Bill Willingham at BasedCon

Bill Willingham will be joining us at BasedCon this year.

Bill is best known as the creator of Fables, one of the most successful and enduring comic book series of the past few decades. The series, which ran for over 150 issues, reimagines classic fairy tale characters living in the modern world—combining myth, politics, and long-form storytelling in a way that helped define what creator-owned comics could look like.

Before and beyond Fables, Bill has had a long career as both a writer and an artist, working across comics, games, and illustration. He’s one of those creators who understands not just how to tell a story, but how to build a world that can sustain many stories over time—something that’s harder to do than it looks.

That long-term, builder-oriented approach is part of what makes him a great fit for BasedCon. Fables didn’t succeed because of a single good idea; it worked because it was developed, expanded, and maintained over years, with a clear sense of structure and direction. It’s a good example of what happens when creative work is treated not just as expression, but as something that can be deliberately constructed and grown.

Bill has also been outspoken about the realities of the creative industries—ownership, control, and the tradeoffs that come with working inside or outside traditional systems. Like many of the people who show up at BasedCon, he’s spent a lot of time thinking about how creators can actually make a living doing this work, and what it takes to retain control over what they build.

More recently, he’s continued to write and illustrate, while also engaging directly with fans and readers in ways that weren’t always possible earlier in his career. That perspective—having worked through multiple eras of publishing and distribution—gives him a useful vantage point on where things are now and where they might be going.

At BasedCon, expect conversations that go beyond craft. Bill brings a mix of storytelling experience, practical industry knowledge, and a willingness to talk plainly about how things work behind the scenes.

If you’re interested in worldbuilding, long-form storytelling, or the business side of creative work, you’ll want to catch his sessions.

We’re glad to have him join us this year.