CINDERELLA VS. THE QUEEN OF HEARTS #3, from Zenescope Entertainment on 7/5/23, brings the unlikely partnership to a close when Cinderella and Queen of Hearts must join forces to survive Perl and LEAF’s assassination plans.
The Details
- Written by: Dave Franchini
- Art by: Jordi Tarragona
- Colors by: Robby Bevard
- Letters by: Taylor Esposito
- Cover art by: Geebo Vigonte (cover A)
- Comic Rating: Teen+
- Cover price: $5.99
- Release date: July 5th, 2023
Is It Good?
CINDERELLA VS. THE QUEEN OF HEARTS #3 is either a tough read or a great comic, depending on your point of view. There is no middle ground on this one. If you get the joke, this ending ticks all the right boxes and leads to a satisfying conclusion. On the other hand, if you think this story is silly nonsense, this finale will be more of the same. Choose wisely.
When last we left Cindy, aka Cinderella, and Julie, aka the Queen of Hearts, they were tranq’d by a mysterious new character who dresses like a cyber-furry from CyberPunk 2077. Now, the two escape and gear up at Cinderella’s secret lair (?) to attack Perl and Mr. LEAF at LEAF Industries, where all will be revealed.
Which camp do we fall into? Yes, this is the “silly nonsense” camp. We see what Dave Franchini is going for here with Cinderella’s unique ability to let her insanity find solutions to impossible problems, but rather than make that ability intriguing or cool, it mostly comes off as, to be blunt, dumb and contrived. Cinderella overcomes every challenge because it’s in the script, not because her insanity warps the laws of probability or leads her to find out-of-the-box solutions. Cinderella wins because Zenescope says so, and that’s the least interesting way to go about an adventure. Cinderella doesn’t have plot armor. She has a plot tank dipped in steel-reinforced concrete.
To be fair, if you like silly adventures with women in skimpy outfits fighting with swords, this issue has you covered. There’s plenty of action to keep your eyeballs stuck to the page, so have at it, but try not to make sense of the story, or you’re going to hurt yourself.
At least Jordi Tarragona’s art is rock solid. Tarragona’s layouts, pencils/inks, and action are on-point, and Bevard’s coloring is excellent.
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]
Check out our CINDERELLA VS. THE QUEEN OF HEARTS #2 review to find out how Cindy and Julie got captured.
After a brief prologue where Cindy finds herself playing all the roles in a Seinfeld skit, she wakes up in the back of a remote-controlled ambulance with Julie headed to the LEAF Industries building where they’ll be prodded and killed. Julie worms her way out of restraints and frees Cindy long enough to overpower the robotic driver and escape.
Later, Cindy takes Jule to her secret lair for a change of clothes and a grand tour. As crazy as it sounds, Cinderella has a plan. Our heroines use the cover of the annual Dinosaur Appreciation Day parade to sneak up on LEAF Industries HQ and break in to confront the mysterious Perl and Mr. LEAF.
We conclude the issue with answers to all your questions, big battles, and the promise of more trouble in the future.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
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CINDERELLA VS. THE QUEEN OF HEARTS #3 is a silly end to a silly adventure with silly heroes battling silly villains. In fairness, this issue wraps up all the loose threads, and the energetic art is enjoyable, but nonsense for nonsense’s sake just isn’t strong enough to carry a mini-series.
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