Age of Darkness: Volume 1 by Patrick Shand - Ashley's Review

*I received an eARC of this book from Diamond Book Distributors/Zenescope Entertainment in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: Age of Darkness: Volume 1
Author: Patrick Shand
Publication Date: July 22, 2014

Synopsis: The Age of Darkness has descended upon the Grimm Universe! All hell is about to break loose as the Dark Horde prepares to wage war on Earth. The evil Dark Queen has risen again and now the table is set as she will set in motion a plan that will have terrifying and lasting ramifications on the Grimm Universe.

This Trade Paperback collects Grimm Fairy Tales Age of Darkness one-shot and Grimm Fairy Tales issues 94 through 98.

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Review: These Grimm Fairy Tale comics are interesting. They take classic fairy tale characters and totally change them, making them more bad-ass and crazy. They're also a lot sexier than you probably remember from your childhood (especially the females, who wear very little clothing). These comics are definitely written for an older audience, and I do like where some of the storylines go and how they're all interconnected.

But they really don't make all that much sense when you read them on their own or out of order. I've read the Oz comics, and some of the Wonderland ones, so I kind of had a basic idea of the world and what's going on when I started this set, but I got confused really quickly and found myself having to go back and read parts of it again. It was also really frustrating to see little side notes that "hey, you should go read these issues to get more background and understand wtf is going on." Like, no thanks. Just give me a little bit more information in THIS volume and I'll be good. I don't want to go all over creation trying to figure out what's going on. Make it more subtle.



I did enjoy the way all of the good guys band together to try to defeat the Evil Queen, and how the Evil Queen goes about collection minions and turning hearts dark. I liked that all of her words were red, because she's the Red Queen (and also very evil), so the connection was nice. The artwork is also really fantastic, and all of the colors and drawings make it easy to tell which character is which and if they're good or evil.

Overall, I wish I had more knowledge about the background before diving into this comic, and I wish that a little more background was provided in the collection itself. I'm not sure if I'll continue with this storyline, especially if I don't go back and read previous issues, but it's not terrible if you're all caught up. If you're looking for a gritty, sexy, fairy tale retelling, I think these comics would be right up your alley. I'd only give it a 3/5 though. 


--Ashley

Wonderland: Asylum by Raven Gregory & Patrick Shand - Ashley's Review

*I received this book as an eARC from Diamond Book Distributors/Zenescope Entertainment on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: Wonderland: Asylum
Author: Raven Gregory & Patrick Shand
Publication Date: July 1, 2014

Synopsis: Exiled in the realm of Wonderland, the legacy of the Mad Hatter claimed Johnny Liddle's soul creating one of the greatest villains the world has ever known. But the true horror of what Wonderland is has never been revealed...until now! 

They thought the realm of madness was trapped in Wonderland. They were wrong!

From the creators of the original Wonderland trilogy and Pat Shand (Robin Hood, Unleashed) comes the madness as you have never seen before!

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Review: I should really know better when I get comics on NetGalley to make sure that I've actually read the previous volumes. It really makes things make so much more sense. Luckily though, this one wasn't too bad even though I had no prior knowledge, so I was pleasantly surprised! 

Most Alice in Wonderland re-imaginings still deal directly with Alice. Or have characters whose names are very close to "Alice." This comic, on the other hand, introduces Alice's granddaughter, Violet. It was really interesting to see how Wonderland has changed from Alice's adventures there (even though we only get a brief glimpse of them in this volume). Mostly we get to learn about the background of the Mad Hatter and what the character has become over the years. It's actually really different and interesting! 

The cause of the Liddle's pain is The Void. Who, hilariously, decides to take the form of James Franco. I honestly could not take him seriously because all I saw was James Franco and every time he cursed Wonderland I just heard it in James Franco's voice and couldn't help but laugh. He's a really interesting character though, and I'm pretty sure this comic wouldn't have been half as good if he was absent. I like the explanation for how Wonderland came to be and how The Void is worked into the present-day asylum. I was not expecting that, but it was pretty neat. 

Speaking of the Asylum, I thought it was a really interesting and creepy twist on the classic Wonderland characters. It's hard to tell who the characters will become at first, but after they transform I didn't even need to be told who they were. It's pretty obvious, even though they all look completely different from the classic incarnations. My favorite was probably the Cheshire Cat - he's not in the asylum, but he's big and scary and mean and probably what the Cheshire Cat should have looked like all along. 

Even having missed the original Wonderland trilogy that preceded this volume, there's enough information to know most of what's going on. I definitely missed something about Lory Liddle and the Jabberwocky, but I think going back and reading the original trilogy would just lend a deeper understanding to this comic. I would recommend this to fans of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland who are looking for a darker, grittier, sexier retelling. Because, like the other fairy tales this group has done, the girls wear what's basically lingerie the entire time and that's about it. Definitely 18+. Overall not a bad comic, but I wish I understood more of the subtle references. 3/5.


--Ashley 

Grimm Fairy Tales: Oz by Joe Brusha - Paul's Review

*I received this book as an eARC from Diamond Book Distributors/Zenescope Entertainment on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: Grimm Fairy Tales: Oz
Author: Joe Brusha
Date of Publication: March 18, 2014

Ashley's Review

Synopsis: The world faces a gathering storm that threatens to drown it in darkness. The only hope to stop the coming evil rests on an unlikely hero: a Kansas farm girl named Dorothy Gale. 

Unbeknownst to Dorothy, highborn blood flows through her veins and with it, the power to save Earth and the realms of power that surround it. But Dorothy must first learn to use her unharnessed abilities before the witches of Oz destroy her and everyone else that stands in their way.

Zenescope Entertainment presents another incredible tale of adventure and fantasy with this mesmerizing and epic re-imagining of a classic!

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Review: I always like adaptations or reimaginings of The Wizard of Oz. They vary so much. Some make the story happy and light. Others, like this comic, make the story a lot more adult. As you can tell from the cover, the breasts of all the female characters are all out front. The women's appearances are all very sexualized. The violence is also quite graphic. If you are not looking for a mature graphic novel, you should probably stay away from this comic. 

Aside from the visual, I liked how each of the main characters had new histories. The story follows the general outline of The Wizard of Oz, but more politics and history is added. Although I found this extended world building and character development interesting, a lot of it was told instead of shown. 

Overall, this graphic novel is a fun and sexy retelling of The Wizard of Oz. There isn't anything revolutionary to this novel, but it's a fun, casual read. I rate it a 3/5.

--Paul

Tales From Oz by Dan Wickline, Joe Brusha, & Meredith Finch - Ashley's Review

*I received this book as an eARC from Diamond Book Distributors/Zenescope Entertaiment on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: Tales from Oz
Author: Dan Wickline, Joe Brusha, & Meredith Finch
Publication Date: April 29, 2014

My Grimm Fairy Tales: Oz Review

Synopsis: Now, the most infamous Oz characters appear in Zenescope's intense, dark, and daring re-imagining of the Oz mythos. The mesmerizing and often times frightening origins of the Tin Man, The Scarecrow, Thane the Lion, and a wolf named Toto are collected together in this epic trade paperback.

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Review: I think I'm on a Wizard of Oz kick right now, because I keep finding all of these interesting new spins on the world and characters of Oz. After reading Grimm Fairy Tales: Oz, I had so many questions about the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow that I thought would never be answered. Then I saw Tales from Oz, and I was really excited! 

Learning about the past of these well-known and beloved characters in the world of Grimm Fairy Tales was really interesting. Their backgrounds have hints of the original stories in them, but are still entirely new and exciting. How the Tin Man loses his heart, how the Scarecrow loses his brain, and why the Lion is so cowardly are all dealt with in magical ways. The Wicked Witches are often involved, and it was really cool to see their transformations. I also enjoyed learning more about Toto - he's not the small little terrier that he's usually portrayed as, and there's next to nothing about his background in the Grimm Fairy Tales: Oz comics. So it was nice to get to see where he came from and how he ended up with Dorothy. 

The artwork was really well done in these comics, and fit the tone of the stories well. Everything is darker than the original Oz books, and the artwork definitely reflects that. I'm not sure I would recommend this for a younger audience though, because the witches and most of the other females wear very little clothing and are drawn to be sexy, so it's probably not appropriate for the younger fans of Oz to read this series. I definitely think it's geared towards the older generations. 

I do with some of the stories had been a little longer and had flowed together more smoothly - I sometimes found myself having to go back a few pages to figure out what in the world had just happened or where transitions had occurred within the stories. Overall though, this was an enjoyable collection of comics that I think any fans of Grimm Fairy Tales: Oz should really read. It adds depth to the more secondary characters and allows us to glimpse their lives before Dorothy came to Oz. A 3/5.


--Ashley

Grimm Fairy Tales: Oz by Joe Brusha - Ashley's Review

*I received this book as an eARC from Diamond Book Distributors/Zenescope Entertainment on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title: Grimm Fairy Tales: Oz
Author: Joe Brusha
Date of Publication: March 18, 2014

Synopsis: The world faces a gathering storm that threatens to drown it in darkness. The only hope to stop the coming evil rests on an unlikely hero: a Kansas farm girl named Dorothy Gale. 

Unbeknownst to Dorothy, highborn blood flows through her veins and with it, the power to save Earth and the realms of power that surround it. But Dorothy must first learn to use her unharnessed abilities before the witches of Oz destroy her and everyone else that stands in their way.

Zenescope Entertainment presents another incredible tale of adventure and fantasy with this mesmerizing and epic re-imagining of a classic!

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Review: I love reimaginings and retellings, especially ones that have to do with Oz. There's just so much there that can be taken and rewoven and redone into something new and exciting. So, I was really excited when I saw this comic! I've seen these Grimm Fairy Tale comics before, but have never really been interested in reading them. But this one definitely caught my attention.

And I was really not disappointed. Brusha took a popular story with well-known characters and made them all his own. Toto is a ghost wolf. The scarecrow is more intelligent than I've ever seen him, the cowardly lion is a brave soldier with his own secrets, and the tin man is more like a big robot than a man made of tin. The Munchkins are here too, as are all of the scary creatures like the flying monkeys. And of course, what would Oz be without Glinda and the Wicked Witches of the East and West? 

As can be seen from the cover, this comic is definitely sexier and more grown up than L. Frank Baum's original tale. Dorothy and the three Witches wear as little clothing as possible, and it's definitely not practical at all - especially when they go to battle. It's clear that these comics are written for a different audience than the children's books, and I could see how it could be offensive to some people. I didn't really mind since I figured that would be the case going into it... but just be aware that this comic is at least a PG-13 and read at your discretion. There's also some blood and gore and violence, so i's probably not a good read for anyone with a weaker stomach.

I do think I was missing something with the beginning though, and I wish that I had read the other Grimm Fairy Tales to know if I was actually missing something or not. I would imagine that they're all tied together, but I could be wrong. Other than that, this can definitely be read as a standalone, especially if you're familiar with even the first Oz book. I would recommend this to the older crowd (definitely not young YA or MG), especially someone looking for a darker spin on The Wizard of Oz. A 3/5, but I'll be looking for more of these Grimm Fairy Tales comics! 

--Ashley