Issue: Grimm Fairy Tales #50
Created and Story By: Joe Brusha and Ralph Tedesco
Writer: Joe Brusha
Artist: Anthony Spay, Fernando Melek, Ian Snyder, Tommy Patterson, Roberto Viacava, David Miller
Colors: Andrew Elder, Jeff Balke, Jason Embury, John Hunt
Letterer: Bernie Lee
Cover A: Al Rio & Jose Cano
Cover B Wraparound: EBAS and Nei Ruffino
Cover C: Franchesco and Nei Ruffino
Cover D: Angel Medina and Steve Firchow
Publisher: Zenescope Entertainment
This week marked the release of the 50th issue of Zenescope Entertainment’s Grimm Fairy Tales comic series, and in celebration of this important milestone Grimm Fairy Tales #50 presents readers with one of the most game-changing and dramatic storylines of the series to date.
Grimm Fairy Tales writers Joe Brusha and Ralph Tedesco have done an excellent job of plotting the series thus far — not an easy task, considering how long the series has continued — using the various subplots, characters, and tangential stories that appear in previous issues to set the stage for a dramatic battle over the fate of the Earth in the series’s 50th release. Once again, Sela Mathers and the magical book of fairy tales that allows her to travel between Earth and the fantasy realm of Myst are called upon to fight for the future of mankind, this time against some of the nastiest creatures that Myst has to offer.
Although Sela has long fought against the Dark One and his horde, whose desire to control the Earth will result in the slow, painful extermination of all humans, Grimm Fairy Tales #50 places the fate of the planet directly on Sela’s shoulders. When the Dark One comes to Myst in search of a relic that will allow him passage to Earth, Sela’s actions — and only Sela’s actions — determine the outcome of this clash between good and evil.
Unfortunately for Sela, the battle against the Dark One and the Darkhorde will cost both sides dearly, and a surprise twist has drastic results for one of Sela’s closest allies in Myst, the sexy green fairy Nissa. In order to defeat the Darkhorde, Sela must destroy all remaining portals between Myst and Earth, including her book of fairy tales. As the battle rages around her, the Grimm Fairy Tales heroine has little time to contemplate whether destruction of the book will trap her in the fantasy realm forever or, worse yet, result in her own death; she must act in the best interest of the human race, fulfilling the role she was destined to play in the history of both Earth and Myst.
The artwork of Grimm Fairy Tales #50 is somewhat annoying, as the giant-sized comic features the work of six different artists. While depictions of the series’s characters are pretty consistent throughout, some portions of this issue aren’t as visually strong as others. Readers familiar with the type of action characteristic of Zenescope Entertainment’s big brothers’ superhero comics (Marvel, DC, etc.) will immediately recognize the elementary nature of the fight choreography used in this issue — the unfortunate squandering of a great opportunity for Zenescope’s various artists to demonstrate their artistic prowess on something other than the luscious curves of the publisher’s various leading ladies.
Despite the slight inconsistency in this issue’s visual style, Grimm Fairy Tales #50 is what many milestone comic issues fail to be: a huge payoff for fans of the ongoing series. Rather than using the 50th issue as an excuse to get a lot of all-star talent together for a comic that’s big on artwork and short on story, Tedesco and Brusha have done an excellent job of providing a compelling crescendo to the series’ ongoing plot.
Rating: 4 / 5 Stars
