Joe BrushaRezensionen

833

I have

Two different covers

How could I not love a battle between Robyn and Red.

This comic became so much better when it started to focus on an more complete storyline instead of one off fairy tales.

This Free Comic Book Day edition contains 3 teaser excerpts from the Discover Channel/Animal Planet series.
Each of the snippets has it's own distinctive (and pretty great) style, and gruesome story line. I loved the artwork in the Dinosaur excerpt.

Find my full review of this on my blog, The Itinerant Librarian. Simply click (or copy/paste to your favorite browser) the link below.

Review link: http://itinerantlibrarian.blogspot.com/2014/05/booknote-grimm-fairy-tales-oz.htm...

A very good set-up with some clever and even quite haunting twists on the Peter Pan story. A seven issue arc plus a prologue, this starts out very intriguingly and paints a world I want to know more about, with characters that have personality and aren't simply twisted charicatures of the original versions. Unfortunately, the story turns into a relatively bland actionfest with a number of unexplained logic holes in the final half of the tale, which took a bit of the enjoyment out of it for me. But even so, the actual ending is satisfying enough, once you get there, and this is one of the better Grimm Fairy Tales endeavours I've read (admittedly, I've not read all that many).½

So, when I requested this I had no idea that this is actually a compendium that's leading up to a new set of comics in this series. I mistakenly assumed that Volume 1 meant the beginning of the whole story. Therefore, this review is going to be short, and mainly about what I actually understood as a reader coming into the series late.

First off, I love the art style but I'm not a huge fan of the character depictions. The characters are extremely stereotypical in the way they're drawn. Male characters are handsome, and generally well toned. Female characters have tiny waists, gigantic breasts, and lovely faces. I absolutely understand that a lot of comics and graphic novels are drawn this way. For this reader though, it's a turn off. Despite the crisp, gorgeously rendered panels, I just couldn't fully immerse myself in the story.

Which is a shame, because the actual story line is fascinating. Imagine a world populated by not just Grimm's Fairy Tale characters, but characters from all areas of fiction. Mythical beings interspersed with characters from Greek mythology. Add in a few original characters, like the Dark Queen herself, and you have a series that's compulsively readable. I kind of want to go back to the beginning, but apparently this volume is the first that actually brings all of these worlds together. Before this, there are separate story arcs and it seems I'd have to read multiple series to catch up. So, we shall see. In the meantime, I'll give this particular graphic novel three stars for entertaining me.

I feel as if I say this all the time, and I do. I adore the Grimm Fairy Tales and their ass-kicking women. I hate their outfits. Put on some clothes, Dorothy Gale! You're in a fight, you might at least add some armor or something!

This is your basic Oz with a Grimm Fairy Tales twist, that of the Wicked Witches answering to someone far more evil than they. Also, this book had a great Toto, though I honestly did miss the tiny Toto from the movie.

(Provided by publisher)

This fantasy comic book trade paperback is entertaining and well-constructed. It is the collection of comics from the Grimm Fairy Tales series and engaging enough to want to know what ensues. It reminds me of the early Image comics.

The plot centres around a group of characters, the Guardians, and the attempt by the Dark Queen and the Dark Horde to bring about the Age of Darkness.

The artwork is very good from different artists and I enjoyed the stories and format. I’d recommend this to any comic lover who enjoys Image Comics’ output, including the obligatory scantily-clad ladies.

Enjoyable enough and I look forward to reading more of the same.

A fun adventure story with beautiful artwork.

A fun adventure story with beautiful artwork.

A fun adventure story with beautiful artwork.

A fun adventure story with beautiful artwork.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

In short, this has to be the strangest retelling of Oz I've ever seen or read. The storyline was okay for what it was, but there were several leaps of logic that didn't make any sense, which made the story that much harder to follow. The artwork was okay, but the cover should give you some idea of what to expect: Dorothy and the witches are all drawn as sexpots, Toto is a huge wolf, the cowardly lion is a warrior, and the flying monkeys are great apes.

Overall this wasn't bad, and it's a quick read. I've seen several, but I haven't read any of the other books with the Grimm imprint, so this was new to me. Not entirely sure I'd pick up any of the others.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Didn't like this at all, couldn't finish it. Subject matter was offensive.

This review also appears (with sample images) on my blog.

The evil daughters of Zamora, intent on conquering the world, seek the Viridian Scepter, a powerful magical artifact which was used to destroy their mother. It has been broken into three pieces, and its handle stolen, taken by a ghost wolf to another world, the nexus. There, it is found by a girl who can, mysteriously, wield it, although it should be possible only for the most powerful of Highborns.

Does this story sound familiar to you? Let me describe it again.

Young Dorothy Gale, who lives on a farm in Kansas, finds a wolf, which she names Toto, and determines to keep it as a pet. Soon after, her house is lifted by a tornado and Dorothy finds herself in the land of Oz, where the Wicked Witches of the East and West terrorize the land. Dorothy accidentally kills the Wicked Witch of the East using a rod that Toto carried, which is sure to cause the witch's sister to target her. So Dorothy sets out on a journey across Oz to complete the scepter, of which Toto's rod was a part, and use it to destroy the Wicked Witch of the West and return home.

That's probably more recognizable, isn't it?

Grimm Fairy Tales presents Oz is a hardcover collection of the six issue miniseries of the same name from Zenescope Entertainment. The series ran from July 2013 to February 2014, and was written by Joe Brusha, with pencils by Rolando di Sessa, inks by Glauber Matos, and colors by Ulises Grostieta.

The Grimm Fairy Tales series presents re-imaginings of fairy tales, set in a crossover-friendly universe consisting of Earth (called the nexus) and four other worlds: Myst, Neverland, Wonderland, and Oz. The miniseries in this book, as the title implies, is concerned only with the final of these. I've never read any other entries in the Grimm Fairly Tales series, so I can confidently say that this book works as a standalone story.

The story is, in broad stokes, the one we're all familiar with. Dorothy from Earth shows up in Oz, meets some traveling companions, and eventually defeats the wicked witches, freeing Oz from their tyranny. At last, Dorothy goes home. All of the details, though, have been changed.

Rather than setting out alone, Dorothy begins her quest in an RPG-approved cliche party consisting of a magic user (Glinda, the Good Witch of the North), a warrior (Thorne, a member of the lion-like Kavari tribe), and three short comic-relief types (Sparky, Crumb, and Crank, who are Boggers--don't call them munchkins!).

Unfortunately, cliche is rather the name of the game, for this story. Dorothy is mysteriously very powerful. Glinda, the knowledgeable, powerful, and very useful leader of the party (at the outset), ends up conveniently unconscious for the latter part of the story. The third chapter's opening is narrated by a positively painful letter home from Dorothy, in the venerable writing-that-everything-is-fine-while-actually-in-a-pitched-battle style. And the ending is rather spectacularly unsatisfying.

The adaptation isn't without its clever bits, and in particular it does a reasonably good job with the lion, scarecrow, and tin woodsman, but overall the writing is just not up to par.

The artwork is fairly good, but quite variable. Dorothy, in particular, never seems to have quite the same face from panel to panel.

I've seen some complaints about the sexualized outfits and poses of the female cast of this book, and I gather that it's something of a staple of the series. The characters certainly wear impractical clothing, and the artist is clearly not above taking advantage of this.

This is certainly not a problem that's limited to this book--it's a common (and valid) criticism of comics in general. That said, I don't think that it's the biggest problem the book has, nor a particularly egregious example of it. The worst of it is all in the alternate covers, but that's not an issue, here.

Grimm Fairy Tales presents Oz is not by any means an excellent comic, but it's not a terrible one, either. It's worth the 45 minutes or so it takes to read, if only that.

Grimm Fairy Tales presents Oz is available in hardcover starting today, March 18, 2014.½

Toto finds Dorothy which causes the witch to send them to Oz in this rendition.

Beautifully rendered though physically exaggerated graphics add depth and spice to the plot and characters. Characters are authentic for their reality, flawed, and multi-layered.

Overall, an interesting read.

Having not read the first five volumes, I'm definitely missing part of the running bit in the story arc. I know there's something bigger about the redhead who keeps showing up, and I'm guessing something also about the brunette at the end. However, the tales themselves are quite creepy and well done. Pinocchio is particularly sad. Yes, I saw where it was going quite quickly, but it was still a well done journey to get there.

I like that these tales weren't bloody and gruesome so much as they were creepy. Oh, there was some ickiness, but it was the shiver-down-the-spine sensation that was excellently done. The retelling of Puss-in-Boots and melding of it with Dorian Gray was particularly creative.

Different cover, but these ones are very confusing. There's also an alternate cover for Vol 1--maybe because there are alternate individual issue covers? Hmm. Annoying.

Background: From publisher- Follow modern-day Snow White, Sela Mathers, as she journeys to limbo to save her prince who is being held captive by the Mistress that rules the realm.
Along the way she must battle the demons that inhabit the realm and face one of the deadliest enemies she's ever encountered — Jack the Giant Killer! Collecting issues #65-70 of Grimm Fairy Tales.
Review: I received this copy of Grimm Fairy Tales from Netgalley not really expecting what I would read. The Grimm Fairy Tales I know are not a graphic novel, so I was intrigued. I must say that the first thing that came to my attention was the females and their forms. I mean I am pretty sure a breast reduction would be in order for my back if my chest was as big as some of these girls! However I know that the demographic for such reading (comics) is normally mainly male, so I will move on.
The story line was interesting and the characters fun, I was a little lost about who the characters were, but I assign that to this being the first of the series I have ever read and it chronicles #65-70. An interesting read but not my favorite, and the art kept throwing me off, not realistic…

I got this book for Christmas as a gift. It was a well done rendition of an adult version of Peter Pan. The drawing was fantastic as were the vivid colors used. The story did an excellent job of capturing some elements of mythology as well as the beloved childhood Peter Pan story.

This book is part of the Grimm Fairy Tales graphic novel universe, but works find as a stand alone story. Pan has found a way to live forever in Neverland. Back in our world children are mysteriously disappearing from their beds. Wendy gets involved when her two nephews go missing. Only one person can help her; Nathan Cross was kidnapped and taken to Neverland as a boy...he was the only one to escape back to our world. Nathan is a grown man and constantly medicated to protect him from his delusions. Now Wendy needs his help to cross back into Neverland, save her nephews, and stop Pan's evil reign.

The illustrations throughout are glossy, well finished, and colorful. The only thing that bothered me about them is the women are all drawn in a very overly sexy way...they are pretty much all shiny butts and huge gleaming breasts. If you can get around that fact, the drawing and backgrounds are very beautiful and well done. The overly sexy women didn't bother me a ton, but it did make me roll my eyes a lot.

This is a very dark, creative, and well done retelling of Peter Pan; more than a retelling it is kind of a continuation of the Pan story. Pan has gone evil and stayed in Neverland beyond his time. He is eating the life essence of children to sustain himself. All of the characters are well done. Nathan Cross was my favorite, he kind of turns into a cross between Captain Hook and Bruce Campbell from Evil Dead when he crosses into Neverland. Cross gets a very kick butt metal hook that has wonderful combative capabilities. Wendy stands well on her own as well.

This is definitely not a book for kids. There are some very heavy sexual overtones to the story and lots of gory combat. Still I really enjoyed the continuation of Peter Pan's story cast in an adult light. I thought the plot was very well put together and excellently told.

Overall a very entertaining continuation of Peter Pan's story. Excellent fight scenes, a wonderful plot that blends a little mythology and some fairy tale retelling. The illustrations are beautifully finished and colored; just beware this is one of those comics where all of the women are overly (almost laughably) sexy...there is no way these women could physically move around with the proportions they are given. Definitely a book for adults only, there is a dark sexual and violent overtone to a lot of the story. Still very creative and entertaining retelling; I enjoyed it and it made me want to read more by Brusha.

Very much worth a read.