In GRIMM UNIVERSE PRESENTS QUARTERLY: ZODIAC VS. DEATH FORCE, available from Zenescope Entertainment on August 18th, 2021, the magic-powered Zodiac fights off an insectoid army bent on kidnapping a young girl displaced from Wonderland. When Death Force arrives on the scene, will he become a friend or enemy?
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The Details
- Written By: Jay Sandlin
- Art By: Alessandro Uezu, Babisu Kourtis, Gabriel Rearte
- Colors By: Jorge Cortes, Walter Pereyra
- Letters By: Carlos M. Mangual
- Cover Art By: Mike Krome, Ula Mos
- Cover Price: $8.99
- Release Date: August 18, 2021
Was It Good?
Zenescope triple-sized quarterlies can be hit or miss because there’s a lot of pages to fill. Sometimes you wind up with more pages than story. In this case, however, Sandlin nails it.
At a hefty 72-pages, the action and adventure never pause from beginning to end, and all of the content works meaningfully within the greater framework of the plot. There’s no fluff. No meandering. No quiet moments that overstay their welcome.
I’m new to the Zodiac and Death Force characters, but Sandlin’s writing does an excellent job bringing a newbie like myself up to speed. You get a very strong handle on their origin stories and abilities without the slightest drop in pacing. I’m now interested in seeing more adventures with these characters and that’s quite a feat for an oversized one-shot.
As for the main plot, we get tiers of villains escalating the threat through each act as the heroes and villains fight for possession of a young Wonderlandian girl. There’s even a nice twist toward the end that keeps the door open for future conflicts. I like the story for its unique twist on the standard monster-of-the-month Zenescope formula, and I enjoyed [REDACTED]’s cameo at the end as a signal that the creators are building towards some great event in the Grimm Universe.
Lots of action. Lots of villains. A few unexpected twists, but still rooted in the Grimm Universe.
As for the art, well, you can see from the credits that we have a small squad of artists working on the book, and it shows. The art style visibly shifts from one section to another. It’s not incredibly different but it’s hard not to notice, and in truth, some pages look better than others. Nothing about the art is truly awful, but there’s a chronic inconsistency that brings the quality down a notch.
In all, this is a beefy story that moves fast with so-so art.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
Zodiac is a former assassin that metes out justice using his suit, powered by Merlin’s magic. Despite his past, Zodiac is now trying to serve justice of the non-lethal variety.
One night, while breaking up what he thinks is a drug shipment, Zodiac finds the traffickers are really delivering a young girl to an unknown buyer. When Zodiac frees the girl and tries to turn her over to the police, the girl, Joselynn, explains she isn’t from Earth. The man trying to buy her wants to bring her back to her home, Wonderland.
Suddenly, a swarm of insects and insect men attack to try and capture Joselynn. Zodiac holds his own fending the monsters off when Death Force arrives to lend a hand. The two fight side-by-side until the battle is nearly one. However, Death Force suddenly turns on Zodiac in an attempt to take Joselynn. Although Zodiac is confused by what’s happening, it’s obvious an insect has entered Death Force and possessed him.
Zodiac fights off Death Force, and Death Force flees to Wonderland to recover. With some healing of his own to do, Zodiac hears about Death Force’s origins from his sidekick, Missy. Just as both heroes are recovered, Death Force returns through a portal to Earth to snatch up Joselynn, and Zodiac+Missy follow close behind.
We conclude the issue with a gigantic battle over Joselynn between Zodiac, Death Force, Missy, and Lord of Flies.
Final Thoughts
GRIMM UNIVERSE PRESENTS QUARTERLY: ZODIAC VS. DEATH FORCE remarkably fills 70+ pages with an epic adventure that fills in two origin stories and a battle for a young girl spanning two realms and multiple villains. The writing is brisk and entertaining, but the art lacks consistency in quality by passing through too many teams.
Score: 8/10
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