As
our loyal readers know I have recently become an official reviewer
for Zenescope Comics. This means that I receive PDF copies of
everything that they release. Obviously I can’t personally review
everything that they release, but as long as I hit a certain number
each quarter they’re cool with it. I’m bringing another regular
writer on board to help with that, so we’ll be putting them up a
bit more frequently than that.
In
this Comic Book Wednesday I’m taking a look at the Grimm
Fairy Tales 2014 Holiday Edition.
It’s available today at your Local Comic Book Shop!
JOE
BRUSHA
RALPH
TEDESCO
PAT
SHAND
Writer
ANNE
TOOLE
Artwork
BUTCH
MAPA
Colors
HEDWIN
ZALDIVAR
VALENTINA
PINTO
Letters
JIM
CAMPBELL
Editor
NICOLE
GLADE
This
one is a tale of Krampus. It features Zenescope’s usual dedication
to clear storytelling. It’s particularly notable in this issue, as
it features a story within a story that ends up affecting the story.
Before
I attempt to explain that sentence, let me address the popularity of
Krampus.
A
gross generalization of Krampus is that it is a creature that is the
antithesis of Santa Claus – around Christmas time it punishes the
naughty children as opposed to rewarding the nice ones. The roots of
the legend seem to be Germanic, though it its involvement in the
holidays are spread throughout Europe. In the past several years the
Krampus has gained a higher profile in America, to the point where
there are Krampus pub crawls and Krampus t-shirts and all sorts of
lovely, crass commercialization that we Americans do best.
Including
comic books. Ahem.
I
have to admit, though, that the tale of Krampus fits perfectly into
the world of Grimm Fairy Tales. I mean, they almost had
to do a Krampus story. And the nice thing is that Zenescope has put
their own twist on it. And by “their own twist” I don’t mean
that Krampus is a hot chick with horns in a miniskirt (not that
there’s anything wrong with that); we get a unique version of the
Krampus origin story that weaves in with the ongoing GFT
narrative.
The
kids from the various realms are at school and it’s Christmastime,
so Sela – the seeming main protagonist of the entire Zene-verse –
decides to regale everyone with the true story of Krampus. The
Holiday
Edition
works as a standalone issue, but it does feature elements from the
ongoing narrative of the main Grimm
Fairy Tales
book. I think a new reader might be slightly confused by some of the
references, but overall you should be able to enjoy this one on its
own merits. And there’s a decent chance you might be enticed to
check out the main book just to see what is going on.
This
comic book has exactly the right amount of words. That might seem
like a weird thing to say, but take a look at your comics and see how
many of them have way
too many
words. And I don’t mean that there’s too much reading involved, I
mean that the word balloons are covering the art up to the point
where you kind of wonder why the art is there. The Holiday
Edition
is what I, personally, feel like a comic book should look like.
Enough of the story is told with the pictures that an overabundance
of dialogue, thought balloons, and narrative squares is unnecessary.
Side
Note: I don’t know that “narrative squares” is the right term.
As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure it isn’t because the things
I am referring to are usually rectangles.
The
art is nice. The characters are all distinctive and easy to tell
apart. Facial expressions are easy to read. And it’s never
difficult to tell where the story is going. In thrity-six pages of
story I never once had to pause to figure out which panel to go to
next or what was happening within the narrative. By now you guys
should know that solid visual storytelling is a BIG part of my rating
of comic books, and Zenescope has yet to disappoint.
I’m
also impressed with the backgrounds of the Krampus story. Rarely are
there panels with blank space or colors. In almost every panel there
is some sort of scenery behind whatever action is taking place. There
are numerous panels in the surrounding story (back at the school)
that are empty behind the characters, but I feel like this was done
to emphasize the characters themselves. I’m not necessarily saying
that it’s okay, but I get it.
While
the Holiday
Edition
does fit directly into the ongoing Grimm
Fairy Tales
narrative, it isn’t as essential as the Halloween Special.
There aren’t any major revelatory character moments and I think
you’d be safe skipping this one even if you are into the main book.
But
if you’re a fan of Christmas comics or holiday specials in general,
you won’t be disappointed by this one. Zenescope does their normal
job of very solid storytelling along with nice art and an interesting
twist on a familiar narrative. If you’re going out to your Local
Comic Book Shop today I recommend you pick it up and give the Grimm
world a try.
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