One hitman is feared above all in Japan: the killing machine known as “The Fable.” But is he really a tough guy or more of a…weirdo? After a particularly lucrative spree necessitates a break from his life of crime, the Fable faces his hardest assignment ever: living as a normal guy, with a cover story, an apartment, and a pet parrot! An Angouleme Official Selection. It’s Way of the Househusband minus the wife and kid, plus one adorable, friendly bird, topped off with a whole lotta blood! Inspired the new anime. Omnibus edition includes Vol. 1-2. The man called The Fable is a self-proclaimed “genius at killing.” The mention of his codename strikes fear into the hearts of every yakuza in Japan. His talent has brought him everything he could want: money, respect, purpose. But this is no legend. He’s just a man—a rather irritating man who loves stupid jokes and bad TV. After a bloody period of gang enforcement in Tokyo, the Fable’s boss advises him to lie low and enjoy his earnings for a while. So begins the Fable’s toughest mission yet: a full year living a normal life, at the other end of the bullet train, in Osaka. It’s a mission he takes on with his usual professionalism and rigor. But can the Osaka mob let this legend rest? Or will they be unable to resist pulling him back into the underworld?
When you’re the infamous prodigy hitman known only as “Fable,” many things come easy. Being a normal person, however, isn’t one of them. In fact, being told that he can’t kill anyone for a while may just be the hardest job Fable’s ever taken...
One hitman is feared above all in Japan: the killing machine known as “The Fable.” But is he really a tough guy or more of a…weirdo? After a particularly lucrative spree necessitates a break from his life of crime, the Fable faces his hardest assignment ever: living as a normal guy, with a cover story, an apartment, and a pet parrot! An Angouleme Official Selection. It’s Way of the Househusband minus the wife and kid, plus one adorable, friendly bird, topped off with a whole lotta blood! Inspired the new anime. Omnibus edition includes Vol. 3-4. A HITMAN ON HIATUS! The deadliest man in Japan has a new mission: Take a yearlong break, and don’t kill anybody. After getting a pet parrot, “Akira Sato” (not his real name) is at a loss. What do normal people do? They get a job, right? So the Fable musters his courage, writes a resume, and promptly discovers that job interviews are much trickier than they seem. Practically by divine luck, a neighbor gets him a job at a design company. But how long will the underworld let a legendary assassin slave away at a 9-to-5?
With his beloved Nighthawk pistol in hand, Fable the hitman rolls in town! Fable, a natural-born killer who effortlessly takes down any target...or targets. Together with his lovely assistant, they ply their trade the underbelly of society. Then one day, he receives a sudden order from his boss to start a new life under a new name. So begins a new chapter in the savage yet ludicrous tale of The Fable! Until now, The Fable has walked through life leaving a trail of corpses in his path, the stench of death and gunpowder following him wherever he goes. Then out of the blue, he’s told to take a break from killing and live on the up and up for the time being. If only it were that easy...
The legend of a hitman on hiatus! Having successfully written his first résumé, genius assassin "Akira Sato" (age unknown) musters his courage and sets out on a job search only to discover that interviews are much trickier than they seem. But then by chance, he crosses paths with a cryptic woman who gets him a job at a design company! So begins Akira’s delightfully mundane life as an everyday wage slave.
One hitman is feared above all in Japan: the killing machine known as “The Fable.” But is he really a tough guy or more of a…weirdo? After a particularly lucrative spree necessitates a break from his life of crime, the Fable faces his hardest assignment ever: living as a normal guy, with a cover story, an apartment, and a pet parrot! An Angouleme Official Selection. It’s Way of the Househusband minus the wife and kid, plus one adorable, friendly bird, topped off with a whole lotta blood! Inspired the new anime. Omnibus edition includes Vol. 5-6. KILLING IS MY JOB. GRAPHIC DESIGN IS MY PASSION. The boogieman of the Japanese underworld known as “Fable” is taking a year off from killing for hire to lay low in Osaka, and it turns out this “normal life” thing is pretty fun. He’s got a new friend (a parrot), and his neighbor Misaki has gotten him a new job, doodling childish cartoons for an hourly pittance at the small design company where she works. But as Misaki saves up money to open her shop, she gets tangled up in a sex work trap set by a local yakuza member. How far can Fable go to save her—without breaking the vow he made to his boss to avoid deadly force, even when someone totally deserves it?
An assassin by trade, Fable has been ordered by his boss in Tokyo to take a year off from killing. After moving to Osaka with his "sister", Yoko, he begins a quiet new life under the care of some local yakuza. Then one day, his charitable coworker and former gravure model, Misaki, becomes the target of a mega malicious, super scary scheme by some unsavory gangsters! Looks like Fable won’t be spending all his nights watching his favorite comedian after all...
One hitman is feared above all in Japan: the killing machine known as “The Fable.” But is he really a tough guy or more of a…weirdo? After a particularly lucrative spree necessitates a break from his life of crime, the Fable faces his hardest assignment ever: living as a normal guy, with a cover story, an apartment, and a pet parrot! An Angouleme Official Selection. It’s Way of the Househusband minus the wife and kid, plus one adorable, friendly bird, topped off with a whole lotta blood! Inspired the new anime. Omnibus edition includes Vol. 7-8. HEART FULL OF LOVE, TRUNK FULL OF YAKUZA The mission to rescue Misaki is a resounding success, ending with Kojima tied up in the trunk and Sunagawa’s plans in shambles. But this mess needs cleaning up, and Captain Ebihara slips out of his hospital room for a secret meeting… Meanwhile, with his cast finally off, Maguro’s resident assassin wannabe Kuro shows up at Fable’s door, begging again to be taken under his wing. Solve one problem, and it’s replaced by three more. Is this what it’s like to be a working man?
Fable, an assassin, has been ordered by his boss in Tokyo to take a year off from work. Thanks to Misaki, who introduced him to a part-time job in Osaka, he now gets paid 900 yen an hour to draw bizarre pictures. But then one day, the villainous yakuza Kojima shows up and attempts to trap Misaki into becoming a prostitute! We can’t just stand by while our one and only benefactor is in jeopardy, can we, Mr. Fable?
One hitman is feared above all in Japan: the killing machine known as “The Fable.” But is he really a tough guy or more of a…weirdo? After a particularly lucrative spree necessitates a break from his life of crime, the Fable faces his hardest assignment ever: living as a normal guy, with a cover story, an apartment, and a pet parrot! An Angouleme Official Selection. It’s Way of the Househusband minus the wife and kid, plus one adorable, friendly bird, topped off with a whole lotta blood! Inspired the new anime. Omnibus edition includes Vol. 9-10. BEWARE, BEAR Misaki’s safe from the yakuza for now, if traumatized and mortified. But the vicious lieutenant Sunagawa is on Fable’s trail, and planning revenge. In the meantime, Fable has taken his new “apprentice” on an educational camping trip, complete with hallucinations and bear attacks, and Yoko has put yet another romantic victim in the hospital. Yet how long can these days of fun and frivolity continue? When will Sunagawa make his move?
One hitman is feared above all in Japan: the killing machine known as “The Fable.” But is he really a tough guy or more of a…weirdo? After a particularly lucrative spree necessitates a break from his life of crime, the Fable faces his hardest assignment ever: living as a normal guy, with a cover story, an apartment, and a pet parrot! An Angouleme Official Selection. It’s Way of the Househusband minus the wife and kid, plus one adorable, friendly bird, topped off with a whole lotta blood! Inspired the new anime. Omnibus edition includes Vol. 11-12. THE BOUGH BREAKS, THE COPTER CRASHES An innocuous detective agency hides a criminal secret—they’re entrapping doting helicopter parents and their entitled children, taking them for all they’re worth, and burying the bodies with an excavator. It’s a brutal racket, but it’s not their first. Their last scheme was busted up, once upon a time, by none other than Fable. When he remembers a girl in a wheelchair from that hit years earlier, it’ll shake loose memories and tempt him to act, just as the gang settles on their new victims: Etsuji and Misaki!
Fable, a legendary assassin who can kill any target in one fell swoop, has taken a year off on orders of his boss, moving to Osaka with Yoko, his would-be "sister," to learn how ordinary people live. But then one day, the villainous gangster, Kojima, begins to run amok, breaking his promise to Maguro’s captain to start an escort service, ultimately blackmailing Fable’s benefactor, Misaki, to sign on as a call girl. When Fable learns of Misaki’s predicament, he rushes to her rescue armed with a homemade gun.
One hitman is feared above all in Japan: the killing machine known as “The Fable.” But is he really a tough guy or more of a…weirdo? After a particularly lucrative spree necessitates a break from his life of crime, the Fable faces his hardest assignment ever: living as a normal guy, with a cover story, an apartment, and a pet parrot! An Angouleme Official Selection. It’s Way of the Househusband minus the wife and kid, plus one adorable, friendly bird, topped off with a whole lotta blood! Inspired the new anime. Omnibus edition includes Vol. 13-14. A BLACK AND BLUE CHRISTMAS Years ago, the Fable did a job that went wrong, putting a girl named Hinako in a wheelchair. Now, she’s turned up again in his Osaka hideaway, far from the Tokyo underworld. But this is no coincidence. Hinako is being held by a killer known as “Utsubo,” who is here for one reason: to assassinate the legendary assassin. Dealing with amateurs and yakuza without killing is one thing, but how will he pull it off when his opponent is another pro? Meanwhile, Yoko plans her own drunken battle on the most romantically fraught day of the year: Christmas!
The mission to rescue Misaki is a resounding success, ending with Kojima in the hands of Fable, and Sunagawa’s plans in shambles… While both parties languish after the fact, Captain Ebihara slips out of his hospital room to meet up with Fable! Meanwhile, having just gotten his cast off, Maguro’s resident wannabe assassin, Kuro, shows up at Fable’s door, begging to be taken under his wing. Just when one problem seems solved, three more take its place. Guess there’s no rest for the world’s wackiest hitman!
After rescuing Misaki from the clutches of Kojima and Sunagawa, the invincible hitman, Fable, enjoys a brief respite grilling saury on the rooftop before making plans to stay in the mountains for three days and two nights. What’s more, Fable’s newfound pupil, Kuro the yakuza, will be accompanying him for some onsite survival training! They’ll be eating snakes, catching bugs, and who knows, they might even have to fend off a black bear!
One hitman is feared above all in Japan: the killing machine known as “The Fable.” But is he really a tough guy or more of a…weirdo? After a particularly lucrative spree necessitates a break from his life of crime, the Fable faces his hardest assignment ever: living as a normal guy, with a cover story, an apartment, and a pet parrot! An Angouleme Official Selection. It’s Way of the Househusband minus the wife and kid, plus one adorable, friendly bird, topped off with a whole lotta blood! Inspired the new anime. Omnibus edition includes Vol. 15-16. HERE’S TO MY LOVE, OR WHATEVER A shadowy organization has Maguro in its sights, and one member is fixing to go rogue and attempt a daring assassination of either the chairman or the captain. The weapon? Poison. This tangled mystery will present the trickiest challenge yet to Akira and Yoko’s incognito life in Taihei. Meanwhile, the Fable gets a new commission: to draw some cutesy Valentine’s Day illustrations. But this time, he can’t focus on his art. Something weird is happening around town…
One hitman is feared above all in Japan: the killing machine known as “The Fable.” But is he really a tough guy or more of a…weirdo? After a particularly lucrative spree necessitates a break from his life of crime, the Fable faces his hardest assignment ever: living as a normal guy, with a cover story, an apartment, and a pet parrot! An Angouleme Official Selection. It’s Way of the Househusband minus the wife and kid, plus one adorable, friendly bird, topped off with a whole lotta blood! Inspired the new anime. Omnibus edition includes Vol. 17-18. The man called The Fable is a self-proclaimed “genius at killing.” The mention of his codename strikes fear into the hearts of every yakuza in Japan. His talent has brought him everything he could want: money, respect, purpose. But this is no legend. He’s just a man—a rather irritating man who loves stupid jokes and bad TV. THE BIG FISH IS DEAD The boss of the Maguro group is dead, poisoned by an assassin hired by the ambitious and vicious Sunagawa. But there’s another agenda operating in these dark waters. Yamaoka, a dangerous and fearless officer from the organization of killers that raised Akira, is planning a feeding frenzy to flood Taihei with blood. Predators are closing in on the Sato siblings—who are still supposed to be “on vacation!”—from all sides. But this crisis might become an opportunity Yoko never thought she would see, to exact revenge with her life on the line…
Having fought off a bear and with bellies full of snake, Fable and his pupil, Kuro, make their way down the mountain. Meanwhile, Yoko has her first happy night out in a while, thoroughly trouncing the silver-tongued skirt-chaser, Yuki, in a tequila drinking contest. But before long, a mysterious group of villains appears in a quiet corner of Taihei, led by a ruthless crook out to rob and kill spoiled rich kids using a detective agency as a front. So begins the dark and depraved Utsubo arc!
On the surface, he’s the president of an upstanding detective agency. But behind the scenes, he’s a villain who preys on spoiled rich kids. In a quiet corner of Taihei, Utsubo leads a team made of a ruthless killer; Suzuki, a former yakuza, Izaki; and a girl who uses a wheelchair, Hinako, in a scheme to entrap Fable’s coworkers, Kainuma and Misaki! Meanwhile, Fable wrestles with his toughest job yet: drawing a festive flyer for Christmas! It’s looking to be a heated holiday for the hitman on hiatus!
One hitman is feared above all in Japan: the killing machine known as “The Fable.” But is he really a tough guy or more of a…weirdo? After a particularly lucrative spree necessitates a break from his life of crime, the Fable faces his hardest assignment ever: living as a normal guy, with a cover story, an apartment, and a pet parrot! An Angouleme Official Selection. It’s Way of the Househusband minus the wife and kid, plus one adorable, friendly bird, topped off with a whole lotta blood! Inspired the new anime. Omnibus edition includes Vol. 19-20. THE MACABRE MAMBO The music rings out, and the dance of death begins. The mysterious maestro behind this slaughter is Yamaoka, the man with no fear whom Yoko recalls with a shiver from her childhood. The strings swell, and the moment approaches: A duel between the uncanny assassin Akira and the globetrotting killer Azami! What will be the fate of Yoko and Misaki? As the rhythm shifts, what next deadly steps does Yamaoka have planned? The drums thunder in the dark as the climax draws closer to the mercenaries’ hideout!
While Utsubo and his team of deadly conmen scheme to squeeze every last penny out of resident Octopus creeper, Kainuma, Fable coincidentally becomes friendly with Hinako, Utsubo’s secretary. Then, when a dark cloud rolls over Octopus, Fable ends up saving Misaki from another of Kainuma’s desperate outbursts! Is it just me, or does something smell awfully fishy here, Mr. Invincible Hitman?
FINAL VOLUME! One hitman is feared above all in Japan: the killing machine known as “The Fable.” But is he really a tough guy or more of a…weirdo? After a particularly lucrative spree necessitates a break from his life of crime, the Fable faces his hardest assignment ever: living as a normal guy, with a cover story, an apartment, and a pet parrot! An Angouleme Official Selection. It’s Way of the Househusband minus the wife and kid, plus one adorable, friendly bird, topped off with a whole lotta blood! Inspired the new anime. Omnibus edition includes Vol. 21-22. DON’T KILL OR BE KILLED All the masks have fallen away. The fearless Yamaoka is in open rebellion against the nameless organization some call the Fable. The true identity of “Akira Sato” is as the most skilled assassin Japan has ever known is now clear even to his gentle coworker Misaki. Traps are sprung, secrets are revealed, and time runs out for everyone as the grand finale begins!
At last, Utsubo and his conman cohorts put their plot to assassinate Fable! With a meticulous trap waiting for them, Fable and his partner, Yoko, set out to rescue Hinako from Utsubo’s clutches. And just when they avert one crisis, two more take its place! How will the invincible hitman get out of this one?!
After an explosive confrontation, Fable and Yoko head deep into the mountains to rescue Hinako and settle the score with Utsubo! Once thing’s for sure, this showdown’s sure to end with a bang! And on a lighter note, the gang meets back at Yoko’s place for a spicy Christmas party hosted by the drunken queen herself!
With the rogue gangster Kojima gone, and the ambitions of the villainous Utsubo foiled, a calm descends over Taihei...but not for long. With New Year’s just ahead, unbeknownst to Akira and Yoko, a mysterious organization executive, Yamaoka, has been engaging in some very sinister activities targeting the Maguro group. Then, by chance, Akira and Yoko are forced to confront each other on the rooftop of their home!