Bill Willingham will return to Fables in two upcoming series.
First, Willingham will pen a brand new six issue DC Black Label miniseries titled Batman vs. Bigby! A Wolf in Gotham.
He will be joined by artist Brian Level on pencils, Jay Leisten on inks, and Lee Loughridge on colors.
According to DC Comics the series will see “Fables’ infamous sleuth Bigby Wolf go head-to-head with the world’s greatest detective Batman.”
Willingham provided some more details stating, “I’ve wanted to do this since the very first year of Fables. Why? Because Batman is a detective, and Bigby is a detective, and I love a well-crafted story crossing over characters from two different fictional worlds.“
He elaborated, “It’s automatically a fish-out-of-water story for at least one of the main characters, and that sort of story always works.”
“Plus, I knew from the very beginning of Fables that my fictional universe would allow for many ways to get Bigby Wolf into the DCU and Gotham City. Even though those cosmic story structures wouldn’t be introduced in the Fables books for a year or more, they were baked in from the very beginning,” he further explained.
Not only will Willingham be penning this six-issue DC Black Label crossover, but he will also be returning to his original run on Fables which previously ended with Fables #150.
Willingham will pick up with Fables #151, which will be the first in a 12-issue arc titled “The Black Forest.”
Joining Willingham on “The Black Forest” are Mark Buckingham on pencils, Steve Leialoha on inks, Lee Loughridge on colors, and Todd Klein providing the lettering.
Willingham teased they will introduce a brand new character, “We introduce a great new character and catch up with many of our most beloved characters from the previous issues.”
He added, “Mark Buckingham has agreed to draw all twelve issues of this tale and I believe he’s doing the best work of his career. Yes, I know I’ve said that several times before, but can I help it if he keeps getting better and better?”
Along with these two series, DC Comics also announced that Willingham will be working on a 48-page holiday special featuring the Justice League titled Cursemas.
Batman vs. Bigby! A Wolf in Gotham arrives sometime in September while Fables #151 arrives the first week of May 2022.
Are you looking forward to see what Willingham has cooked up for the future of Fables?