What a difference an issue makes. The initial offering from this new title stumbled out of the gate. While the second chapter has its flaws, the presentation as a whole makes for a much better read. We open in a mansion in Texas (a place of pure evil) where a wealthy old man, Mr. Volk, slaps his maid for knocking over a statue of Robert E. Lee. Okay, right off the bat the creators fall back on easy tropes: wealthy southerner with ties to the Civil War South, violence, and Texas. Volk gets a visit from the mysterious redhead that speaks with a black dialogue bubble with white text instead of white with black print so you know that she’s evil.
Okay, drop that whole setup for another delivery by the redhead to another wealthy white Texas man with duplicitous machinations. Here’s where we get to the adventure story with the twist of horror. Mr. Thomas Tessier gets a disc from the redhead delivery. On that disc is a video of an explorer searching the Amazon for a spider cave that contains one of the most valuable artifacts. Tessier, the explorer’s son, and another man head down to explore Indiana Jones style.
When they get there, they discover something that will trigger the arachnophobia in all of us.
A brief interlude concludes the beginning story of the wealthy man who slapped his maid.
First, there are some general problems with the series overall. The idea of putting a buxom woman on the cover feels like pandering when considering that this book has an undercurrent of horror about it. If the creators want to develop a strong book with sex and horror, they should check out Grindhouse: Doors Open at Midnight. The cover t&a approach feels so silly in light of the decent story. Also, the book has the label of “Grimm” yet there’s nothing fairy tale about it other than fairy tales are stories and this is a story.
The two plot threads both involving old rich white men getting their comeuppance create a conflict of understanding. Had the one with the maid abuse connected in some way, a more solid issue would have been presented. Unfortunately, the lack of any applicable tie feels weak.
The concept of the instinctual horror of spiders makes for a refreshing villain. Besides, the gruesome means of ‘bad deaths’ the explorers encounter provides for some squishy, gross fun.
For a second issue, this chapter makes great leaps of progress. The action, story, and gore build a suspenseful plot that will delight and sicken readers—and I mean that in the best way. Some minor editing would do this series a great service. Nevertheless, this book executes well.
Score: 3/5
Writer: Shane McKenzie Artist: Przemyslaw Klosin Publisher: Zenescope Entertainment Price: $2.99 Release Date: 9/3/14 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital