Grimm Fairy Tales #104
Zenescope Entertainment
Writer: Pat Shand
Artist: Andrea Meloni
Reviewer: Derrick Crow
Summary: Hailey seemingly catches Belinda scheming with the Dark One and rushes to tell Wulf, the one person she trusts. However, Hailey's own past is about to catch up with her and complicate things far more than she can imagine.
Review: I'm a big fan of Zenescope, every time I pick up a book of theirs I'm impressed with what I read. And jumping onto issue #104 at the start of the “Rise of the Water Nymphs” 2-parter has been no exception. While not a perfect issue, it was very enjoyable and really easy to jump into despite not being familiar with most of the characters.
I'm not really sure who this Hailey is, or Wulf, but I do know Sela, the main character. But none of that mattered because I found all of them to be entertaining to read. Especially Wulf being the big man in shining armor that he was. With Hailey we got to learn a lot about her past in this issue through a conversation shared both by her father and mother telling Sela all about it. This to me was the most awkward moment in the book, not because her past is so mysterious or shocking, but because of them both telling the story (and most of it was told through captions) it became increasingly harder to tell who was talking, and what they were even talking about.
Before and after that point though things were pretty straightforward as we get to visit the realm of Neverland and find out about a devastating event that is currently taking place there. It was interesting to me – and I think it was for the best – how subdued this event was being treated although it was still directly effecting our characters even when they didn't know it. I liked that though, as it allows for the story to be told in the 2-parts its doing and allows for focus to remain on our characters.
Most of the conflict though comes from Hailey and her mother, they're fighting over where Hailey should make her life; on her own or by her mother's side, a mother who I take it from this issue was never there for her very much growing up. It's typical parenting stuff that you see often in stories like this, and while it isn't out of place I do think Hailey's mother doesn't even realize how stupid her decision was to bring Hailey home. And I think that's the point, but still.
The art by Meloni is quite nice to look at. Every character has nice proportions to them, and I know how most people tend to freak out over Zenescope's rather provocative covers (I am not one of them), but I assure you everyone looks more or less normal – as you can in a fantasy comic – in this show. Not once did I look at any girl and think her boobs are too big, or something just ain't right about that outfit. The Water Nymphs look really good with how they move from panel to panel, and how the Queen of the Nymphs flows (get it?) from a corporeal being into her natural water state.
I also enjoy Meloni's landscaping and backgrounds. It all looks very natural to the environment the characters are in, and the characters look natural standing in them. Meloni's art does waver a bit in some panels, like side views of characters. They can range from pretty disproportionate to angular butts with points. But those moments don't happen very much thankfully.
Grimm Fairy Tales is still going strong at 104 issues, with their 105th coming out rather soon. I say pick it up here and keep with it. There's a lot to like with this universe Zenescope has built, and if this issue is any indication there's always a lot going on and you can even pick and choose what to experience. But it's all connected anyways.
Final Score: 3 Water Nymphs out of 5
Zenescope Entertainment
Writer: Pat Shand
Artist: Andrea Meloni
Reviewer: Derrick Crow
Summary: Hailey seemingly catches Belinda scheming with the Dark One and rushes to tell Wulf, the one person she trusts. However, Hailey's own past is about to catch up with her and complicate things far more than she can imagine.
Review: I'm a big fan of Zenescope, every time I pick up a book of theirs I'm impressed with what I read. And jumping onto issue #104 at the start of the “Rise of the Water Nymphs” 2-parter has been no exception. While not a perfect issue, it was very enjoyable and really easy to jump into despite not being familiar with most of the characters.
I'm not really sure who this Hailey is, or Wulf, but I do know Sela, the main character. But none of that mattered because I found all of them to be entertaining to read. Especially Wulf being the big man in shining armor that he was. With Hailey we got to learn a lot about her past in this issue through a conversation shared both by her father and mother telling Sela all about it. This to me was the most awkward moment in the book, not because her past is so mysterious or shocking, but because of them both telling the story (and most of it was told through captions) it became increasingly harder to tell who was talking, and what they were even talking about.
Before and after that point though things were pretty straightforward as we get to visit the realm of Neverland and find out about a devastating event that is currently taking place there. It was interesting to me – and I think it was for the best – how subdued this event was being treated although it was still directly effecting our characters even when they didn't know it. I liked that though, as it allows for the story to be told in the 2-parts its doing and allows for focus to remain on our characters.
Most of the conflict though comes from Hailey and her mother, they're fighting over where Hailey should make her life; on her own or by her mother's side, a mother who I take it from this issue was never there for her very much growing up. It's typical parenting stuff that you see often in stories like this, and while it isn't out of place I do think Hailey's mother doesn't even realize how stupid her decision was to bring Hailey home. And I think that's the point, but still.
The art by Meloni is quite nice to look at. Every character has nice proportions to them, and I know how most people tend to freak out over Zenescope's rather provocative covers (I am not one of them), but I assure you everyone looks more or less normal – as you can in a fantasy comic – in this show. Not once did I look at any girl and think her boobs are too big, or something just ain't right about that outfit. The Water Nymphs look really good with how they move from panel to panel, and how the Queen of the Nymphs flows (get it?) from a corporeal being into her natural water state.
I also enjoy Meloni's landscaping and backgrounds. It all looks very natural to the environment the characters are in, and the characters look natural standing in them. Meloni's art does waver a bit in some panels, like side views of characters. They can range from pretty disproportionate to angular butts with points. But those moments don't happen very much thankfully.
Grimm Fairy Tales is still going strong at 104 issues, with their 105th coming out rather soon. I say pick it up here and keep with it. There's a lot to like with this universe Zenescope has built, and if this issue is any indication there's always a lot going on and you can even pick and choose what to experience. But it's all connected anyways.
Final Score: 3 Water Nymphs out of 5