GRIMM UNIVERSE PRESENTS QUARTERLY: 2023 HOLIDAY SPECIAL, by Zenescope Entertainment on 12/13/23, delivers three tales of ironic terror when a trio of cutthroat executives get Holiday bonus gifts that deliver all they deserve and more.
The Details
- Written by: Jenna Lyn Wright
- Art by: Daniel Mainé, Alessandro Uezu, Massimiliano La Manno, Ricardo Osnaya
- Colors by: Maxflan Araujo, Alessandro Uezu
- Letters by: Taylor Esposito
- Cover art by: Igor Vitorino (cover A)
- Comic Rating: Teen
- Cover price: $8.99
- Release date: December 13, 2023
Is GRIMM UNIVERSE PRESENTS QUARTERLY: 2023 HOLIDAY SPECIAL Good?
GRIMM UNIVERSE PRESENTS QUARTERLY: 2023 HOLIDAY SPECIAL is a toothsome trio of tales designed to give horror lovers a treat in time for the Holiday Season. Jenna Lyn Wright’s knack for ironic horror sets up a cast of awful humanity who get exactly what’s coming to them in the most gruesome way possible.
Of the three shorts, Emily’s Gift is the most imaginative, with a monstrous gift that’s unlike anything you’ve seen before. That said, all of Wright’s shorts have their twists and strengths for a generally satisfying horror anthology.
Zenescope’s Quarterly issues usually tap multiple artists to handle the triple-sized page count, and thankfully, you can’t tell. The handoff from one artist to the next is practically seamless for a visually consistent and eye-catching comic.
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What’s GRIMM UNIVERSE PRESENTS QUARTERLY: 2023 HOLIDAY SPECIAL About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
Anthology reviews briefly cover each short and what did or didn’t work.
John’s Present
John is a high-powered salesman with a taste for fast cars and loose women. When John’s Holiday Bonus turns out to be the car of his dreams, his need for speed tempts him to run over anyone who gets in his way. Can he beat his addiction to fast machines before he gets run over?
Tales with an ironic twist about a bad guy getting his comeuppance by terrible means are a staple of the horror genre. Here, Wright sets John up as the ultimate jerk, which makes his ending oh-so-satisfying.
Vincent’s Gift
Vincent is a brutally efficient cost-cutter who saved the company millions. What John thinks is a simple and underwhelming wristwatch turns out to be the greatest gift of all Time when the click of a button stops Time for 5 minutes. Vincent’s good fortunes are just beginning, or are they?
A magical artifact that briefly freezes Time is not a new concept, and getting stuck when said object breaks isn’t new either, but Wright puts in the added twist of Time Travel to give the old tale a new twist. Unfortunately, the twist doesn’t make sense.
Emily’s Gift
Emily’s is a beast when it comes to finding new clients. Gerald’s gift of a special fur coat plays to Emily’s strengths when the coat turns into a wild cat monster to cut down Emily’s competition. However, Emily learns that living too long on the wild side can lead to permanent changes.
This short is the most imaginative of the three. Nothing says irony like a magical gift that turns on its master, and Wright ensures Emily gets what she deserves with a creative monster and clever plotting.
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Final Thoughts
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GRIMM UNIVERSE PRESENTS QUARTERLY: 2023 HOLIDAY SPECIAL revels in the holiday cheer by taking the worst representations of humanity and giving them the gift of retribution. Wright’s knack for ironic horror is masterful, and the oversized art team crafted a beautifully seamless comic.
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