6. Fables
The premise of Fables, created by writer Bill Willingham and first published by Vertigo Comics in 2002, is a simple one; fairy tale characters are exiled from their homeland and living in New York. So far, so meh, but what makes Fables stand out are the alternative versions to the fairy tale creatures you remember from childhood. The series inverts the images of well-known characters from fairy tales and folklore so rather than beautiful princesses and dashing princes we get a cheating, lying Prince Charming, Snow White sleeping with the Big Bad Wolf and a homicidal Goldilocks (to name but a few). The result is every bit as a compelling as any of its fantasy competitors. The story arcs all take the form of a different genre with caper stories, conspiracy thrillers and murder mysteries all featuring as Bill Willingham breaks taboos to deliver a captivating and surprisingly unflinching series well worth a read.