Excalibur in "Fables"?

So I recently picked up all the tpb's of Fables after hearing so many good things and I have to say I was absolutely blown away by this series.

It's magnificently written by Bill Willingham and illustrated by Mark Buckingham, who's a perfect fit for this book. Previously to reading this series, my favorite Vertigo book was Sandman. This series eclipses Sandman in all aspects and that's saying a lot, because I hold Sandman in such a very high regard.

If you haven't tried this series yet, I highly recommend it. You will not be disappointed.

So you're probably asking 'okay, that's great, but what does this have to do with Excalibur or King Arthur'? Well, here's the thing. One of the things that Willingham does so brilliantly in this book is tie in mythos and stories from the past and reinvent them into his own vision. And that's what he did with Lancelot and Excalibur.

If you find after reading this article that you would like to read the complete storyarc, it covers Fables #61-69.


A little bit of a setup before going on. Lancelot's armor has been kept in Fabletown's mayoral building (which also hosts several other nicknacks and trinkets). On rare occassions, Lancelot's spirit will speak through his armor.

This time, Lancelot calls to Ambrose (a former prince and a man of high morals and nobility):


Lance explains to Ambrose that he has a destiny and Lancelot will be his guide. Lancelot then dresses Ambrose in his armor and it immediately becomes like new:



Lancelot then takes Ambrose over to Excalibur, which resides in a stone in the same room and advises him to pull it free:

After Ambrose proves worthy of wielding Excalibur, Lancelot then knights him:


Lancelot's origin and fall from grace is then recounted to Ambrose:





After Lancelot finishes telling his story, their quest begins.
BUT, I'm not going to tell you what happens next because I don't want to spoil it for anyone who plans on getting this story. Needless to say, it's one of my favorite stories from Fables and it is VERY heavy on the King Arthur mythos.





John 5:19--
Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.