Is It Good? Grimm Fairy Tales: Zombies #1 Review

Zenescope Entertainment has a summer event going on right now combining the forces of monsters of all sorts. It’s an ambitious and incredibly inspired concept that has had its ups and downs. The zombie side of things gets its first tie-in this week and we sat down to ask ourselves, “is it good?”

Grimm Fairy Tales: Zombies #1 (Zenescope Entertainment)

With very little knowledge of the protagonist or what has come before this issue, I dove right in without reading the summary page and as with GFT: Demons, I was surprised to find the summary wasn’t necessary. The comic is entertaining on its own terms without resting on previous issues. The issue opens with a magic wielding woman named Samantha who’s looking for a professional zombie killer. She lets us know why we should care about this character and why he’s important. It then cuts to said character and promptly flashes back to his past. Surprisingly, it goes all the way back to the time of slavery in America. It’s here that the story picks up its purpose and delivers a rather strong story indeed.

Magic vs. zombies is no contest.

It’s a pretty risky endeavor to tie a hero directly to slavery and I think writer Troy Brownfield does a good job treating the material with respect. The concept of the backstory is simple enough: A plantation owner’s daughter falls in love with a slave. The issue doesn’t give us quite enough of why they are in love and drops us right into the moment they are found out, which does dampen the emotional resonance. That said, the conflict that arises and its tie to zombies is fascinating and interesting.

Plastic surgeon’s wet dream canvas.

Artist Oscar Celestini does a good enough job with the material and a distinguishing look to the flashbacks. The composition and layouts are a little stale, they repeat a bit too much for my tastes, but the action is competent and tells the story nicely.

That dude loves punching!

7.5

• Fascinating concept at work
• Meaningful and interesting backstory

• Boring composition/layouts

Ultimately this story has deep roots in the history of slavery in New Orleans and I really can’t wait to see where it goes. The concept at play here concerning zombies is interesting and fresh as well. The magic wielding hero to open the book is the only weakness as far as scripting goes as I’m not sure what her deal is and she really only serves as a way to deliver exposition. That said, this was a surprisingly good read and a tie-in I’ll be sure to continue.

Is It Good?

Yes. Zombies have been so overdone, so when a fresh take comes along you will notice. Good stuff.