into immense proportions, allowing it to be large enough to carry humans on its back. | |
Trivia
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Nutkin
Nutkin is a Fable animal who is part of a secret intelligence organization known as the Shadow Players. He briefly appears in Everafter: From the Pages of Fables #2 — "Train In Vain: Chapter Two of The Pandora Protocol," as a patient of Doctor Dolittle. Just like in the book he's from, he is a rude, mischievous, red squirrel; when the little rodent playfully teases Bo Peep with a blonde joke, the good doctor kicks him out of the examination room for his insolence. | |
Original source
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Trivia
Before Nutkin can finish his joke, "Why did God make blondes two percent smarter than horses?" Doctor Dolittle cuts him off. The punchline is actually "So they don't crap on the street during parades."[76] | |
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Old Maid Hollyhock
Old Maid Hollyhock is a Fable that resides at the Farm and first appears in Fairest #30 — "Five Rhymes and a Riddle: Chapter Four of The Clamour for Glamour." She lives in an area of the Farm called André Gardens, along with Alderman Poppy, the bees, the Dormouse Juggler, Snapdragon and Mister Sunflower. She becomes one of the suspects after the Queen Bee's hive has been vandalized. According to Mister Sunflower, Hollyhock is "tall and slim, upright, dignified, stiff-necked and prim" and keeps her flower rows strictly organized. | |
Original source
She is based on the titular character of "Old Maid Hollyhock," an obscure poem written and illustrated by the Victorian artist R. André, from his book Little Blossom (1884). André Gardens, where Old Maid Hollyhock and other characters from the book live, is a reference to the author. The poem goes: Old maid Holly hock, tall, | |
Old Scratch
Old Scratch first appears in Jack of Fables #16 — "Jack o' Lantern" and part of a group of Devils that Jack Horner made a deal with to prolong his life. According to the final issue of Jack of Fables, they are all the Devil. He is a man with pointy ears who wears a carnival-like red suit. | |
Original source
Old Scratch is based on the Devil from the legend of Stingy Jack. | |
The Old Woman
History
The Old Woman, who is human, could have gone away from the Farm at any time if it were not for her fond attachment to the shoe home she resided in. Thus, she decided to remain.[27] The children were fond of the superhero comic books sold at Nod's Books, which were especially made for Fables. A number of these were regularly sent to the Farm every week.[78] During Goldilocks' attempted revolution, she and her children are seen arming themselves inside their shoe home,[10] and the children use Baba Yaga's hut to patrol the area.[79] | ||
Original source
The Old Woman and her children are based on the characters from the nursery rhyme "There was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe." | ||
Omar
Omar is a Fable who is a member of Bookburner's army of Forgotten Fables. He first appears in Jack of Fables #25 — "Turning Pages, Chapter 1: Robin." | |
The Oysters
The Oysters[80] are Fables who are prisoners at the Golden Boughs Retirement Village. They first appear in Jack of Fables #1 — "The Long Hard Fall of Hollywood Jack." | |
Original source
The Oysters are based on the characters from the poem The Walrus and the Carpenter from Lewis Carroll's novel Through the Looking-Glass. | |
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Pallas Athena
Pallas Athena is a Fable who appears in The Unwritten #50 — "The Unwritten Fables, Part 1: The Summoning," which takes place in an alternative universe where Mister Dark was never defeated. She is one of the Great Powers who appears before Mr. Dark in his castle, in a futile attempt to persuade him not to claim their territories for his own, with Pallas Athena representing her pantheon. | |
Original source
She is based on Athena, also known as Athene and Pallas, from Greek mythology. Athena is the city protectress, and the goddess of war, handicraft, and practical reason.[81] | |
Pan
Pan first appears in Jack of Fables #16 — "Jack o' Lantern." He is part of a group of Devils that Jack Horner made a deal with to prolong his life. According to the final issue of Jack of Fables, they are all the Devil. | |
History
Pan is one of the gods of Ancient Greece, whose appearance led some Westerners to identify him with he Devil. He claims that he is the real Devil and that Old Scratch is "just an uncredentialed upstart in a badly stitched suit." | |
Original source
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Pan is the god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, rustic music and impromptus, and companion of the nymphs. He has the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat, in the same manner as a faun or satyr. With his homeland in rustic Arcadia, he is also recognized as the god of fields, groves, wooded glens, and often affiliated with sex; because of this, Pan is connected to fertility and the season of spring. | |
Peaseblossom
Peaseblossom is a Fable who is imprisoned at the Golden Boughs Retirement Village. She first appears in Jack of Fables #3 — "You Don't Know Jack." | |
Original source
Peaseblossom is based on the character from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. | |
Pecos Bill
Pecos Bill is a Fable imprisoned at the Golden Boughs Retirement Village. He first appears in Jack of Fables #6 — "Jack Frost, Part One of Two." | |
History
Pecos Bill escaped with Alice and John Henry during the big breakout from the Golden Boughs. The group briefly accompanied Jack Horner, who told them his story behind his identity as Jack Frost. He is present in the series' end battle, and is presumably killed off-screen. | |
Original source
Pecos Bill is a fictional cowboy and folk hero from American folkore. | |
Peter Cottontail
Peter Cottontail is a Fable that resides at the Farm and appears in Fables #53 — "Sons of the Empire, Part Two: The Four Plagues." After Isengrim and Brer Wolf tried unsucessfully to catch and kill him, he was hired by Bigby Wolf to train his and Snow's children to hunt, though the Cubs were instructed not to kill, hurt or lay fang or claw upon Peter. | |
Original source
He is based on the titular character of the children's novel The Adventures of Peter Cottontail by Thornton Burgess. In Burgess' novel, "Peter Cottontail" is a name temporarily assumed by Peter Rabbit (named after Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit, although they're not the same character), who decides his real name is too common, and changes it to Peter Cottontail ("Cotton-Tail" is the name of Peter Rabbit's sibling in Potter's novels). However, he eventually goes back to being Peter Rabbit.[82] | |
Trivia
"Peter Cottontail" is also the name of the titular character of the popular Easter song "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" from 1949, and the Easter Bunny in Here Comes Peter Cottontail, a television special that originally aired in 1971. | |
Piasa
The Piasa first appears in Everafter: From the Pages of Fables #1 — "The Show Me State: Chapter One of The Pandora Protocol." It was among the many figures from St. Louis folklore that Jordan Yow raised from the collective unconscious.[15] | |
Original source
The Piasa is a creature from Native American mythology. | |
Piglet
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History
When the foiled revolution at the Farm threatens to flare up again, Piglet appears alongside Winnie-the-Pooh in two panels; from a distance when Boy Blue tells everyone to move back, and then from behind in the following panel, although in the latter, Piglet's head is obscured by a text box. | ||
Original source
Piglet is a fictional character from A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh books. | ||
Pippin Pepper
Pippin Pepper is a Fable that lives at the Farm. They are mentioned in Jack of Fables #23 — "1883, Chapter Two: Moon of the Wolf," where Incitatus refers to the character as a "church mouse." | |
Plano Goat Man
Original source
He is based on the Goat Man from a local urban legend from Plano, Texas.[84] | ||
The Prince
The Prince is a Fable who appears in flashbacks from the Homelands in Fairest #10 — "The Hidden Kingdom Chapter Three: Lost in Translation." He had an affair with Rapunzel and got her pregnant. When Rapunzel was disowned and went looking for him, the Fairy Godmother prevented him from reuniting with her. | |
Original source
He is based on the Prince from the fairytale "Rapunzel." | |
Prince Charming's parents
Prince Charming's parents are two Homelands characters who first appear in flashbacks in the graphic novel Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall. | |
Prince Lawrence's parents
Prince Lawrence's parents are Fables who first appear in a flashback from the Homelands in Fables: The Wolf Among Us #5 — "Chapter Five." | |
Original source
They are based on the Prince's parents from the "Donkeyskin" fairytale. | |
Prince Lindworm
Prince Lindworm is a Fable from the Homelands, who appears in Fables #107 — "Waking Beauty." He was beheaded by the Imperial General Mirant when Lindworm attempted to make himself the new Emperor in the wake of the defeat of the Adversary. He came back to life when his head was reunited with his body by his loyal goblin troops. | |
Original source
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Queen Bee
The Queen Bee, also known as Mrs. Bee, is a Fable that resides at the Farm, and is the leader of the bees who live in André Gardens. She appears in Fairest #30 — "Five Rhymes and a Riddle: Chapter Four of The Clamour for Glamour." | |
Original source
She is based on the queen of the bees from the Brothers Grimm fairytale of "The Queen Bee," as well as one of the bees from Little Blossom, an obscure collection of poems from 1884, written and illustrated by the Victorian artist R. André; more specifically the poems "Mister Sunflower" and "The Battle of the Bee and the Snap Dragon." | |
Queen of Fairy
The Queen of Fairy is a Fable fairy who is mentioned Fables: The Last Castle. Tam Lin claimed to be a knight who was loved by her. | |
Queen of the Golden Realm
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Radiant Sun
Radiant Sun, the Knight of the Midday, is a Fable who is one of Baba Yaga's servants in The Rus, along with his brothers, Bright Day and Dark Night, and first appears Fables #37 — "The Saint George Syndrome: Chapter Two of Homelands Fables." | |
Original source
He is based on Sun, the rider in red, from the Russian fairytale "Vasilisa the Beautiful." | |
Radiskop
Radiskop is a Fable from the Cloud Kingdoms in the Homelands. He first appears in Fables #50 — "Happily Ever After." | |
History
Radiskop serves as the messenger of Cinderella[87] when she ventures up the Beanstalk. When she assists Bigby with his mission in the Homelands in Fables #50 — "Happily Ever After," Cinderella sends the giant squirrel to alert the giants of incoming visitors, so that she and Bigby can be brought into their castles. The creature also assists her when she is on a diplomatic mission to get the Cloud Kingdoms to sign the treaty between themselves and Fabletown in Fables #51 — "Big and Small." | |
Original source
Radiskop is based on Ratatoskr from Norse mythology, who is a squirrel who runs up and down the world tree Yggdrasil to carry messages.[87] | |
The Ram and the Pig
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Original source
They are based on the titular characters of the Norwegian fairytale "The Ram and the Pig Who Went into the Woods to Live by Themselves." The characters' names are capitalized on the wiki in accordance with the source material. | ||
Rangi
Rangi is a Homelands character who appears in the chapter story Fables #150 — "The Last Snow Queen Story." He was the husband of Lumi, the Snow Queen, whom she freezes to death. | |
Red Cross Knight
The Red Cross Knight is a Fable who appears in flashbacks from the Homelands in Fables: The Last Castle. He was one of the Fables who fought at the keep at world's end. He almost won the battle at the all on his own, and could not be beaten, "not by goblin or troll or giant. Not by the dozens or the hundreds." He was finally killed when the enemy set a dragon against him. | |
Original source
The Redcross Knight is a character from Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene, in which his name is written as Redcrosse Knight. In The Faerie Queene, the Redcrosse Knight is claimed to be Saint George, and Boy Blue's claim that he once killed a dragon seems to validate this connection in Fables as well. | |
Red Riding Hood impostor
The Red Riding Hood impostor is a Fable from the Homelands who appears in flashbacks in Fables: The Last Castle. She was a sorceress and one of several spies working the Adversary who took the form of Red Riding Hood.[88] She infiltrated the keep at world's end and had a relationship with Boy Blue. Eventually, she ran out into a swarm of goblins after she thought that Blue had died, and was killed in the process. | |
Red Riding Hood's grandmother
History
One day, the Woodsman happens to hear the grandmother conversing with the local blacksmith about her lovely granddaughter Red Riding Hood, who will soon be visiting and bringing a basket full of treats. He tails the grandmother to her cottage, planning to claim the treats for himself and rape her granddaughter. However, he succumbs to his intoxication and blacks out. He awakens to the sound of screaming and rushes into the cottage to stop whoever is trying to take what he had planned to take for himself, only to discover that the house is under attack from the fearsome Big Bad Wolf, who lunges towards him. Without hesitation, he raises his axe and strikes down the wolf in an act of self-defense.[89] As Red and her grandmother watch, the Woodsman cuts the wolf open,[90] fills his belly with rocks[34][90] and throws him in the[34][90] river[34] to drown.[34][90] Ironically, after defeating the Big Bad Wolf and rescuing Red Riding Hood and her grandmother, the Woodsman is hailed as a hero.[89] | ||
Original source
She is based on the character from the fairytale of "Little Red Riding Hood." | ||
Trivia
In in Bigby's apartment in Fables #3 — "Chapter Three: Blood Tells," there is a framed picture of an elderly woman wearing a bonnet, a reference to the grandmother. | ||
The Rhinoceros' calf
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History
It is the calf of the Rhinoceros who was killed during the Battle of Fabletown in Fables #26 — "The Battle of Fabletown: Chapter Seven — March of the Wooden Soldiers." His offspring mentions their father as it takes the Owl and Pussy Cat on a little journey. | ||
Robin o' the Woods
Robin o' the Woods (also known as Robin Hood or "Loxley") is a Fable who first appears in a flashback from the Homelands in Fables #4 — "Chapter Four: Remembrance Day." As seen in the graphic novel Fables: The Last Castle, when the last ship out of the Homelands was leaving, Robin Hood chose to stay behind and defend the Last Gateway, to avenge his Marian, who was killed when the invaders took his lands. | |
Original source
He is based on Robin Hood from the ballads. | |
Robin Redbreast
Robin Redbreast is a Fable who is mentioned in Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love #1 — "Part One: Stopping Traffic." He is Jenny Wren's lost love, who was murdered during the Adversary's invasion of Jenny Wren's homeland. | |
Original source
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Ronald Levine
Ronald Levine is a mundy who appears in a flashback story in Fables #28 — "Dog Company: War Stories, Part One" and Fables #29 — "Frankenstein Versus the Wolf Man: War Stories, Part Two." He was the leader of Bigby Wolf's platoon from World War II. | |
Rowan
Lord Rowan is a Fable who appears in The Unwritten #50 — "The Unwritten Fables, Part 1: The Summoning," which takes place in an alternative universe where Mister Dark was never defeated. He is one of the Great Powers who appears before Mr. Dark in his castle, in a futile attempt to persuade him not to claim their territories for his own, with Rowan representing the tree-kings. | |
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Saint George
Saint George is a Fable who appears in Fairest #7 — "Lamia." He is a detective tracking down the issue's title character — the Lamia, a.k.a. Beauty — in a story set in 1940s Los Angeles. With the sword Ascalon, he had slain the dragon in his Homeland of Silene. With it, he also slew the beast Chimæra, the dragon Illuyankas, the dragon Tiamat and the serpent Vritra. It is strongly implied that Beast kills Saint George in order to protect Beauty. | |
Original source
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Sally Morrison
Sally Morrison is a Fable who lives in Fabletown. She is mentioned in Fables #33 — "Until the Spring," and was one of the people accidentally killed by Ghost. | |
Sancho Panza
Sancho Panza[26] is a Fable that appears in a brief flashback from the Homelands in Fables #4 — "Chapter Four: Remembrance Day," appearing in a single panel alongside Don Quixote as they watch as ships come in after the Adversary's forces attack. | |
Original source
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Saunders
Saunders is a Fable who appears in flashbacks in Jack of Fables #36 — "Jack 'n' Apes." | |
History
Saunders is a sock monkey that one of the civilized apes that Jack Horner befriended, at least according to Jack. In the issue, a character looking remarkably similar to Winnie-the-Pooh (but drawn slightly differently, as Winnie-the-Pooh was under copyright at the time) can be seen in flashbacks from the Homelands, barbecuing marshmallows with Saunders in what appears to be the Hundred Acre Wood.
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Original source
He appears to be a reference to A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh; in Milne's novel, "Sanders" is the name of the person who resided at Winnie-the-Pooh's home prior to Pooh making it his house.[94] | |
Scarecrow
The Scarecrow[95] is a Fable who first appears in flashbacks from the Homelands in Fables #4 — "Chapter Four: Remembrance Day," where he can be seen among a large group of Fables fleeing the Adversary's forces. He also appears as a prisoner in the Golden Boughs Retirement Village in Jack of Fables #4 — "Jackrabbit," Jack of Fables #21 — "Gary Does Denmark" and Jack of Fables #28 — "The Book of Leadership: The Books of War, Volume One"; and appears in a series of brief flashbacks from Dorothy Gale's life in Cinderella: Fables Are Forever #4 — "Part Four" and Cinderella: Fables Are Forever #6 — "Part Six." | |
Original source
He is based on the character from the children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and its many sequels. | |
Sea monsters
The sea monsters are Fables from the Homelands and are mentioned in Fables: The Wolf Among Us #11 — "Chapter Eleven." According to Bigby, Beowulf fought off these sea monsters before he became the King of the Geats. | |
Original source
They are based on the nicors (sea monsters) from epic poem Beowulf. | |
Seamus McGuire
Seamus McGuire is a Fable who lives in Fabletown. He is first referred to in Peter & Max: A Fables Novel and is a member of Boy Blue's band who plays the harp. He can also be seen with members of the band in Fables #112 — "All in a Single Night," and is one of the main characters of Fables #139 — "The Boys in the Band, Part 1 of 2" and the following issue. | |
Sequana
Sequana is a Fable who appears in The Unwritten #50 — "The Unwritten Fables, Part 1: The Summoning," which takes place in an alternative universe where Mister Dark was never defeated. She is one of the Great Powers who appears before Mr. Dark in his castle, in a futile attempt to persuade him not to claim their territories for his own, with Sequana being an envoy plenipotentiary of the rivers. | |
Original source
Sequana is based on the deity from Gallo-Roman religion, who is the goddess of the river Seine, particularly the springs at the source of the Seine, and the Gaulish tribe the Sequani. | |
Seto Taishō
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Original source
He is based on Seto taishō ("General Seto"), also known as the crockery general, from Japanese folklore. | ||
The seven brothers
Four of the seven brothers briefly appear in a flashback from 1984 set in Thailand, in Cinderella: Fables Are Forever #3 — "Part Three." | |
Original source
They are based on the titular characters of the Chinese legend of the Ten Brothers, although the number of brothers in the story differs among various versions of the folktale. | |
The seven dwarves
The seven dwarves[96] are Fables from the Homelands who first appear in flashbacks in Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall. They kept Snow White as a sex slave, and she eventually killed all seven of the dwarves as revenge for her torments. | |
History
In their first appearance, Prince Charming is investigating a series of murders around his kingdom. The victims are revealed to be the seven dwarvess, whereas the killer turns out to be Charming's wife, Snow White. The flashback sections of the "Rose Red" story arc reveals that unlike in the fairy tale, the dwarfs treated Snow badly and turned her into their slave, abusing her physically and sexually. It is also revealed that the dwarves were the sons of the dwarf from "Snow White and Rose Red." More flashbacks are seen in the "Camelot" story arc, where it is revealed that Snow White was their prisoner for six years. The story also shows what actually happened when she killed one of them. | |
Original source
They are based on the seven dwarfs from the "Snow White" fairytale. | |
Trivia
The standard plural of the noun "dwarf" is "dwarfs." The plural "dwarves" was popularized (though not invented) by the famous author J.R.R. Tolkien in his fantasy fiction works, and specifically refers to fictional fantasy races.[97] In Fables #1 — "Chapter One: Old Tales Revisited," Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall — "The Fencing Lessons" and Fables #96 — "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Chapter Three of Rose Red," the characters correctly refer to the species as dwarves. However, "dwarfs" is used in Fables #133 - "Straight Through the Heart: Part Three of Camelot," and in the title of Fables #96. | |
Shiva
Shiva is a Fable who appears in The Unwritten #50 — "The Unwritten Fables, Part 1: The Summoning," which takes place in an alternative universe where Mister Dark was never defeated. He is one of the Great Powers who appears before Mr. Dark in his castle, in a futile attempt to persuade him not to claim their territories for his own, with Shiva representing his own pantehon. | |
Sir Geoffrey
Sir Geoffrey is a Homelands character who appears in flashbacks in Fables #97 — "Dark Age Party Girl, Chapter Four of Rose Red." | |
Sir Herman Von Starkenfaust
Sir Herman Von Starkenfaust is a Fable who appears in flashbacks from the Homelands in Fables: The Last Castle. According to Boy Blue, he turned out not being a ghost after all. | |
Original source
He is based on the character from Washington Irving's short story "The Spectre Bridegroom." | |
Sir Morwen
Sir Morwen is a Homelands character whose only appearance was in Fables #97 — "Dark Age Party Girl, Chapter Four of Rose Red." | |
Sir Roland
Sir Roland is a Homelands character who appears in Fables #97 — "Dark Age Party Girl, Chapter Four of Rose Red." | |
Slue Foot Sue
Slue Foot Sue is a Fable who lives in Americana, the Homelands version of the United States. She appears in Jack of Fables #19 — "On the Road: Part Three of Americana" and works for Bookburner, who sends her and Natty Bumppo after Jack Horner and his group. However, they eventually manage to shake them off. Pecos Bill, her husband in American folklore, is a prisoner at the Golden Boughs Retirement Village. | |
Original source
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Snapdragon
Snapdragon is a Fable that resides at the Farm and first appears in Fairest #30 — "Five Rhymes and a Riddle: Chapter Four of The Clamour for Glamour." She is a talking plant who lives in André Gardens, along with Alderman Poppy, the bees, the Dormouse Juggler, Old Maid Hollyhock and Mister Sunflower. Snapdragon becomes one of the suspects after the Queen Bee's hive has been vandalized. According to Mister Sunflower, she refused to yield her nectar to the bees. | |
Original source
Snapdragon is based on the character from "The Battle of the Bee and the Snap Dragon," an obscure poem written and illustrated by the Victorian artist R. André, from his book Little Blossom (1884). André Gardens, where Snapdragon and other characters from the book live, is a reference to the author. The poem goes: "Come, Snap-dragon!" says | |
Spoon Brigade
The Spoon Brigade[100] are Fables from Oz and first appear in Cinderella: Fables Are Forever #1 — "Part One." They are Fables recruited by Dorothy Gale to aid her in her plot for revenge on her arch nemesis, Cinderella. | |
Original source
The Spoon Brigade are based on the organization from The Emerald City of Oz. | |
Squire Polly
Squire Polidorius Presterglorius, better known as Squire Polly, is an animal Fable from the world of the Hesse, who appears in Fables #151 — "The Black Forest Chapter One: Greenjack" and Fables #154 — "The Black Forest Chapter Four: Trouble," and appears as a corpse in Fables #158 — "The Black Forest Chapter Eight: Villainy." He is the Chief Magistrate of the district of the Black Forest where the Wolf family settles down in the wake of Fabletown's destruction.[101] | |
Stulla
Stulla is a Homelands character who appears in Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall. She was a member of the Running River Tribe, rival of the Fog Mountain Tribe. She was married to Aurac to stem a conflict between their two tribes. | |
Sunamura no oryō
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Original source
It is based on the Sunamura no onryō ("the ghost of Sunamura") from Japanese folklore. | ||
Supay
Supay is a Fable deity who appears in Everafter: From the Pages of Fables #5 — "Turn and Face the Strange: The Conclusion of The Pandora Protocol." | |
Original source
He is based on the deity from Aymara and Inca mythology. | |
The swallow
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Original source
It is based on the character from the "Thumbelina" fairytale. | ||
Syala
Syala is a Homelands character whose first appearance was in the issue Fables #147 — "The Peaceable Kingdom: Chapter Seven of Happily Ever After." She was an elder sister to Lauda. | |
Syksy
Syksy is a Homelands character who appears in flashbaks in Jack of Fables #6 — "Jack Frost, Part One of Two" and Jack of Fables #11 — "Jack Frost, Part Two (of Two)." She is one of Lumi's three sisters and aunt to Jack Frost II. Syksy is the Autumn Queen, and wherever she lived, it would be fall. | |
Trivia
Similar to the way "Lumi" is Finnish for "snow," her three sisters are also named after the seasons they represent: "Syksi" is Finnish for "autumn." | |
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Talking Cricket
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Original source
The Talking Cricket is based on the character from the novel The Adventures of Pinocchio. The character's name is capitalized on the wiki in accordance with the source material. | ||
Tam Lin
Tam Lin is a Fable who appears in flashbacks from the Homelands in Fables: The Last Castle. He claimed to be the knight loved by the Queen of Fairy. He had a reputation of a scoundrel, but after winning a place for himself on the last ship out of the Homelands, he gave it to his young page instead. | |
Original source
Tam Lin is based on the titular character of the traditional Scottish ballad. | |
Tannika Wynn
Tannika Wynn is a Homelands character who appears in Fables #150 — "The Last Snow and Bigby Story." She is a descendant of Bigby Wolf and Snow White. Together with Etan Wolf, she escorted Rose Red to their family reunion. | |
Tardif the Snail
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Original source
Tardif the Snail is from the literary cycle of Reynard the Fox.[102] | ||
Tesso
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Original source
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Tiny Tim (comic series)
Tiny Tim is a Fable who lives in New York City. He first appears in Fables: The Wolf Among Us #39 — "Chapter Thirty—Nine." |
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Original source
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Tobba
Tobba is a Homelands character whose first appearance was in Fables #147 — "The Peaceable Kingdom: Chapter Seven of Happily Ever After." She was an elder sister to Lauda. | |
Tom Swift
Tom Swift is a Fable whose first appearance was in the issue Everafter: From the Pages of Fables #2 — "Train In Vain: Chapter Two of The Pandora Protocol." | |
History
Tom Swift works for a secretive network magical organization, dedicated to protecting a deeply magical Earth from internal and external threats. He enjoys making puns about what is just said, often referencing himself. If talking about a sunny day, Tom might end his words with "said Tom, brightly." Some of his colleagues include Peter Piper and Bo Peep of legend. Tom also enjoyed a sexual encounter with his newest colleague, Connor Wolf, the son of the Big Bad Wolf. | |
Original source
He is based on the titular character of the Tom Swift novels, written under the collective pseudonym "Victor Appleton." | |
Tom Thumb
Tom Thumb is a Fable who lives at the Farm. He appears in Fables #6 — "Road Trip: Part One of Animal Farm,"[104] among the many Fables gathered to discuss the so-called "invasion" of the Homelands. In Fables #9 — "Warlord of the Flies: Part Four of Animal Farm," it is revealed that he has been dating Thumbelina and lives in a little miniature castle topped with his initials. | |
Original source
Tom Thumb is based on the character from English folklore. | |
Tooth fairy
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Original source
The tooth fairy is based on the fantasy figure from Western culture. | ||
Tosh
Tosh, the King Under the Earth, appears in Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall. Tosh is the king of the dwarves in the land below Prince Charming's kingdom, during the years in which Prince Charming is married to Snow White. When Snow began killing the seven dwarves who had kept her prisoner, Tosh threatened war with Prince Charming's kingdom. Ultimately, Charming discovered his wife's secret murders and conspired to conceal them, placing the blame on a convicted felon and averting war. | |
Trotty Veck
Trotty Veck is a Fable who lives at the Farm. He appears in Fairest #14 — "Aldered States" and is an elderly man who works in the milking sheds. He tries — and fails at — courting Princess Alder. | |
Original source
Trotty Veck is based on the character from the novella The Chimes by Charles Dickens. | |
Tugarin Zmeyevich
Tugarin Zmeyevich is a Fable who appears in flashbacks in Cinderella: Fables Are Forever #2 — "Part Two." He is a dragon who can take the shape of a man, and is the ruler of Shadow Fabletown, a network of hidden Fable communities scattered throughout the world, in Russia. | |
Original source
Tugarin Zmeyevich is based on the mythical creature from Slavic mythology. | |
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Valka
Valka is a Homelands character whose first appearance was in Fables #147 — "The Peaceable Kingdom: Chapter Seven of Happily Ever After." She was an elder sister to Lauda. | |