Zenescope Entertainment

[Kieran]

Official Site



I encountered this comic book company's booth at Fan Expo, and since I'd seen their stuff in bookstores, but never really looked at it, I decided to check it out . . . They had a sale on trade paperbacks, and I ended up spending over a hundred dollars, easy, by the end of the weekend.

Zenescope Entertainment's primary series is "Grimm Fairy Tales," a series which uses classic fairy tales as a framing device, a la "Tales from the Crypt" - and the comparison is apt, given the violence and nudity that crops up. However, they also have spinoff series that adapt other literary works such as Alice in Wonderland (mixing it, to a degree, with Lovecraft), Peter Pan, Robin Hood, the Wizard of Oz, and lots more.

. . . I'm just curious, does anyone else here read their stuff?

[Fingolfin]

I heard of their stuff but I never got the chance to dig into it.

Might give it a look see later. Any recommendations?

[Kieran]

Thus far, I've looked at:


"Grimm Fairy Tales" - which, in addition to its anthology setup, does have an ongoing story. The tales can be hit-or-miss, as is often the case with an anthology series, but I do like the "Tales from the Crypt" vibe.

"Neverland" - sadly, not as good as I was hoping, though I like some of the interpretations of the characters.

"Sleepy Hollow" - a four-issue miniseries, and a modern take (with a cameo by GFT's anchor character) - it'd make an interesting movie, though it is rather short.

And "Wonderland" - which is long, complicated, and involving . . . But the sheer volume of references, if you collect things like the "Tales from Wonderland" series, is impressive. As mentioned, they include H. P. Lovecraft, Arthurian mythology (in that Lancelot and Guinevere are the White Knight's parents), and history (Elizabeth Bathory).

As the series deals in madness, it doesn't always make sense - and it can be quite gruesome - but I've ordered the volumes I'm missing, just to see what happens next, so I suppose I'd recommend that.

And the next time I go on a spree, I'm going looking for the "Robyn Hood" series . . .


Here's the full list, in case something catches your eye.

[Kieran]

And I just got my latest graphic novel batch - the rest of the "Wonderland" series, or so I thought . . . Turns out, I've missed one - and there are a few other universe-spanning stories I ought to pick up, too. Naturally . . .

Interesting thing: Wonderland seems to be really fond of time-skips. And not just forwards, either (though there's plenty of those); I get the impression that a lot of what's going on "now" is being manipulated by the future as much as the past. In fact, that's the point of an entire storyline - an effort by one of the characters' future selves to change the distant past. But they've introduced an entirely new character, who turns out to be the original Alice's twin sister (making her the current protagonists' aunt and great-aunt, respectively).

And all this bouncing around really ought to seem silly, stupid or crazy - but it seems to fit right in with the story's themes of dreams and madness. *Shakes head* I'm honestly not sure whether to be impressed or just bemused.

. . . I have to say, though - having seen the ads for it in the back of my graphic novels, I really wonder how they turned "Wonderland" into a board game . . .

[Kieran]

I found a few videos that should (I hope) introduce Zenescope's stuff to people who don't read it.

Apparently, they started trying to do an animated version of Grimm Fairy Tales, and the company kept videos of it. Specifically, the trailer:





And the first 3 minutes:





. . . Sadly, it doesn't really give you much of an idea of what the series is like. At least for the early parts, think "Tales from the Crypt" or "The Twilight Zone," with the glasses-wearing brunette playing the Cryptkeeper/Rod Serling.



This video's a bit better, though - and it's regarding my current obsession, Wonderland:





I hope these are useful and/or enticing.

[Kieran]

And, after a year or so of being ignored, Zenescope has put up something new - a short film involving my other great obsession in the Grimm Universe, Robyn Hood: