COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL: FABLES PANEL

By Ernie Estrella

SAN DIEGO -- By the reception it got at the Vertigo Panel, Fables and Jack of Fables have scored a legion of fans by drawing on stories everyone grew up on and giving it a devilish twist. The Fables panel drew yet another large crowd and give readers and opportunity to see how an issue is put together. An almost complete panel of the entire creative team of Fables was there to meet the audience: Shelly Bond (Editor), Andrew Pepoy (Inker, Jack of Fables), Tony Akins (Artist, Jack of Fables), Steve Lealoha (Fables), James Jean (Cover Artist), Danny Lazlo (Colorist), Todd Klein (Letterer, Fables and Jack of Fables), Matt Sturges (Writer, Jack of Fables, House of Mystery), Mark Buckingham (Artist, Fables), Bill Willingham (Writer, Fables, Jack of Fables).

A one page story was given out to 300 audience members and will not be reprinted anywhere. The art for the page was done by Mark Buckingham and Bill Willingham (who has hung up his pencil for many years). The story was an amusing strip starring Babe, the Blue Ox who Willingham said would be the next breakout character in Jack of Fables.

Shelly Bond showed a presentation breaking down each step of the process of how to create an issue of Fables and allowed each person to discuss their role and how long it takes.

There was a brief time for Q&A:

* Andrew Robinson is illustrating a Halloween issue for Jack of Fables.

* Russell Braun is illustrating an upcoming issue.

* The questions that were chosen for the Burning Questions Issue avoided those plot lines that were already coming up or would give too much away. Those that met that criteria and left room for Willingham to get a funny gag in were chosen.

* Peter Pan will be available in February 2008 as a public domain character so expect Peter to make his Fables appearance soon after.

* Willingham confirmed that Peter Pan was originally thought of as a possible character to play the Adversary in the book because he was a villain at heart because he went into people's homes to steal their children.

* Willingham urged Fables readers who are not reading Jack of Fables to do so because the two titles are connected so closely that events happening in Jack of Fables directly impact Fables.

* More fairy queen figures are possible but a war seems to be inevitable.

* Willingham had the last Fable story in his head but didn't want to say when it would be done because the team is having too much fun. But now ideas have been thought of that would happen after that last story and will now be a major turning point for the entire series instead of being the final one.

* Willingham said that mythology characters and stories have been done to death, and the reason why he does not touch gods or god stories is that he's getting old and scared that should he die having written about a god, they would be pissed at him.

* A new special Fables project is already in the works and there are two main characters featured. Willingham did not give away their identities but did say that they are not happy with each other and each has only appeared in Fables in one panel it the entire run.