If you ever make a deal with the devil, and he gives you certain rules to follow, then you better follow those rules to the letter. The devil is known to trick those when they least expect it, and that’s when things fall apart.
Grimm Fairy Tales #44
Writer: Joe Brusha
Artist: Paul Roper
Publisher: Zenescope Entertainment
Usually I’m very familiar with the stories Zenescope is culling from for its stories. I’ve never read the Devil’s Brother, but it is told through the eyes and experience of Fenton Bruce, it is clear that one should never make a deal with the devil, even if it is a matter of life and death.
Fenton made his deal with Old Scratch during the Civil War, and in exchange for working for the devil, Fenton will never die, and will have anything his he desires. And in all the years he’s serviced the Devil, he’s only disobeyed once. Instead of allowing soldiers to massacre innocent women and children, he uses his powers to prevent the slaughter. This one moment of weakness led to 150 years of forced servitude where he has been exposed to all sorts of horrors. Fortunately, readers are spared most of the graphic violence in this issue, and save for some scantily clad women, this issue is pretty tame compared to what we’ve seen before in this series.
Even with the gap in knowledge about the source material, I found this story to be engaging. Because the story is told via a series of flashbacks, with some flashbacks including their own flashbacks, there are a few times where I had to go back and reread a page or two to figure out what was going on. At one point I gave up and pushed it off on poor plotting, only to discover the question was answered a few pages later. If you are someone who likes your stories plotted from Point A to Point B to Point C, this issue could be a real source of anger.
Still, the characters are compelling. The story of the sword and how Cinderella fits into the Devil’s plans to destroy the Grimm Fairy Tales Universe is interesting, and wondering if Fenton will find himself free and clear, or stuck for good with pure evil has me on board for the next issue for sure. Brusha is able to give these characters life in this book, even if they are a tad stoic in their actions.
The wooden nature of the “performance†is at the hands of artist Paul Roper. His depictions always seem to hit at the point where someone is either at the beginning or the end of their action, which causes each panel to seem rather lifeless, even when someone is being burned alive, or getting shot in the head. Still, I like how he draws figures, and his page layouts work well in this story.
Grimm Fairy Tales has been hit or miss with me over the last year. Sometimes the stories are so compelling, I can’t wait to read the next issue. Other times, I think the series has crossed some line, and I lose complete interest. Grimm Fairy Tales #44 falls into the compelling category, and has be me back on board for another couple of issues. Even though this issue builds upon prior events, this (and presumably the next issue as well) are easy reads. Grimm Fairy Tales #44 earns 3 out of 5 Stars from me.
1 Comment
I honestly thought that this was about their Dante’s Inferno story at first. After reading the review, I have to think that i feel that Zenescope is once again out of ideas. It seems to happen about once a year or so. They’re doing a story about the devil the same time they’re launching a mini about the devil seems like they’d just didn’t have someone else to go to. The cinderella thing is so very Fables from last year.
Honestly haven’t thought GFT was any good since they did the little mermaid (minor exception to Pinnochio).