I’ve been putting it off and putting it off. But I knew I’d eventually have to review some
of this series.
The series in question is Zenescope’s Grimm Fairy Tales. Fairy
tales have been in vogue with comic book publishers for a while now and
sometimes it seems like every comic book company has one fairy tale derived
series that it has to try out (DC=Fables, Marvel=X-Men Fairy Tales, Boom
Studios=Fairy Quest, etc). However, for
Zenescope, Grimm Fairy Tales seems to be the end all and be all. There will be weeks when it seems like Grimm Fairy Tales and Grimm Fairy Tales spinoffs are the only things being published by
that company.
So, if Grimm Fairy
Tales is such a success for Zenescope, why would I be reluctant to review
it? Well, let’s look at the cover of the
collection I purchased for this review:
That’s right, we’ve got Little Red Bikini Hood here.
Most of the covers of Grimm
Fairy Tales comics have those sorts of cheesecake covers with women showing
off significant amounts of leg and cleavage.
As I understand it, many are drawn by Brazilian artist Al Rio who has
become famous for that sort of thing.
Now I enjoy sexy pictures as much as the next heterosexual
adult male, but these covers just make the series come across as crass. However, I gritted my teeth and decided to give the first
volume a try.
The premise of the book seems to basically be that a series
of largely unconnected individuals are having problems in their lives and need
guidance. When they’re at their lowest
point they either encounter a mysterious storyteller or a mysterious book and
either hear or read a fairy tale. The
person is then seemingly transported into the tale where they become the main
character. However, the tales are not
like the versions most people know or even like the darker versions that have
been written down. They’re all turned
into dark, horrific cautionary tales of terror.
The person then reawakens in the real world having learned a lesson,
believing the whole thing to have some kind of dream. Though, it’s quite possible that it’s not.
There are six stories in this volume. They are “Red Riding Hood”, “Cinderella”,
“Hansel & Gretel”, “Rumpelstiltskin”, “Sleeping Beauty” and “Robber
Bridegroom”. I will say that the art on
the interior isn’t as salacious as the cover art, though it’s not quite as
good. There are times when the art just
feels kind of sloppy. The writing is
decent, if a bit heavy-handed. Certain
stories fall flat for me. “Cinderella”
is a good example. The whole thing feels
like a mash-up of the Perrault (or Disney) version and the Grimm version with a
revenge plot twist and a more sinister fairy godmother. If it’s Grimm they’re going for, they
remembered the part about birds coming down to peck the eyes out for the
stepsisters but not that she got the dress and shoes from a tree rather than a
fairy godmother. Most likely they’re
trying to evoke what people remember best about the story, right down to having
ghostly voices calling her “Cinderelly” like the mice in the Disney movie. The story that probably works best is “The Robber Bridegroom” and that story was always dark and creepy.
Overall, between the sex appeal of the covers and the
violent horror that lurks between them, the basic idea behind Grimm Fairy Tales seems to be depicting
fairy tales as something akin to a grindhouse horror film but with an extra
helping of fable and cautionary tale.
It’s not a bad approach and it certainly has its fans. However, personally, it’s not something I’d
go out of my way for. Just as I’ve long
been resistant to the idea that all fairy tales are simple fluff for children,
I’m just as resistant to the idea that they’re all horror stories at their
heart.
Fairy tales are simple stories with a complex identity. I see many people trying to pin down what
they are whether it’s as children’s stories, remnants of old mythology,
horrific cautionary tales or just simple entertainment, but I don’t think any
of them are right. At the same time, I
think that all of them are right. I’m of
the opinion that the generations that created many of the fairy tales we know
didn’t play the genre game or the demographic game like modern media does. I think a fairy tale can be any of these
things or more depending on what tale is being told and who the audience is.
So, personally, I think I’ll skip volume two of Grimm Fairy Tales. It’s just not my thing. But, if you prefer the horrific and
cautionary side of fairy tales, give it a try.
It might be up your alley.
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