The way home only needs to be opened … but are you willing to pay the price?
Creative Staff:
Writer: Anne Toole
Artwork: Marcio Abreu
Colors: Hedwin Zaldivar & Maxflan Araujo
Letters: Kurt Hathaway
What They Say:
The Shadowlands are a dark and mysterious place, filled with the most evil creatures that have ever haunted mankind’s imagination. Now Mary Medina finds herself trapped there with no means of an escape, lured by a powerful enemy into a deadly dance with the dead.
Content (please note that portions of review may contain spoilers):
The tenacity of the Elementals grows as the group wanders further into the labyrinth, but with each engagement, our heroines find themselves ever more desperate, even beginning to rely on Bakur and his bag of tricks. Though as time passes, with each encounter every tactic become less effective, and Jasmine’s flames cannot change the attitude of these creatures, in fact it appears fire only irritates them. As they become backed into a corner, Mary finally unleashes abominations from the maze to combat her foes, much to the surprise of all. Her powers were never usable in the Shadowlands, but ever since she began listening to one of its inhabitants, the way has opened with each passing conflict. However even as they may delay pursuit, these new allies also add to the confusion, turning as soon as the tide of battle swings their way.
Racing deeper into the passageways to avoid their new hunters, the captives cannot escape these ghoulish pursuers, and things become worse as Mary summons new minions to bar previous mistakes. Not seeing these blunders in judgment, she continues calling forth her friends, compounding their problems with each chant and also causing physical harm to her own body which does not go unnoticed by the djinn. Now obsessed in solving this undead invasion by herself, Mystere does not heed any warnings, and the only way to stop their formidable friend is to knock her unconscious. However this does not end the chase, and only by a chance do they stumble upon the center of the maze, this being a solution to their dilemma and a possible way home. But as they enter the room, Jasmine immediately realizes a familiarity to the place – this was her refuge when she was a slave to the lamp, the only escape from the cruelties she perpetrated in the name of Gruel. Although as she reminiscences of memories long past, Bakur finally reveals his true colors, showing how even an ally may hide something … if their motives are for a greater cause.
In Summary:
As we finally reach the conclusion of Grimm Fairy Tales: Dance of the Dead, there were realistically no surprises in this title, and with spoilers from other books, we unfortunately also knew how it would end before the final page. Even as writer Anne Toole attempted to create a tangible tapestry for promising characters, there was far too much detritus within this confusing storyline, through which she also attempted to intermesh nonessential information which watered down the main premise. For a book teasing Mystere as the main character, to add Jasmine almost seems as an afterthought, but then strangely reinforced by a need to constantly injection of Gruel’s background into each issue, therefore making the title thoroughly confusing. If Toole knew the wizard would play such a dedicated part, then why intersperse his story in such inopportune moments, effectively defusing any tension created within the main narrative? Additionally, he is the master of our favorite djinn, and no association with Mary, thus how is there any tie-in between the two, or is this the reason Jasmine was added? The method by which the story is constructed, it almost seems as if our heroines were sounding boards for each other, neither truly the lead, but a shared cooperative to solve one problem. It would have been more effective and less disruptive to dedicate an introductory issue for Gruel and then allow the main story to unfold around Mary and Jasmine, instead of constantly watering it down with interruptions for the villain, when the heroes are supposed to take center stage. Who is running the show – the puppets or the puppet master?
Even as we attempt to untangle the narrative chaos, this finale more than makes up for any confusion by allowing Marcio Abreu to unleash his illustrative skills with impressive displays of unearthly delights. The beauty and ferocity he creates within the leads reflects so wondrously against the primal strengths of the Elementals and fallen, balancing the struggle between good and evil. And yet none of it would be as oppressive without the remarkable colors of Hedwin Zaldivar and Maxflan Araujo, maximizing the power and intensity with vividly organic colors. However what was so striking within the issue was their depiction of Mystere – a woman who from the beginning could not use her powers, but by the end, is now overwhelmed by them, almost to the point of madness. To see her sanity lost within full black skeleton enhanced leather, calavera makeup, white eyes and an eerily sickening green glow, it all combines for such a ghoulish effect, making her transformation that much more prominent once she succumbed to her abilities. But what made her stand out even more was the plainness of Jasmine and Bakur, while they were dynamically displayed, their standardized color scheme made Mary’s costume all the more sinister. The gradual evolution from a helpless woman into someone who could take on Gruel concocted an enticing ending to this diorama of sanity taken to the brink of confusion.
Grimm Fairy Tales: Dance of the Dead began as a hopeful title, but it quickly decomposed into a series which had too many tangents to support its own weight. With a shifting focus which made comprehension confusing and also served to defuse any emotional tension which was previously created, this narrative does not do justice to the heroines but instead seems to glorify the villain. Praising his cleverness and patience, Gruel seemed to be the main character during most of the title, and when he was finally revealed in all his grandeur, the build-up seemed like déjà vu due to previously released spoilers. This could have been a good title, but poorly constructed transitions and clumsy information handling marred any chance of success, which is a shame for such promising heroines.
Grade: C+
Series Grade: C
Age Rating: T (Teen)
Released By: Zenescope
Release Date: May 30, 2018
MSRP: $3.99
