BELLE: QUEEN OF SERPENTS – Review

BELLE: QUEEN OF SERPENTS, from Zenescope Entertainment on February 23rd, 2022, reunites Belle and Mel with an old friend who narrowly escaped the clutches of the Serpent King. Unfortunately, the King’s influence remains.

The Details

• Written By: Dave Franchini
• Art By: Rodrigo Xavier
• Colors By: Juan Manuel Rodriguez
• Letters By: Kurt Hathaway
• Cover Art By: Igor Vitorino (cover A)
• Cover Price: $5.99
• Release Date: February 23, 2022

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Was It Good?

BELLE: QUEEN OF SERPENTS is not bad. Not bad at all.

This one-shot picks up after the events of Belle’s first encounter with the Serpent King which strongly hinted the King’s venomous attack wasn’t completely averted. Now we see what the King’s influence has led to and this is the second Zenescope comic this week that challenges readers with a thought-provoking moral dilemma – how far should a hero go to save someone? How far does the burden of responsibility extend? (the first comic with the same theme this week is GRIMM FAIRY TALES (VOL. 2) #57).

In both comics, the creators wisely lay out the moral dilemma and show at least two sides of the debate before fate intervenes, leaving readers to consider what they would do in a similar situation. Franchini takes the best possible approach by not settling for a moral lecture and instead lets the scenario play out organically. That approach makes this one-shot greater than the sum of its parts.

By the end of the issue, you have the main character carrying the burden of her self-doubt over the harm inflicted on an innocent victim. You have a partner/best friend/sidekick who aids her friend while still disagreeing with all her friend’s choices. And you have a big monster battle that ends for now while still leaving the door open for future conflict. This is surprisingly good storytelling.

Xavier and Rodriguez turn in fairly good art for this oversized issue. The colors are bold and eye-catching. The action is kinetic and powerful in multiple action scenes. And this is a visually captivating book, overall.

The minor down point on the art surrounds a couple of spots where the sequence of action didn’t make sense. For example, there’s one scene where Belle is slammed against a portal archway but it wasn’t clear until later that she fell through the portal to the other side. These are minor hiccups but noticeable enough to make a few scenes confusing.

Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

If you don’t know how Belle and Mel first met Priya and their adventure against the Serpent King, first read our BELLE: KING OF SERPENTS review.

We begin with Belle visiting Priya to find out how she’s doing after their last encounter. When Belle arrives at Priya’s apartment, the place is in shambles and there’s a large hole in the apartment wall leading down into the basement. In the bowls of the building, Belle finds another hole leading to an underground tunnel and a gigantic snakeskin near the tunnel’s mouth. Obliged to investigate but against Mel’s advice, Belle continues to the tunnel’s end.

Belle’s trek ends at a larger chamber with multiple portal doorways leading to unknown destinations. Priya is in the center of the chamber, pleading for help. When Belle approaches, Priya turns into a giant serpent monster and attacks. The Serpent King’s venom had the effect of turning Priya into his bride and he’s tasked Priya with turning more humans to become his serpent slaves.

Better still, Priya has special instructions to capture Belle and bring her to the Serpent King for his own devices. The two battle, but Belle is conflicted about fighting and possibly killing an innocent woman who was roped into a monstrous conflict, not of her making. We conclude the issue with a trip through one of the portals to see a snake cult in action, more snake monster action, and a closed door that opens the door for more.

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