Review: Grimm Fairy Tales Vol. 3 #4
From Zenescope
More action and discovery from Zenescope Entertainment in Grimm Fairy Tales Vol. 3 #4.
The Beast Within
Who or what is the First Wolf? That is the question that haunts Mystere and Kalen Vale as they languish in a mystical prison deep beneath an ancient village. Forced to rely on one another, the two erstwhile adversaries must face deadly traps, haunted echoes of the village’s past, and the looming awakening of something far older an more dangerous than they expected, as they try to escape alive while learning the truth they seek.
Meanwhile, at Arcane Acre, as Keres reels from a devastating psychic blast from the Tome of Blood & Shadow, she reaches out to the one man who understands the book and the darkness within - Henry Lovecraft.
Writer: Joe Brusha, Artwork: Al Barrionuevo, Colors: Jorge Cortes, Letters: Taylor Esposito (Of Ghost Glyph Studios), Editor: David Wohl, and Production & Design: Christopher Cote
With the two differing storylines running side-by-side, this issue of Grimm Fairy Tales from Zenescope does an excellent job of expanding the threats and issues for the residents of Arcane Acre. With a good pairing of physical and mental challenges for the characters, there is a good mix.
First up, Keres; she has taken herself inside herself and is struggling to deal with what she did and what she needs to do now. Her guilt over the fact that she wasn’t able to rescue everyone is a hard burden, but with a clever link from the previous Keres one-shot, it appears that Lovecraft has found a way to get her to face these issues.
Within Keres‘ subconscious there is an excellent character moment – possibly for both characters as Lovecraft helps her move on – it makes a feel-good ending for the issue with something to look forward to.
Meanwhile, Mystere and Kalen Vale have their own more physical aspect to deal with. With the werewolf clan making things extremely difficult for them both and the strength and power of the alpha, there is an interesting disparity between Mystere and Kalen Vale. Mystere is trying to save some souls, while Kalen Vale is a lot more direct. I think at some point there will be a middle ground – but we aren’t there yet.
The artwork in this issue had a lot going on. From mindscapes to action, there is a lot for the eye to take in. The colouring does an excellent job too, with dark and lights signifying where we are.
This was an interesting issue, with still a lot of world and character building. We aren’t near any resolutions yet, but there were some important aspects and a nice hook for the next issue.
