Issue: Grimm Fairy Tales #56
Writer: Joe Brusha
Artwork: Brent Peeples
Colors: Studio Cirque
Letters: Bernie Lee
Cover A: Pasquale Qualano & Jose Cano
Cover B: Douglas Sirois
Editor: Ralph Tedesco
Release Date: March 2, 2011
Publisher: Zenescope Entertainment
When we last left our heroine Sela in Grimm Fairy Tales #55, she and her companion, Bolder, were surrounded by the Goblin Queen’s army of creepy, sharp-clawed little green, well… goblins. As anyone (except, apparently, Sela) could’ve predicted, the Goblin Queen was not true to her word, setting her minions on Sela and Bolder rather than letting them go as she promised. Luckily for Sela, the kindness she showed to various creatures of the fairy tale realm of Myst in the past several issues leads a pack of ferocious wolves to come to her rescue, helping Sela and Bolder to defeat the Goblin Queen’s army and obtain the key to Limbo for Morrigan (Death).
After her defeat, the Goblin Queen tries to warn Sela that Death will not stay true to their bargain, but bringing Death the Limbo key is Sela’s only hope for rescuing the soul of her beloved Erik (and ultimately of finding out what happened to their child), so the Queen’s warnings fall on deaf ears and she is forced to relinquish the coveted key that allows passage into the realm of Limbo. That’s right, Grimm Fairy Tales #56 concludes the “Glass Coffin” story arc that began in issue #51.
Although Sela’s quest for the key is finally over, her search for Erik’s soul is not, as both the Goblin Queen and Death double cross our heroine. Just as Blake predicted, Morrigan is not to be trusted, but Sela’s journey to find the Limbo key was not entirely in vain. During the course of this six-issue story arc, Sela not only made numerous powerful allies in Myst — including the various animals that she saved, as well as Bolder the dwarf — but she also faced situations that forced her to explore the full extent of her powers. In addition, Sela, Blake and Bolder are not entirely without hope, as Death’s parting act as he departs with the Limbo key is to give Sela the name of a woman who may actually be able to help her retrieve Erik’s soul. Issue #56 alludes to the idea that this individual is expecting Sela, however, which may prove difficult for our heroine in coming issues.
It’s taken nearly sixty issues, but Sela Mathers finally seems to be developing into a badass protagonist worthy of such a renowned ongoing independent comic book series as Grimm Fairy Tales. Not only is Sela now aware of the full extent (and limits) of her superhuman powers, but she’s beginning to learn to control them as well — a fact that inevitably will prove helpful for a character that must face formidable enemies like the Goblin Queen and Death on a regular basis.
As I mentioned in my reviews of the past several issues of Grimm Fairy Tales, I absolutely adore the Goblin Queen, even though she’s an “evil” character. It remains true of virtually every comic book series published by Zenescope Entertainment that women are illustrated as voluptuous and scantily clad, and while the Goblin Queen is no exception to this rule, something about her makes her stand out among the other Grimm Fairy Tales universe’s female characters. Of course, Brent Peeples’s artwork combined with the coloring style of Studio Cirque brings the Grimm Fairy Tales characters to life in this issue with vibrant colors and the characteristic Zenescope style.
As is evident from my reviews of the past few issues of this series, the “Glass Coffin” storyline did a lot to develop my appreciation for Grimm Fairy Tales as a whole. Personally, I would love to see reappearances of the Goblin Queen in future issues, and/or the introduction of more characters like her. It’s probably just personal preference, but I think that the bad girls of Zenescope’s comics are a lot more fun than the good ones and I wouldn’t mind seeing the series focus on them for a while.
Rating: 4 / 5 Stars
