Jack of Fables

This story arc was supposed to be the last time Jack Horner would appear in Fables, and Willingham initially wanted to write him off the series.

However, editor Shelly Bond suggested that Horner be put in a separate comic instead, stating that she did this because she didn't want to lose her "favorite" character in the series.

[6] Artists Tony Akins, Andrey Pepoy, Todd Klein, Russell Braun, Andrew Robinson, and Brian Bolland also worked on the series.

[1][11] Before the start of the story, Jack stole some money from Fabletown in order to create a film trilogy and make a name for himself in Hollywood.

To Jack's dismay, Beast managed to find him in Hollywood, confiscated all the money and properties he had built, and was told that he could never set foot on Fabletown again.

[14][15] After successfully defeating Bookburner, Jack and Gary then promptly left the Golden Bough to finally enjoy their new found treasure.

After taking refuge in a cave to stash their treasure, Jack was then transformed into a dragon (similar to Fafnir) and forced to stay in that form until a hero comes and slays him.

After learning of his mother's apparent disappearance, Frost, who'd been locked up in her castle since birth, finally left and set out on his own adventure.

He and MacDuff would continue their adventures, making new allies and lovers, discovering new weapons, and battling other monsters from both fantasy and science fiction.

With Gary's powers, Jack invented his own new universe where "he is king, tacos are grown in trees, everyone has a pet dinosaur, and every woman is buxom and in heat all the time".

[19][20][21] Josh Flanagan of IFanboy remarked that it pokes fun on the serious premise of Fables by being a "bit sillier" and having a less-serious tone than the main series.

[21] Lilah Sturges actually wrote the story with focus on putting the character Jack Horner into an ever-increasing number of mishaps and troubles as the series went on.

[9] To top it all of, Willingham and Sturges decided to kill off all of the characters in the series by the last story arc, as a sort of a final humor that was known in Jack of Fables.

[1] The place was named after Sir James George Frazer's The Golden Bough, a wide-ranging comparative study of mythology and religion.

[26][27] The creative team behind the spin-off series also took home Eisner Awards in two different categories: Todd Klein in Best Lettering and James Jean in Best Cover Artist.

[29] During an interview with Willingham, Vaneta Rogers from Newsarama praised its four years of "thrilling readers with Jack's ridiculous, wild, and often borderline-offensive acts".

The series also drew negative criticism from comic book reviews, particularly on the main character and his detestable, selfish and sociopathic personality.

[21] The Comet had a more positive reception on the protagonist, stating that "Jack Horner was always a very unlikeable lead, being an arrogant womaniser who would always act in his own self-interest instead of helping others, but that was part of his charm, and it was difficult not to root for him despite his flaws.

Removing Horner from his own title for a sustained length of time was a creative gamble by writers Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges, but that was part of their overall game-plan for the series".

A panel in Jack of Fables #33 showing the characters in the series, including both the Fables and the Literals.