Never trust the reflection in the mirror … you never know what or who is on the other side!
Creative Staff:
Writer: Lou Iovino
Artwork: David Cutler
Colours: Valentina Cuomo
Letters: Christy Sawyer
What They Say:
‘The Poisoned Apple’
When Sela Mathers’ original book of stories was destroyed, the beings within were released into the world. Since then, Ray Faulkner – Earth’s power-hungry “Binder” – has been recreating the book. He believes that if he can capture all of the beings roaming free and restore the book to its original form, he’ll be able to use it as a portal to the other Realms of Power. But what happens when his plan backfires and a new threat is unleashed? Meet the evil Snow White!
Content (please note that portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Binder, Ray Faulkner, has worked feverishly to recapture all of the original fairy tales from Sela’s original book and now with it complete, he can fulfill his plan. However now that his masterpiece is finished, is he ready for what comes next? The corrupt storyteller can open doorways into other realms, but when someone passes through to Earth, it is not what he was expecting. The original owner has appeared to reclaim her book, or is it really her? This figure appears to be Sela Mathers, but her dress dictates that this is the tome’s version of Snow White. When the nefarious usurper demands the return of his property, his creation makes her own decision and it is not to his liking.
As this new life takes her first breaths of freedom, the original guardian of Earth soon realizes what has occurred in her absence. The imbalance has brought her to her knees and Sela now knows what has transpired: a new figure has emerged all due to her mishandling of the situation with her old book. She must now confront this doppelganger, but is she all that she appears to be? The situation can quickly get out of hand and since she no longer has her companion, Sela will have to rely on the assistance from her companions. However, will they be able to help against someone who appears to be their friend when all of their instincts will tell them to hold back? And can the same said to be true when one must challenge oneself when the same fault would befall Sela? This will not end well for someone and the cost will most definitely be high.
In Summary:
I am very glad that writer Lou Iovino is able to continue the Binder storyline that he established in the Zenescope 10th Anniversary Specials Snow White One-Shot and Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Cinderella One-Shot. The notion of being able to create a new custodian for the book was intriguing, and once the stories were finished, quite frankly I was disappointed that nothing else was being done to continue this concept. But now Iovino has magnificently picked up where he left off and introduced a new spin on an interesting twist of the classic Good versus Evil story. And it is ironic that we first see Sela teaching the Greek myth of Castor and Pollox since it could foreshadow what might happen with this story. However it will end, this series is taking a turn for the better by continuing this plot line, though we all know that these type of tales usually never end peacefully for one or both of the persons involved.
(I still wonder where the original idea for this miniseries came from: either Hebrew tradition of Cain and Abel or the original Star Trek fan favorite episode Mirror, Mirror – still remember Spock and his goatee.)
Light and Dark: these are the original impressions of Good and Evil and they are carried forward by the skillful artwork of David Cutler and the beautiful colors of Valentina Cuomo within this narrative. From the beginning, you can sense that something wicked is coming by the gloomy atmosphere painted within that desolate forest. Cutler’s sleek and yet dynamic designs bring a flow to the story by propelling it forward like a raging torrent, only pausing in the calm shallows before we plunge head first into back the fray. You can almost feel the anger within Snow White as she is forced to accept what she has been thrust upon her, the fury etched upon her face as comes to realize the power she now possesses. Then we gaze upon Sela, her polar opposite, the kindly mother countenance of a nurturer, sharing her knowledge and experience with the next generation and even to one who will not accept her help. Reflections in a mirror, the same face they share and yet their true natures could nary be opposable to one another.
And yet this marvelous display is magnified by Cuomo’s magical usage of a full palette of hues to communicate the emotional range of the characters. The intensity is magnified in the shadows for Snow and the stillness of calming tones is displayed for Sela, each sequence brings its own impact, separate and yet merging into one as the two approach their inevitable contest. The colors do not become murky be stay distinct even within those horrifying woods, the goodness remains within the light and the villainy cloaked within the darkness. They do not intermingle until doubt rears its ugly head and then the inevitable cacophony of confusion reigns supreme with the introduction of grays and muted accents – it is wonderful in its subtleness and range of complexity.
While this series may only have one more issue to go, the intricacy of the story is displayed with such simplicity that you cannot but wonder why it was never tackled before. Such a concept has been undertaken many times before by others, but Snow White vs. Snow White is a new step in the right direction. To challenge the cornerstone of Zenescope’s Universe as to the morality of her own choices will hopefully be exceptional, but we will need to wait until the next story. Until then, we can bide our time by re-reading the foundational tales and see if there might be another way to settle the dispute, though I rather doubt it.
Grade: A
Rating: T (Teen)
Released By: Zenescope
Release Date: June 1st, 2016
MSRP: $5.99