When the war is over, does it matter who was right and who was wrong?
Creative Staff:
Writers: Zach Calig
Artwork: Diego Galindo
What They Say:
In modern day 2015, a group of unsuspecting women are attacked and killed in New England. The men responsible call themselves the New Crusaders and they are determined to find a young woman named Avril Williams, a descendant of one of the most powerful witches of all time.
It’s a race against time as Baba Yaga returns in one of the most intense and exciting Grimm Universe titles of the year!
Content (please note that portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The most unlikely of allies have settled their differences and are now must find a way to vanquish the Coven in order to save Avril; but, they must find a way to circumvent the defenses and draw away the other witches so that they can free the hostage. The obvious plan would be for Baba Yaga to confront Liza so that Dartanian can release the prisoner, but will they be in time before the young sorceress’ powers can be siphoned away? With only the two of them against the last surviving witches, they must be on their guard if they wish to save the day and survive.
However, as they make their way into the Cedar Swamp lair, they find that even the environment itself works against them as illusions prove more potent than the enemy themselves. As the forces clash and old friends settle grudges, it is soon apparent that the Prophesied One must fulfill her role in the embroiled history of the Coven. Her protector cannot defeat Liza and so an untrained novice must prove to herself that she is capable of the role which destiny has thrust upon her. While her sisters fall before an ex-Crusader and a former member of the Coven, the power hungry witch soon comes to realize that she herself is not all powerful and that she too can succumb to a superior foe. But as the end seems near, the future of a young Avril Williams becomes clouded as her only friend falls. Can she resist the temptation of that which Liza craved or will she too be lured by the thirst for what her power can present?
In Summary:
Grimm Fairy Tales Presents: Coven presents a shocking melodrama of the atrocities which can arise from ignorance and one man’s lifelong crusade to purify the world of monsters; and yet, you are shocked by the gall of the Wizard’s hypocrisy when he allies with Liza so that he may continue underscores the entire story. Why fight a force which he wishes to extinguish, but at the same time, he preserves its leader so he can have immortality? Writer Zach Calig mixes these contradictory ideas into a complex tale, but while the concept may seem feasible, he takes convenient shortcuts to bring his story to a predictable conclusion.
It is not until this final issue that we see that the Crusaders had a real mean of ending the war, but if a newcomer such as Dartanian knew about the new weaponry, why not use them from the beginning? It is oversights such as this and the easy collapse of both sides by insiders which made the narrative lacking in the complexity which was created within the first book. Ammunition which can nullify a witch’s powers: even if these were prototypes, a few lucky shots could have ended the war in the first few pages when the Hunter ambushed Liza & Baba Yaga; if he was able to throw a grenade to stun them, why not a spray of bullets, take his trophies and end of story?
While the rest of the series was palpable and helped to establish the mythology behind the conflict, it would have been a better story if Calig was able to extend pivotal moments, such as the introduction of a shape changer, and preclude those which watered down the ending. Did he not have any confidence in the characters which he created that he had to use such an overwhelming game changer? After all, Avril is the Chosen One and supposedly the most powerful witch, but she does not show any capacity until she is pressed by Liza at the end. True that stress can trigger such changes, but she was presented by many more opportunities when she was captured and re-captured over the course of the series. I can understand wanting to extend a tale for the sake of drama, but to do so and then show her abilities at the end is a poor choice. Giving hints of those skills and then show what she is truly able to do at the end would have been a more effective way to conclude the narrative.
The one shining moment in the series was the evolution of Dartanian – from a submissive novice who needs to prove himself in a world where he rejects the teachings into a noble knight; it was a pleasure to see him rise from a follower of the Crusaders into a hero who was able to put aside his prejudices and ignore the lies of the Covenant to learn the truth and help in rescuing an innocent by doing the right thing, all worthy of his namesake. The story seemed to revolve more around his choices rather than the conflict of Avril, who was supposed to be the main protagonist. While the title was supposed to be Grimm Fairy Tales Presents: Coven, somewhere along the way it was lost and became his journey into heroism.
The best part of the series was Diego Galindo’s kinetic artwork. From dynamic battle scenes, intense panels filled with real human emotion to an ending worthy of the story, he kept the narrative moving from beginning to end. To be able to keep the reader’s interest by dictating the pace of the issues, Galindo maximised the capacity of the illustrations by enveloping the action within manageable pieces which were easy to follow and yet, the drawings as a whole created an environment which enabled the viewer to be enveloped within the character’s miseries and triumphs. It was a pleasure to be wrapped within his immersive adventure.
Grimm Fairy Tales Presents: Coven was an interesting premise of two young students’ adventures into their perspective, although distorted, outlook of their own worlds. But somewhere along the way, the trail was lost and it became sidetracked into a non-stop action festival. While normally this would not be a bad thing, the emotions the story evoked in Avril and Dartanian were lost which is a shame since I think it would have made a more provocative story if the relationships were explored rather than the wholesale slaughter. Hopefully, a sequel will highlight the aftermath and the unlikely pair’s tribulations in trying to survive with a foot in both worlds.
Grade: B
Series Grade: B+
Rating: 17+
Released By Zenescope
Release Date: December 16th, 2015
MSRP: $3.99
