Welcome back to Just Another Zenescope Monday, or JAZM on Twitter. This week we catch up on Realm War and we cover the series so far of Charmed Season Ten. Great stuff.
Be sure you are checking out Zenescope Entertainment for great deals on digital comics and news on their celebration this year as they celebrate Year 10.
On with the reviews!
Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Realm War: Age of Darkness #4 – I really like Sami Kivela’s artwork on this issue. There is just something about it that is different enough to make it really good. And the story is all it should be. Joe Brusha continues to please with the next installment of Realm War. Vaughn lies dying, two arrows sticking out of his chest and, with his last breath, tells Sela to take a flash drive that he holds. Meanwhile, Red and Baba chase his assassin, Robyn. It looks as though the prophecy that she was destined to become the child of darkness has come true. Back in Las Vegas, the power struggle between Malec and the Dark Queen continues. She still holds the upper hand with control of the Horde, but perhaps Malec has something up his sleeve? The “good guys”, Sela, Baba Yaga, Red, and the others are in Northern Pennsylvania planning their next moves. The flash drive is a key to something, but will they figure it out in time? They meet back up with Wisnowski and Rachel, but they are soon to meet an even greater challenge. This story has another shocking death you will not want to miss. So many of the key characters of different stories have been killed so far, I am not sure who will survive. My Rating: 4/5
Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Realm War: Age of Darkness #5 – As Sela and the team face insurmountable odds, one of the team sacrifices themselves to save the rest. This was one thing I did not see coming. Once again, the Realm War takes the life of a key character. It seems no one is safe. Sela and what’s left of the team return to Myst to regroup, while the Dark Queen works on turning Hercules Payne to her side. Back in Vegas, Malec begins to lay the groundwork for his return to power, approaching Venus about her attempts to assassinate the Dark Queen. This seems an unlikely alliance, but I can see them both teaming up to serve their own ends. Perhaps Malec is not as weak as the Dark Queen believes him to be. Or, it could just be that he is stepping up because he feels he has been bested and needs to reclaim his “manhood”. As Shang calls the group together for a meeting, will he reveal the secrets needed to defeat the horde? Did Vaughn take with him the last shred of hope as he died from Robyn’s arrows? We are almost to the halfway mark! My Rating: 4.5/5
Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Realm War: Age of Darkness #6 – NEW THIS WEEK! What is the worst thing you can think of in the Realm War? Indestructible Blood Knights! That’s right, these killing machines are destroying the camp, just as Sela and the team were heading to Area 51 to retrieve a secret stash of anti-highborn weapons created by Hibocorp. This being the halfway point in this story, we are due for some major revelations… and this issue is chock full of fun stuff. Sela and the remnants of her group mourn the losses of many of their own. Malec travels to a hidden chamber to talk to Sylva, a person that he resurrected years ago and the one who helped him to bring back his dark queen. Now he only wants to know one thing… how can he kill Lucinda, the Dark Queen? The Queen is making her own arrangements, as she has captured the remnants of the council and is now planning Shang’s execution. But first, she is bound to corrupt Hercules Payne. Back in the wilderness, Sela ran off, felling lost and alone. She finds a group of humans who are still fighting to survive, hoping for salvation, and keeping the story alive. That is what this is all about. The group comes back together and they are off to find these weapons to take down the Dark Queen, but is there a spy among them? My Rating: 4.5/5
Charmed Season Ten #1 – The original television series ran from 1998 – 2006 spanning eight seasons. Zenescope Entertainment returns now with the second comic book season, Charmed Season Ten, following their previous series that picked up where the show left off. The Charmed Ones, the three Halliwell sisters, have spent their lives battling evil with their special powers, the Power of Three. During their story they have faced off against both foes and friends and even battled their fourth sister, Prue, who was brought back from the dead in the body of a coma patient. Prue stole the Power of the Three but was defeated by her sisters and has now gained the Power of the Nexus of the All, a force for balance. The problem is that in order to maintain order in the magical world, Prue must never leave the Nexus. The first lesson of this new series? Never trust a demon bearing pastries. Darn, I knew that creme horns were from the devil. This story jumps around a little bit, but the bottom line is that there is a new threat, a demon named Gaxageal, and he really wants the sisters dead. This demon and his minions may not be the worst of the ladies’ worries as someone is watching them and has some nasty plans in store. I will say that I never spent a lot of time with the original show, but this story was wall paced and well written. I understood who the folks were without a lot of backstory and was able to jump right in. Another great Pat Shand story and the art had its own uniqueness to add to the tale, so some great work by Elisa Feliz and Valentina Cuomo. My Rating: 4/5
Charmed Season Ten #2 – After defeating Gaxageal, the last of the ancient Old Ones, the Halliwell sisters face a new threat. Fritz and Valen are two lower level demons with a lead on a weapon that can kill the very soul. Add this onto the already hectic lives of the Charmed Ones and it could spell disaster for them. Prue is getting discouraged as she can’t seem to get hold of her sisters and Cole has some sinister look in his eye about something in the cupboard… Maybe glowing green jello? Piper is preparing to cater a wedding and instead finds she has to deal with leprechauns. She calls her sisters to help and then leaves them so she can deal with the catering job she has. So, off to the end of the rainbow. Everything ties together when we see that the two demons are the threat. Will the sisters survive this encounter with the blade named Athame. This is a cool new threat and, while the Charmed Ones have survived every other encounter, I am interested in seeing how this one plays out. My Rating: 4.5/5
Charmed Season Ten #3 – In this issue there are two main stories going on. Paige is off to see her charge, Aidel, for his lesson, while Cole and Wyatt are off get some help in regards to the deadly Athame, the blade that can destroy a soul. Neither group gets what they are expecting. Paige enters Aidel’s house and finds it full of black cats that jump around turning to smoke and are just all around having a hay day in the house. The boys wait forever at Knox Academy to speak with the headmaster in hopes of getting some clue or at least a push in the right direction on their hunt for Valen, the low level demon who wants to kill the Charmed Ones. Will they be successful or will their short tempers and dark pasts be more then they can control and ruin their chances of getting help? Paige has some other things to deal with since Aidel is missing and all she has is a weird pack of cats. Are they connected? Of course they are. Another great chapter in the Charmed series. My Rating: 4/5
Charmed Season Ten #4 – NEW THIS WEEK! The ancient Athame is activated and this is the showdown between Valen and the Charmed Ones. With the kids tucked safely away at Cupid’s Temple, the ladies settle in for a little rest. That is too quickly interrupted by Valen, the low level demon that has obtained the Athame, a blade that can destroy the soul of a being, an utter destruction. This blade is an ancient and deadly weapon, but only useful if it has been activated through the drawing of blood from multiple victims. We know that Valen is very dedicated to the destruction of the sisters, although not sure what his whole motivation is other than some comments from his former partner about how they wanted the power and glory for destroying the three. Is that really all this is about? Phoebe, Paige, and Piper and the group are ready to head to San Francisco to face Valen… but death will come to one. Who will survive? Check out this great issue. My Rating: 5/5
An awesome way to wrap up this issue of Just Another Zenescope Monday. Be sure to share this article so that we can get the word out about the great stories and quality comics that are published each week by Zenescope Entertainment. Come back next week for more Zenescope stuff.
