Grimm Fairy Tales #1
Writing: Joe Brusha
Art: Ediano Silva
Colors: Ivan Nunes
Letters: Taylor Esposito
Publisher: Zenescope
Available date: December 28, 2016
Fantasy is a tough genre. In order for the fantasy parts to be acceptable, to suspend belief, the real parts need to be real. In this relaunch of the popular series Grimm’s Fairy Tales, they manage to do that. There are four magical realms that surround the Earth, the Nexus, and one warrior is the guardian of the Nexus and Protector of the Realms. A new Guardian is learning just how to accomplish this goal in the relaunch.
To be fair, I didn’t read the earlier versions of Grimm Fairy Tales. When I started doing reviews, I saw a bit of the wrap-up of the last series, but it was too far in with too much story behind it to jump in. This issue told me everything I needed to know to get going, and drew me in with one character to focus on – Skye, the daughter of the last Guardian, and inheritor of that title. She has her mother’s old mentor and a magical book to assist her, but as each book is connected to its Guardian, she can only discover its power by reading.
Despite the fact that Zenescope tends to have the cast of a CW show populating its titles, they do make the women in these books pretty kick-ass, and this is no exception. Skye is trying to get her head around her powers, and is sometimes pulled into her book to investigate and contain those from other realms who might try to cause problems in the Nexus. In her first adventure, she’s pulled into Little Red Riding Hood to look into a problem with someone or something killing livestock. You might be able to guess by the fairy tale that wolves factor in. Much like a sitcom, the mystery is solved in 22 pages and a few pages are added on for back story and teasers.
Joe Brusha could probably write this story in his sleep, but that doesn’t mean that it’s phoned in. To the contrary, he’s managed to take his own continuity, put it in a nutshell, and drag us all into the present without insulting our intelligence. Ediano Silva does a fantastic job making heroic-proportioned people and diabolically impressive villains interact and make it all happen in a glorified reality. Ivan Nunes’ colors complement Silva’s artwork gorgeously, enhancing the beautiful settings, and Taylor Esposito’s letters do us the honor of creating interest without calling attention to themselves.
No new ground is being broken – it’s a procedural with supernatural elements and really attractive characters. This new beginning will allow new stories to be told from a new character’s perspective, and isn’t that what life is all about? Moving forward, as I think they are.
