Reviews: Belle, Red Agent & Grimm Tales Of Terror Quarterly
New from Zenescope Entertainment
This week there are stories involving both Belle and Red Agent, and another collection of stories in Grimm Tales Of Terror Quarterly from Zenescope Entertainment.
Belle: Deep Freeze
Belle has been a beast hunter her entire life, and during that time, she has made many enemies, but none as heartless as the Winter Maiden, the seeming goddess of ice. Now, nearly a year after their first encounter, a storm is coming for Belle and her loved ones, but will Anabelle DiMarco be able to ride this blizzard out, or will she succumb to the icy grip of death?
WRITER: DAVE FRANCHINI, ARTWORK: IGOR VITORINO & RODRIGO XAVIER, COLORS: ADRIANO AUGUSTO & MAXFLAN ARAUJO, LETTERS TAYLOR ESPOSITO of GHOST GLYPH STUDIOS & EDITOR DAVE FRANCHINI
Belle has pretty much gotten over her issues with her mother and looks to be enjoying Thanksgiving. From the prologue, though, an icy breeze is coming in, and it looks to cause more trouble for Belle.
The Winter Maiden has had a run-in with Belle before, but she isn’t the only one with ice powers - there is someone more powerful!
This issue initially seems a run-of-the-mill story, with the fight of the month, but as you get to the final third of the story, there are more layers.
I’m quite glad, as Belle needs these bigger arcs, as there is a lot that has been used in her stories and a lot to work with and the final pages of this issue look to be building on a larger arc.
The story itself is a good read, although sitting at home with the heater on did help, as it’s pretty cold here at the moment. There was some good use of both the monsters and the cold surrounding areas for Belle, and I like the way some of these played out.
What is next?
Red Agent: Friendly Fire
Britney “Red Agent” Waters and Avril Williams are on a priority assignment for Rubicon at a remote tropical island – oh, the price of being super-spies–but when all hell breaks loose, this mission becomes anything but a vacation. Following one puzzling encounter after another directs our team to a mysterious set of mountains in Antarctica. And what they discover there could lead them both to madness!
STORY - DAVE FRANCHINI, DAVID WOHL & CHAS! PANGBURN, WRITER - CHAS! PANGBURN, ARTWORK - JULIUS ABRERA, COLORS - FRAN GAMBOA & J.C. RUIZ, LETTERS - CHAS! PANGBURN & EDITOR - DAVID WOHL
I enjoyed this issue. There was a lot to make me think that this was a done-in-one story, as this duo work well together but has felt to be only supporting characters. Recently though, they have been getting their own cast in the form of a shadowy organisation, a director and some support. This issue builds on that while also making things harder.
It starts out pretty hot on the action, with a standard smash-and-grab of a possible enemy and a mystical tool. This escalates as we get a deeper look into Avril’s powers and a potential new threat. A little similar to the main Grimm Fairy Tales story arc as well.
The action in this issue is interesting - without spoilers, it gives us something a little new - and has some good scenes.
I look forward to some of the threads in this issue being pulled.
Grimm Tales Of Terror Quarterly: Holiday Special
It’s the most wonderful time of the year!!! Unless you’ve put yourself on Keres the Goddess of Death’s naughty list. Featuring four tales of holiday themed horror that are guaranteed to turn your White Christmas red.
STORY - JOE BRUSHA, RALPH TEDESCO, DAVE FRANCHINI & DAVID WOHL, WRITER - HONOR VINCENT, ARTWORK - DARIO TALLARICO, MASSIMILIANO LA MANNO, ALESSANDRO UEZU & JUAN FRANCISCO MOTA, COLORS - LEONARDO PACIAROTTI, LETTERS - TAYLOR ESPOSITO of GHOST GLYPH STUDIOS & EDITOR - DAVID WOHL
I must say, for some reason, I enjoy Christmas horror stories over Halloween. You expect it at Halloween, but there is a lot more at Christmas! This is covered quite well in the introduction of the stories, and having Keres as the conductor between the stories works well.
The stories themselves range well, with some good action, horror and satisfying conclusions for them all. They take on some excellent mythology and have some pretty brutal moments.
This is an excellent read to enjoy for horror fans and easy to pick up.
