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Jack of Fables Books in Order

Part ofBill Willingham Books in Order

Find the Jack of Fables books by Bill Willingham in order, with quick summaries, spin-off background, and help deciding when to read them after Fables.

Last updated: July 4, 2026

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Jack of Fables books in publication order

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10 books

1

Jack of Hearts

by Bill Willingham

2007

Jack rolls into Las Vegas, finds a wealthy new bride, and somehow makes romance look like another hustle. At the same time, his past with the Snow Queen starts to cast a colder shadow over the comedy.

2

The Great Escape

by Bill Willingham

2007

This opening Jack of Fables collection sends Jack out on the road and straight into captivity. His charm, ego, and refusal to stay put turn a hidden prison for storybook figures into the start of a much bigger mess.

3

Jack of Fables, Vol. 4

by Bill Willingham

2008

Roaming deeper into American myth, Jack crosses paths with folk heroes, tall tales, and the rougher edges of the national storybook. It plays like a shaggy road trip where every new legend is another chance for trouble.

4

The Bad Prince

by Bill Willingham

2008

Jack's bad habits finally catch up with him as his past with the Snow Queen and the figure of Jack Frost come into clearer focus. The laughs are still there, but the consequences start landing harder.

5

Jack of Fables, Vol. 5

by Bill Willingham

2009

This volume digs into Jack's past while the Page sisters and Bookburner push the present-day plot toward open conflict. It is still funny, but the stakes start getting sharper and more personal.

6

Jack of Fables, Vol. 6

by Bill Willingham

2009

Bookburner's army comes down hard on Revise's compound, and Jack returns to the mess as if he were born to command it. Long-buried secrets and story-world warfare make this one of the bigger swings in the series.

7

The New Adventures of Jack and Jack

by Bill Willingham

2010

Jack Frost heads toward the Imperial Homeworld to chase a much larger destiny. Meanwhile, Jack Horner is changing into something alarming, and the split focus gives the series a fun, uneasy new shape.

8

Jack of Fables, Vol. 8

by Bill Willingham

2011

Jack lands in a far-future realm where old technology is treated like magic and feudal power has taken over. Hunting the Fulminate Blade sounds simple until the world starts lying to him at every turn.

9

Jack of Fables, Vol. 9

by Bill Willingham

2011

Jack Frost sets out on a dragon-slaying quest, not knowing the beast he seeks is his own father. Back home, the Page sisters try to rebuild the Great Library while the series races toward its finish.

10

Jack of Fables

by Bill Willingham

2020

Kicked loose from Fabletown, Jack hits the American heartland and starts making trouble almost immediately. This spin-off trades civic politics for road stories, renegade legends, and a hero who lies as easily as he breathes.

Jack of Fables books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "The Great Escape"

    The Great Escape

    by Bill Willingham

    2007Jack of Fables, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Jack of Hearts"

    Jack of Hearts

    by Bill Willingham

    2007Jack of Fables, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "The Bad Prince"

    The Bad Prince

    by Bill Willingham

    2008Jack of Fables, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "Jack of Fables, Vol. 4"

    Jack of Fables, Vol. 4

    by Bill Willingham

    2008Jack of Fables, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "Jack of Fables, Vol. 5"

    Jack of Fables, Vol. 5

    by Bill Willingham

    2009Jack of Fables, Book 5
  6. Book cover for "Jack of Fables, Vol. 6"

    Jack of Fables, Vol. 6

    by Bill Willingham

    2009Jack of Fables, Book 6
  7. Book cover for "The New Adventures of Jack and Jack"

    The New Adventures of Jack and Jack

    by Bill Willingham

    2010Jack of Fables, Book 7
  8. Book cover for "Jack of Fables, Vol. 8"

    Jack of Fables, Vol. 8

    by Bill Willingham

    2011Jack of Fables, Book 8
  9. Book cover for "Jack of Fables, Vol. 9"

    Jack of Fables, Vol. 9

    by Bill Willingham

    2011Jack of Fables, Book 9
  10. Book cover for "Jack of Fables"

    Jack of Fables

    by Bill Willingham

    2020Jack of Fables, Book 10

Series background & context

If Fables is the main epic, Jack of Fables is the loud side road where the rules get looser and the narrator is far less trustworthy. The star is Jack Horner, the same swaggering trickster who caused constant problems in Fabletown before striking out on his own. He is vain, selfish, funny, occasionally brave, and almost impossible to keep under control for long.

That is the whole point.

The series begins with Jack on the road in the American heartland, where he quickly finds himself entangled with other forgotten or renegade story figures. Instead of the tight civic structure of Fabletown, this spin-off leans into drift, scams, roadside weirdness, and the peculiar energy of American tall tales. It has more attitude than Fables, and a lot more chaos.

A big part of the early setup is the Golden Boughs Retirement Village, where literary and legendary characters are warehoused, watched, and quietly suppressed. Jack being Jack, he does not stay contained for long. From there the series expands into prison breaks, bad romances, Vegas disasters, metafiction, and eventually some very strange material about the Literals, beings tied to the structure of stories themselves.

The book is broader and sillier than Fables, but it is not shallow. Jack's selfishness is funny until it is costly. His endless reinvention starts to feel less like charm and more like survival. Later arcs bring in Jack Frost, the Page sisters, Bookburner, and other characters who push the spin-off into bigger questions about what stories preserve, erase, or weaponize.

Expect a different tone. This series likes dirty jokes, swagger, abrupt left turns, and open mockery of heroic seriousness. It also likes Americana, from frontier legends to roadside folklore. If Fables often feels like politics mixed with myth, Jack of Fables feels like mythology after too much coffee and no supervision.

Read it for the voice. Even when Jack is being a complete disaster, and he often is, the series knows exactly how to turn that disaster into momentum.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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