''Fairest'' is an American monthly comic series created by

Bill Willingham William Willingham (born 1956) is an American writer and artist of comics, known for his work on the series '' Elementals'' and ''Fables''. Career William Willingham was born in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. During his father's military career the fam ...

, published by DC's

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition in which a person has the sensation that they are moving, or that objects around them are moving, when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. It may be associated with nausea, vomiting, perspira ...

. A spin-off of ''

Fables Fable is a literary genre defined as a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse (poetry), verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphized, and that ...

'', ''Fairest'' details the adventures and stories of Fabletown's female citizens and heroines. ''Fairest'' is described by Willingham as a series of miniseries, with each arc telling self-contained stories. The series ended in January 2015.

Story arcs

Wide Awake ''(issues #1 to 6)'': Follows the misadventures of Briar Rose and the Snow Queen after the events of ''Fables'' #107, in which Briar was stolen away by the goblin army. Lamia ''(issue #7)'': Beauty and Beast star in their own mid-century modern detective story set in the smoky clubs and dive bars of 1940s

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. The Hidden Kingdom ''(issues #8 to 13)'': A prequel to the ''Fables'' story arc ''Legends in Exile''. Rapunzel must travel from Fabletown to

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

and resolve a mystery from her troubled past. Aldered States ''(issue #14)'': Princess Alder tells her tales of woe to

Reynard the Fox Reynard the Fox is a literary cycle of medieval allegorical Dutch, English, French and German fables. The first extant versions of the cycle date from the second half of the 12th century. The genre was popular throughout the Late Middle Ages, ...

. The Return of the Maharaja ''(issue #15 to 20)'': When Nalayani's village is attacked, she is sent on a quest that will transform all of Fables forever. Fairest in All the Land ''(graphic novel)'': Someone is killing the women of Fabletown, and Cinderella has only seven days to discover the identity of the murderer. Of Men and Mice ''(issue #21 to 26)'': After an assassination attempt on

Snow White "Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...

, Cinderella is called back into service to unravel an age-old conspiracy that dates back to that fateful midnight ball. Clamour for Glamour ''(issue #27 to 32)'': Refugees from Fabletown have returned to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

's Castle Dark, and Reynard, now able to shapeshift from fox to man, travels the mundane world to regale the animals with tales of his exploits. Goldilocks and the Three (or More) Bears ''(issue #33)'': Final issue, but leads into the original graphic novel, ''Fairest: In All the Land''.

Collected editions

References

2012 comics debuts Fantasy comics Collections of fairy tales Comics based on fairy tales Fables (comics) Vertigo Comics titles Reynard cycle Goblins in popular culture Comics set in the 1940s Comics about talking animals Comics set in Tokyo Comics about anthropomorphic foxes Comics about anthropomorphic bears Comics set in New York City Works based on Snow White Works based on The Snow Queen Works based on Cinderella Works based on Rapunzel Works based on Ali Baba Works based on Goldilocks and the Three Bears Works based on Beauty and the Beast {{DC-comics-stub