GRIMM FAIRY TALES MYTHS & LEGENDS QUARTERLY: DARK PRINCESS, available from Zenescope Entertainment on March 3rd, 2021, begins a multi-realm war with a god-like villain, Dark Princess, determined to bring the Grimm Universe under her control.
The Details
- Written By: Joe Brusha
- Art By: Julius Abrera
- Colors By: Robby Bevard, Maxflan Araujo
- Letters By: Taylor Esposito
- Cover Art By: Edgar Salazar
- Cover Price: $8.99
- Release Date: March 3, 2021
Was It Good?
It was solid. Joe Brusha has a hefty 70 page in this quarterly, and he takes the time to build out the foundations of a much larger story. You get a sense of the players and the power of the main villain. However, you don’t get much out of the Dark Princess other than she’s powerful and she’s determined to rule, which makes for a one-dimensional villain.
The art is gorgeous. This is a Zenescope book, so the art is never going to be anything less than top-tier, and the story makes for a great sword and magic entry into the Grimm Universe.
Don’t forget to take a look at our exclusive GRIMM FAIRY TALES MYTHS & LEGENDS QUARTERLY: DARK PRINCESS preview to peek inside the issue.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD]
We begin with a secret meeting of the remnants of the Dark horde in NYC. They’re discussing the next moves after being soundly defeated throughout all the realms. Enter the Dark Princess who declares she will be taking charge and will consolidate the remnants under her leadership.
Baba Yaga is none too happy with a stranger coming in to usurp her authority, and she sends her generals to attack. Dark Princess easily destroys her attackers, and Baba Yaga has no choice but to yield.
Next, we visit Myst where Knights of the Realm and members of the High Council make arrangements to clear out the Dark Horde remnants. Gilan has been promoted to captain, and he’s partnered with Glimmer to investigate strange happening in the foothills of Toth.
Meanwhile, Dark Princess instructs Baba Yaga to transport them both to Myst so that she can gather the remaining forces. Through small snippets of conversation between the two, we get hints that Dark Princess is from an alternate reality and timeline. Later, she confirms she’s from a “different” Myst overrun by vampires, so she’s come to this universe to start her power grab over.
Gilan, Glimmer, and their squad approach Toth to find a burning village. The locals have all been killed by an Ettin. With expert fighting and a little magic, they take the Ettin down at the cost of four knights. They see the Ettin wears the symbol of the Dark Horde on its chest and it was likely sent by Ares the Warmonger. Gilan’s squad leaves to rendezvous with the rest of the realm army near Ares’ stronghold.
Dark Princess and Baba Yaga arrive in Myst and immediately seek out the last remaining Orc tribe. Dark Princess confronts Muurag, the Orc leader, to yield authority to her. He refuses and attempts to kill her but Dark Princess unleashes the fire magic of the Orc gods to force Muurag to submit.
At Ares the Warmonger’s stronghold, the Knights of the Realm have cleared out all the enemy guards and make plans to attack and capture Ares. Gilan, Glimmer, and their troops arrive to inform the High Council of the events in Toth.
Inside the stronghold, Ares has accepted he’s surrounded with no chance to escape, so he decides to go down fighting. Suddenly, Baba Yaga and Dark Princess appear with an offer. If Ares yields authority to Dark Princess, she will help him win the battle with her new Orc army. Ares has no choice but to agree.
So far, this is just past the halfway point in the quarterly. Lots of maneuvering, the metaphorical chess pieces are lining themselves up, and the Dark Princess is at the heart of it all. But so far, we know nothing about the Dark Princess except she’s almost all-powerful and wants to bring all the realms under her control as supreme leader. We know she’s from another time and place but nothing about her motivations or history.
If you love action, the remainder of the quarterly is right up your alley. It’s almost all battle with the tide turning more than once in both directions. Several key players die, and the final panel sets up more war in the next quarterly.
Final Thoughts
GRIMM FAIRY TALES MYTHS & LEGENDS QUARTERLY: DARK PRINCESS, available from Zenescope Entertainment on March 3rd, 2021, sets up a multi-realm war with a god-like villain willing to kill anyone in her way. That art is high-quality and the story is largely good, but the main villain needed more development to truly buy into what makes her tick.
Score: 7/10
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