GRIMM UNIVERSE PRESENTS QUARTERLY – CINDERELLA: FAIRY WORLD MASSACRE, from Zenescope Entertainment on February 15th, 2023, follows Cinderella as she hacks and slashes and bites her way through Fairy Land to find her raccoon, Gerald.
The Details
- Written by: Dave Franchini
- Art by: Jordi Tarragona, Manuel Preitano
- Colors by: Robby Bevard, Manuel Preitano
- Letters by: Taylor Esposito
- Cover art by: Al Barrionuevo (cover A)
- Comic Rating: Mature
- Cover price: $8.99
- Release date: February 15, 2023
Is It Good?
Well, GRIMM UNIVERSE PRESENTS QUARTERLY – CINDERELLA: FAIRY WORLD MASSACRE is certainly different. Following Cinderella’s last adventure against the Tooth Fairy, the titular character’s strange brand of crazy powers her through edible mushroom people, slave-trading brownies, and the Fairy King on a quest to find Gerald. Is this triple-sized quarterly all it’s cracked up to be? That depends.
Dave Franchini, to his credit, nails the voice of Cindy Monroe, aka Cinderella, as a criminally insane protagonist who kills first and forgets to ask questions later. Her mind is a swirl of incomplete conversations, occasional pop culture references, and a complete lack of self-awareness in every situation, no matter how dangerous. Cinderella is possibly the most dangerous character in Zenescope’s library for no other reason than she truly doesn’t know the meaning of fear. On that point alone, Cinderella stands apart from her Zenescope peers.
Conversely, Cinderella is a hard character to wrap your head around because you don’t feel compelled to root for or against her. She’s a force of nature that lays waste to anything standing in her way, like a tornado. Sometimes the tornado destroys bad people, and sometimes it swallows up good people, so it would be fair to say you “like” Cinderella. Reading this story is like watching a fascinating disaster happening in real time. You don’t necessarily enjoy what you’re seeing, but somehow, you can’t look away.
Tarragona, Preitano, and Bevard make the viewing of this natural disaster enjoyable with amusing character designs, surreal settings, energetic action, and superb coloring. You may not like the characters, but you’ll like the visuals.
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]
We begin with Cindy Monroe, aka Cinderella, dreaming about her personal version of Little House on the Prairie. She wakes up in a boiling pot, about to be eaten by a tribe of red-capped mushroom people. Cindy escapes by taking a bite of juicy red cap goodness and discovering the mushroom meal gives her a temporary fit of super strength.
Later, Cindy encounters a sprite with good advice Cindy ignores, a field of dried-up men stricken by a cursed kiss, a tribe of slave-trading Brownies, kindly wood nymphs, a rainbow bridge, cannibalistic leprechauns who poop gold, and magical weapons.
We conclude the issue with a brother/sister team, silent friends who now talk, and open doors better left closed.
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 UNIVERSE PRESENTS QUARTERLY – CINDERELLA: FAIRY WORLD MASSACRE takes the titular character through a murderous tour of Fairy World during her quest to find her raccoon. The surreal groups of characters Cinderella meets are lethal, the settings are gorgeous, and Cinderella has her oblivious hands full with a quest that opens the door for more trouble on the horizon.
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