| “ | She casts no reflection at all. She just doesn't show up. I knew a count, once, with a similar affliction… But Mary seems like something different. And much, much worse. | „ |
| ― Bigby Wolf comparing the count and Bloody Mary, Fables: The Wolf Among Us #31 — "Chapter Thirty—One" |
The count is a notorious vampire who befriended Bigby Wolf in Carpathia centuries ago. He is first mentioned in Fables: Legends in Exile — "A Wolf in the Fold."
History
Meeting Bigby Wolf
The count was a nobleman who lived in a "wild land" in the mundane world called Carpathia. Sometime between cirka 1492, and 1692,[nb 1] he became a friend of the Big Bad Wolf after the latter arrived from the Homelands. The wolf's predations of the local villagers, who were a superstitious lot, were blamed on the count, and many people believed him to be a fell spirit who has risen from the dead. However, the count enjoyed the notoriety this gave him, and befriended the wolf. From time to time, he and Bigby paid visits to one another, with Bigby noting that he was not a bad fellow, and a good conversationalist when Bigby was in search of news regarding the wider world.[1] In 1692, or not long before that,[nb 1] Snow White and Feathertop came to Carpathia to offer to let the wolf join their community in Fabletown. Feathertop inquired of the wolf whether his friend, the count, would be willing to offer them shelter.[1]
Legacy
Frankenstein's monster specifically makes references to a vampire count back in Transylvania, saying that he had fought the count once, years before he fought the "wolf man" (Bigby) during World War II.[2]
When fighting Bloody Mary, Bigby notices that his opponent casts no reflection, just like the count that he once knew, but Mary seems like something different and much worse than him.[3]
Appearances
Fables
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Fables: The Wolf Among Us
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Original source
The count is based on Count Dracula from the novel by Bram Stoker.
In the book Dracula, the titular character is a monstrous vampire (as the locals claim in Fables), although Fables suggests that his monstrous actions were in fact performed by the Big Bad Wolf. Bigby characterizes the count as a skilled conversationalist.[1] This is a nod to the novel, where the titular character enjoys engaging in lengthy conversations with Jonathan Harker during the latter's stay at his castle.
Trivia
It is unknown whether the count is a true Fable (i.e. a migrant from a homeland where the events of the novel occurred) or a rare case of a non-Fable paranormal native to the mundane world.
References
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 According to Fables: The Wolf Among Us #13 — "Chapter Thirteen" and Fables: The Wolf Among Us #14 — "Chapter Fourteen," not long after Snow White went to Carpathia and cut Bigby Wolf with a hexed knife that let him turn from a wolf to human and brought him to Fabletown in Fables: Legends in Exile — "A Wolf in the Fold," she took him to Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. In "A Wolf in the Fold," it is revealed that two centuries before his transformation, Bigby had met Snow in the Homelands. This means that Bigby's transformation took place in 1692, or not long before that, and that he befriended the count sometime during the two centuries that passed between his first meeting with Snow, and his transformation.