May has arrived and with it… well, whatever kind of weather we are having. Maybe snow or wind or rain or sun. Either way, people are looking forward to Summer! In the meantime, thank you for spending your precious time reading my reviews of the upcoming Zenescope Entertainment books for this week in this installment of Just Another Zenescope Monday, also know worldwide as JAZM.
This week, we are pre-reviewing two great books. First we will look at part two of Beowulf in the pages of Grimm Fairy Tales #110. Next we will review the continuation of the world changing event of the Age of Darkness in Realm War #9.
Grimm Fairy Tales #110
Part two of the Beowulf storyline, last issue we saw Wulf begin his training at the Abraxas Academy in Oz. He had a hard time starting out, but then he met Natalie and things changed. She is tough and really perfect for him. With the attack of the monster at the end of the last issue, the battle with the Grendel has ended with Natalie being mortally wounded and Wulf in a panic not only that he might lose her but that the monster may kill others at the school. The monster ran after Wulf removed its arm.
Now, the mother of Grendel has arrived to avenge her brood. She hunts Wulf. Meanwhile, Violet, now possessed by the spirit of the original Mad Hatter, has drawn Skye to a place in Arcane Acres where there are strange magical emanations from the ground. It is called the Convergence and the Hatter has evil plans for it, but he needs both Violet’s and Skye’s power.
Adraste comes to aid the kids and faces off against the All-Modor, Grendel’s mom, but quickly finds that the power of the Green has no effect. Even Wulf is no match as he rushes in to help. But, grasping Adraste’s wand, the creature is now after the one thing that Wulf cares about, and it is at Arcane Acres. The final showdown with the monster is almost the least of the awesome action that takes place in the rest of this issue. It may not end with a bang, but these events do cause quite a splash and the ripples could change the face of Arcane Acres.
My Rating: 4.5/5
Grimm Fairy Tales presents Realm War: Age of Darkness #9 (of 12)
We are into the last stages of the War, by this time. All the Realms have been merged with Earth. The Dark Queen rules everything and is hunting down the gods and the Realm Knights and destroying them or bending them to her will. Sela and her small team headed to a secret military base to retrieve some weapons designed to stop Highborns, but Gideon has revealed himself as a traitor and severely wounded Britney. Now, the battle rages with the Horde and Shang and the others are falling to the might of the Blood Knights. But, Sela, Britney, and the rest of the team found that their weapons are strong enough to destroy these monsters that were once unbeatable. Now, they are off to try to stop the Queen. Meanwhile, Malec’s plans have been dashed as Venus turned the tables on him in exchange for the favor of the Dark Queen.
This issue picks up right after the events of the White Queen: Age of Darkness mini-series. If you haven’t read that, too bad! The Dark Queen returns from Wonderland after a battle with both Violet and Callie Liddle that left her drained of power and left both Callie and Violet dead. Now, as Cindy and Torment discuss plans for Wonderland with the Dark Queen, Sela and her team (Sela Team 6? Haha.) bring the fight to the Dark Queen’s doorstep. The Queen is shocked as they mow through her Blood Knights. Fear is not something she usually experiences, but you can clearly see it on her face.
As Sela approaches the temple, they come face to face with the traitor Gideon, the corrupted Robyn, and Cindy, all ready for a fight. During the battle, Sela sees Shang, dead and pinned to the wall of the temple. It is about this point that the tide begins to turn. I mean, really, we still have three issues left. You couldn’t think they could win quite yet. What will happen to Sela and the rest of her team? Will Ciampos and the solders make it back alive? This is a great series and at this point, I really just want to know what happens! Keep up the great work and don’t lose the momentum you have going here, folks.
My Rating: 5/5
That’s it for this week as we slowly march forward. Things may even get brighter. Come back next week for even more wonderful stories, a solid cohesive universe, and strong female lead characters. There are still people who can’t get past the covers of these books. It is really too bad. So many great stories and such a vibrant world and more often than not, the people that I talk to about Zenescope focus on the covers that they call “soft porn” or “sexist junk”.
What are your thoughts about the covers versus the stories? Why are you a fan of Zenescope? Are you too afraid to comment for fear that someone may find out you actually enjoy these stories? Let me know. How do we build this fan base and get these stories out to the world that is constantly looking for more strong female characters?
