WARNING—SPOILERS ABOUND I want to scream every time I read an issue of Grimm Tales of Terror but not from the horror between the covers of this comic.  No, I want to cry out because each issue contains a great premise that gets buried in a half-assed attempt to create a sexually titillating wraparound narrative that implodes the progress of the monster-of-the-month arc.

Issue five ruins itself just from the cover alone.  A beautifully illustrated image of the Bates Motel complete with silhouette in the window and cloudy, moonlight night behind gets wrecked by the red headed Cryptkeeper knockoff with her ass hanging out and her tit pointing right at the structure.  But this is Zenescope, and as Dustin says, “They sell covers.”  So once again they are selling tits and ass and bondage soft core when they should be focusing on the stories and the talent.

Joel Ojeda’s artwork reminds me of Todd McFarlane’s work—and I am a fan of Todd’s drawings.  Ojeda’s depiction of a maniacal cowboy doll works well to evoke some good chills.  Although the one panel where the dad leaves and the mom hangs onto the porch as though she were drunk did have me a little baffled.  How did the dad hear her from so far away?  Why is the woman so contorted?  Other than that, he did great work on the illustrations.

DOUBLE WARNING—SPOILERS ABOUND

As far as the story, I must say that it was mediocre this time.  The idea of the haunted doll goes back to Richard Matheson and can be seen recently in Annabelle.  For the sake of this comic, the haunted doll plays a part in the wraparound and the internal plot.  The final execution of dark justice in both parts is confusing and mishandled.  For instance the realization that the boy was a ghost and he discovered his body in the toy chest in the attic took the story on a decidedly Sixth Sense path when the plot was already heavily ingrained on the evil doll format.  I concede that the boy could have been moving the doll; thus the parents’ discovery of the toy popping up everywhere could be credited to the ghost boy Johnny.  But why did the parents spontaneously combust?  Did the boy kill them, or did the doll do that, too?   Many questions linger that cause the ending to be muddled and impotent.

Inconsistent, pandering, mismanaged.  Any of those words will describe this series.  And that’s a shame when one considers the potential that lies within.

Score: 1/5

Writer: Meredith Finch Artist: Joel Ojeda Publisher: Zenescope Entertainment Price: $2.99 Release Date: 12/3/14 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital