FAIREST (2012)

"New York Times best-selling, award-winning creator Bill Willingham presents a new series starring the female FABLES. Balancing horror, humor and adventure, FAIREST explores the secret histories of Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Cinderella, The Snow Queen, Thumbelina, Snow White, Rose Red and others. The first 6 issue arc follows the misadventures of Briar Rose after she is stolen away by the goblin army in FABLES #107. Fan-favorite artist Phil Jimenez (WONDER WOMAN, THE INVISIBLES) returns to Vertigo to pencil the opening storyline. Award-winning cover artist Adam Hughes (WONDER WOMAN, BATGIRL) provides covers, starting with a wraparound cover on issue #1. Future arcs will be written by 2011 Arthur C. Clarke winner Lauren Beukes with art by Inaki Miranda, and iZOMBIE scribe Chris Roberson with art by Shawn McManus! And remember: They may be beautiful, but there will be blood."

"Okay, so Sleeping Beauty has been awakened again by true love's kiss. But hold on! The thief Ali Baba doesn't seem a likely candidate for knowing true love from a day-old cruller. So how did this kiss work? We proudly present thrills and chills - and since the Snow Queen is involved, we do mean chills - along with mathematical proof of what does and does not constitute true love."

"We want this third issue to be really big, so let's have Briar Rose and Ali Baba captured by the Snow Queen! And let's throw in seven good fairy godmothers and one really, really bad one. Let's have dire curses and desperate fights and comic asides. Let's show the consequences of attempting a second uninvited kiss. Basically let's have everything in this but the kitchen sink. No, wait - let's throw the kitchen sink in too!"

"What is it with the Snow Queen and her love of/addiction to stories? And how does that little blue bottle imp plan to take advantage of her weakness? Can he really spin a tale so compelling that the evil queen of ice and sorrow will willingly let them all go in peace? Let's find out as we hear the rest of Sleeping Beauty's tale, and learn how Ali Baba ended up stranded in this bleak and snowy world."

"One Sleeping Beauty, one prince of thieves and a small imp add up to one huge moving target for our Snow Queen. But what does she want from them and how will she get it? Will our heroic trio of Jonah the bottle imp, Ali Baba and Sleeping Beauty all make it out of the Snow Queen's lair in one piece? Or a million, tiny broken icicles?"

"The concluding chapter of 'Wide Awake'! Jonah Panghammer, bottle imp extraordinaire, had a plan: Ali Baba would find a treasure so rich he could give up thieving. Briar Rose would wake up and be allowed to go home. The Snow Queen would finally realize what her life could be like without the evil empire. And Jonah himself would be free to go his own way for once. Too bad Hadeon the Destroyer showed up to ruin everything."

"Cigars, cigarettes and...St. George? Beauty and Beast star in their own mid-century modern detective story set in the smoky clubs and dive bars of 1940s Los Angeles. This stand-alone issue from the guest team of writer Matthew Sturges and Shawn McManus is set in the heyday of Hollywood, where ancient Greek evil shows us that 'Everything beautiful leads to ruin in the end.'"

"We look back to Rapunzel's first fateful steps as she's shipwrecked on the shores of the Hidden Kingdom. She's charmed by the Celestial Court, but there is political intrigue afoot and a forbidden love affair when Rapunzel falls in love with Tomoko, a kitsune fox spirit. Meanwhile Joel Crow and Jack of Fables get more than they bargained for in a seedy pachinko parlor and karaoke club. And when Rapunzel is reunited with her former lover, she's shocked at the monster Tomoko has become"

"In part 3 of 'The Hidden Kingdom,' Rapunzel kicks ass when hungry ghosts and angry Yakuza storm the skyscraper. Meanwhile, Bigby and Frau Totenkinder arrive in Japan only to get captured by local Harijuku girls. And back in the dark, simmering pit that is the witching well, something is stirring - and it wants out."

"Dark history and high court intrigue are revealed as Rapunzel hatches a desperate plan to steal Tomoko's soulfire back from the conniving shogun Ryogan. There's murder, scheming, poisonings, safe-cracking, vengeful ghosts, treachery revealed in porcelain and a terrible, bloody invasion."

"Rapunzel discovers that bloody vengeance will come back to haunt you. Frau Totenkinder and Bigby get caught in a war between Tomoko's yakuza gangsters and Katagiri's not-so-unassuming sumo school. There's murder, mayhem, terrible compromises and unholy hairballs deep in the heart of a dark forest and in the frenetic streets of Tokyo."

"In the conclusion of 'The Hidden Kingdom,' will Rapunzel discover what happened to her long-lost children-or will the Japanese Fables have their final, bloody revenge? Lies, secrets and betrayals fold into each other like origami in the finale to Lauren Beukes' and Inaki Miranda's acclaimed story arc!"

"Dating is hard for everyone in this standalone tale-but it's especially tricky if you're a gorgeous tree nymph from Fabletown. Princess Alder tells her tales of woe to Reynard the fox in a special issue written by FABLES writer/creator Bill Willingham and featuring the art of superstar Barry Kitson (The Amazing Spider-Man)."

"art 1 of a brand new arc! 'The Return of the Maharaja' takes us to the exotic Fables world of the Indu (from which our own world's India is but a shadow). We kick off the high-adventure with one of the fairest and most badass women to grace these pages yet. Meet Nalayani from story and song. It starts when her humble village under attack, which sends her on a quest that will transform all of Fables forever."

"In Part 2 of 'The Return of the Maharaja,' Nalayani and the Maharaja set out to rid the land of the vicious dhole as her village's resources dwindle. As the Maharaja continues his advances toward the most beautiful woman in the land, the virtuous Nalayani risks his wrath, and 144 the safety of her village, if she rejects him."

"In Part 3 of 'The Return of the Maharaja,' Nalayani and the Maharaja face a lethal enemy while trapped in the Village of the Dead, and the expedition to rescue Nalayani's village faces an even deadlier curse that sabotages their attempts to search for their leader (whose mysterious past is finally revealed)!"

"As the title promises, part 4 of 'The Return of the Maharaja' is chock-full of 'Death and Dismemberment.' Tensions come to a head between Nathoo and Buldeo in the expedition camp when the Dhole mount another attack, while the Maharaja and Nalayani face their ultimate fate in The Village of the Dead."

"In 'The Dhole of War,' part 5 of 'The Return of the Maharaja,' Charming and Nalayani track down the dhole and confront them, Nalayani's village faces its ultimate fate, and the master of the dhole reveals himself to our heroes in a shocking turn of events!"

"Charming is in for the fight of his life, the results of which will ripple through the FABLES universe, in this thrilling conclusion to 'The Return of the Maharaja'!"

"A special one-off story written by Bill Willingham and featuring the return of fan-favorite gun-toting maniac Goldilocks Illustrated by exciting newcomer Meghan Hetrick-Murante!"

"Cinderella returns in an all-new epic! After an assassination attempt on Snow White, Cind is called back into service to unravel an age-old conspiracy that dates back to that fateful midnight ball! Can Cind uncover the plot and prevent a massacre in Fabletown? For the first time in FAIREST, this globe-spanning adventure ties in directly with events in FABLES! Join us for 'Of Men and Mice' a 6-issue tale by critically acclaimed writer Marc Andreyko (MANHUNTER, Torso, The Lost) and legendary artist Shawn McManus (CINDERELLA, SWAMP THING)!"

"'Of Men and Mice' continues as Cinderella's search for answers takes her from Amsterdam to India! Who is the mysterious figure living in the Temple of the Rats, and how does his story tie into Cinderella's fateful night at the Ball so many years ago? This chapter features revenge, magic, conspiracy, sex, and, of course, lots of rodentia! Plus: Hey, who is that guy? And why is he literally blue? "

"Cinderella's quest to find the creator of the rodent assassins leads her to India - and into the big, blue arms of an old flame! Can Cindy find the answers she needs to save Fabletown from a pest problem of the deadliest kind before it's too late? And how will Cindy react when she finally comes face to face with [FAIREST #23 SPOILER CENSORED]?"

"'OF MEN AND MICE' barrels toward its epic conclusion in this penultimate chapter! The secrets of the mice/men hybrids are revealed! Cindy and the man responsible for it all return to Fabletown just in time for...chaos? Spies, intrigue, murder, and more rodents than a New York City subway tunnel!"

"The epic conclusion is here! As all roads have led back to Fabletown, Cinderella leads the battle against the seemingly endless onslaught of mice/mundy hybrids! This one has it all: Blood! Guts! Romance! Swordplay! Magic! Mystery! Noble sacrifice! And...cheese? Read it before the clock strikes midnight!"

"In this new epic, refugees from Fabletown have returned to New York'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, rubbing the other Fables' noses in his good fortune. Frustration at their restriction to the Farm threatens to become a issue once more! Can the animals find a way out of their situation?"

"At the Farm, all the talking animals, birds, and other non-humans discover that to get what they wish for will depend on the luck of the draw. And while a spider in Haven longs for the chance to be with his love, Reynard discovers that his attempts to woo a fairytale princess have earned him a one-way trip to a whole heap of trouble. The final arc of FAIREST continues here!"

"A moment of happiness for Reynard is brutally cut short in the latest chapter of 'The Clamour for Glamour.' Life as a man is still not doing Reynard any favors, but can the cunning of a fox save both Reynard and Meghan from a terrible fate? Meanwhile, spells are cast at the Farm, but for some the long wait is proving too hard to bear. Can Owl find a way to lift the spirits of his beloved Pussycat as the forlorn feline dreams of escape?"

"A Vertigo 'Defy Covers' issue! A crime has taken place that will have the whole Farm up in arms if word spreads. Will the Farm's super sleuth duo, Clara and Wilfred, figure out who the culprit is? And how does it relate to the destruction of a beehive in André Gardens? Meanwhile, in Louisiana, we run with the fox as Reynard and Meghan, living rough, try to stay one step ahead of Uncle Bobby and Cousin Joey."

"The penultimate chapter of 'The Clamour for Glamour' poses the question, 'Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?' Will it be good enough to win the Best Garden at the Farm contest? Mary certainly hopes so, although an impressionable Little Lamb and his pals may be about to spoil it all, thanks to a little inspiration from a pile of Pinocchio's favorite comic books. Meanwhile, an unplanned arrival brings Reynard and Meghan a new bundle of joys and woes."

"The big day has finally arrived, and the Lottery winners are drawn. Who has the winning tickets? More importantly, will they be passports to liberty and happiness, or five tickets to trouble? And speaking of trouble, will the Fox family make it to the Farm before their pursuers catch up with them? And if they do make it, will anyone there be happy to see Reynard again? It's out of the frying pan and into the fire in the thrilling conclusion of 'The Clamour for Glamour'!"

"This final issue of FAIREST features a special stand-alone story written by Bill Willingham! Don't miss the return of fan-favorite maniac Goldilocks, with art by Meghan Hetrick (BODIES, BATMAN ETERNAL, THE JOKER'S DAUGHTER) and a special horizontal format cover by Adam Hughes!"