Wednesday is Comic Day!

Before getting too excited, remember this is the network that just canceled Pushing Daisies. According to the Hollywood Reporter, ABC has given a commitment to produce a pilot based on the Vertigo Comics title, Fables, to producers Stu Zicherman and Raven Metzner (creators of "Six Degrees").

Fables, created by Bill Willingham, is the story of what all the fairy tale characters of old are doing today. Many of them are living in a New York neighborhood they refer to as "Fabletown". Some are still back in the homeland, although the homeland has been conquered by an evil empire led by Geppeto (Pinocchio's Dad). One of the nice things about Fables, the comic, is that Willingham can pull in any public domain character - many quite obscure. In the comic this works partly because the audience has a literary bent. I don't know how well that will work in TV world, where things have to be over telegraphed. I also think it would work a bit better on cable, where it could be a little more mature. On ABC (owned by Disney) - will the producers be tied down and critiqued by the studio if they present a character Disney has a stake in in an unfavorable light? A pilot does not mean a series - and Fables, done well, would be an expensive series (like the canceled Pushing Daisies). We will see how 'committed' ABC is to the concept.