Book 1

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?

Book 2

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!

 

It's Way of the Househusband minus the wife and kid, plus one adorable, friendly bird, topped off with a whole lotta blood!

 

Omnibus edition includes Vol. 3-4. Anime coming soon!

 

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?


Book 3

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!

 

It's Way of the Househusband minus the wife and kid, plus one adorable, friendly bird, topped off with a whole lotta blood!

 

Omnibus edition includes Vol. 3-4. Anime coming soon!

 

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?


Book 4

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!

 

It's Way of the Househusband minus the wife and kid, plus one adorable, friendly bird, topped off with a whole lotta blood!

 

Omnibus edition includes Vol. 3-4. Anime coming soon!

 

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?


Book 5

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!

 

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?


Book 6

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!

 

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!


Book 7

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!

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!

Book 8

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!

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.


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?

Book 9