GRIMM FAIRY TALES 2022 ANNUAL, from Zenescope Entertainment on August 24th, 2022, brings the Dark Princess saga to a close with a battle to end all battles between Skye and her allies against the Dark Princess and the armies of the Swarm.
The Details
- Written by: Dave Franchini
- Art by: Sergio Ariño, Alessandro Uezu, Guillermo Fajardo, Saint Yak
- Colors by: Jorge Cortes, Maxflan Araujo
- Letters by: Taylor Esposito
- Cover art by: Igor Vitorino
- Cover price: $7.99
- Release date: August 24, 2022
Is It Good?
GRIMM FAIRY TALES 2022 ANNUAL closes out the Dark Princess saga with a bang. Lots of bangs. Lots and lots of very big bangs in a 60+ page issue that steps on the gas on the first page and doesn’t let up. Does that automatically mean this annual is the tippy top best comic in the world? No, but you’ll be satisfied if you value action above everything else.
At the risk of offering an obvious spoiler, the good guys win. That shouldn’t shock in the least, but our sincerest apologies if that revelation is a surprise. That said, the success or failure of this finale relies on two points. First, is the climb worth the destination worth the climb? Second, where do the characters go from here?
Tackling the second question first, Franchini holds the door open just enough to allow for future conflict of the magical variety. That said, the way the Dark Princess is dealt with and what happens afterward doesn’t quite feel like Shang put his all into making sure the resolution is permanent. Put another way, the door for future conflict is left too wide open, so you get the impression Franchini intentionally made Shang come off as sloppy. Shang isn’t sloppy or careless, so while the ending was technically complete, it wasn’t satisfying.
Getting back to the first question, the journey was big, loud, and earned for our heroes. No part of the battle was easy, and there were multiple moments where the Dark Princess’s forces were unbeatable. The minor down point is the almost repetitive amount of back-and-forth posturing between Dark Princess and Skye in the dialog. Imagine 20+ pages of “You’ll never defeat me. I will defeat you. No, I will defeat YOU. No, I WILL defeat you. No, I will DEFEAT you.” Okay, could somebody just defeat somebody so we can move on? I’m being a little cheeky with this point, but the idea is that the posturing almost reached a point where you thought the same scene was replaying itself multiple times. It sounds dramatic the first time. By the third time, not so much.
However, the action presented by the art team is phenomenal. Besides a confusing bit of choreography with the Dragon Clan in the very beginning, this issue has plenty of battle action to keep even the most die-hard war fan satisfied.
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What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
We begin with a quick prologue involving infighting between members of the Dragon Clan. One brother wants nothing to do with the Dark Princess while the rest have sworn allegiance to her. The outnumbered brother does not win his fight.
Meanwhile, Skye, Robyn, Jessica, and Sam are busy fighting off the Spider Queen’s minions in the sewer of NYC. Skye’s team makes progress until the Spider Queen arrives. The monster’s moves are too fast and powerful, but Jessica pulls out a few grenades to send the critter scurrying.
Later, Skye and her allies meet with Shang and the rest in Myst to come up with a plan. Unfortunately, time has run out, and the allies have no choice but to stage a full assault on the Dark Princess before her powers grow any further.
We conclude the issue with a battle with all forces united, an intervention by a Wonderland monster, a talking crystal, and a foreshadowing of things to come.
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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GRIMM FAIRY TALES 2022 ANNUAL is a big, wild, action-packed finale to the Dark Princess saga with super art and high-energy pacing. The good guys save the day but with more than a few hints that trouble is on the horizon. That said, the lengthy annual runs into a few repetitive spots, and the resolution leaves the door open a little too wide to be believed.
Related Information
Which fairy tales are Grimm?
In total, there are 209 Grimm’s Fairy Tales. The Brothers Grimm have publicly stated that they did not create most of the stories they published but recorded and embellished them from legends and local folk tales passed to them throughout Europe.
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