Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham’s Fables is one of the greatest comic series of all time. Full stop. Taking familiar fairy tales and having them take exile in the real world, the stories taking place in Fabletown and the Homelands had some of the richest mythology I’ve ever read in a comic, along with truly compelling takes on beloved characters. Running for 150 issues and several spin-offs, the series ended perfectly back in 2015 with a graphic novel-length final issue. Even with additional tales told through digital first series and spin-offs, the main narrative of Fables bid us Farewell in the best way possible.
If there’s one thing that the series taught us, though, it’s that a fable is only as strong as its popularity, so as long as their stories are still being told, they will always live on.
So what better way to keep the story going than by bringing in Batman? After all, superheroes are effectively modern myths and fables, so why shouldn’t Batman be able to meet up with Bigby Wolf, Flycatcher, Snow White, and the rest?
This September, that very crossover will occur, as DC Comics have announced the six issue Black Label miniseries Batman vs. Bigby! A Wolf in Gotham. Willingham returns to script the series, and he will be joined by penciler Brian Level, inker Jay Leisten, and colorist Lee Loughridge on what Willingham describes as a detective story. It makes sense, given that Batman is the World’s Greatest Detective and Bigby Wolf is the resident investigator of Fabletown.
Plot details are scarce at the moment, but next May will see the Fables series proper pick up where it left off with issue #151, which reunites Willingham and Buckingham and features inks from Steve Leialoha, colors from Loughridge, and letters from Todd Klein. This will kick off a twelve part story titled “The Black Forest,” featuring the new characters along with old favorites.
Plus, Willingham will also write a 48-page Justice League one-shot titled Cursemas. That’s all we know about that so far, but I’m betting Batman will be involved in some way.
It’s not clear if the Batman mini will lead into this resurgence, or serve as its own thing, but we’ll share more details as we hear them.
You can read more about this crossover and continuation at the DC blog.
Batman vs. Bigby! A Wolf in Gotham #1 will hit comic shops and digital retailers this September, with the Fables series proper continuing with issue #151 in May 2022.
