Stop right now. Do not read any further unless you enjoy great stories, a cohesive universe, and action and intrigue galore!!! Top that off with a healthy dose of strong female characters and you are in the right place. Welcome to Just Another Zenescope Monday, your place to get reviews of each comic published by Zenescope Entertainment each week. This week, I am giving you the new stuff. We catch up on the new Charmed series, Realm War, Grimm Tales of Terror, and the ongoing Robyn Hood. All awesome series with great stories and art.
Charmed Season 10 #5: Releases 02/18/15. Continuing the story of the Charmed Ones, the three… well, make that four, sisters that have magical powers as witches. Last issue, the hunt concluded as Gaxageal tried to kill them but was vanquished. Now, they deal with Valen, another demon out to make a name for himself by killing the Halliwell sisters and instead succeeded in killing Cole Turner. Part of this issue follows Cole as he passes into the Void, a kind of nothing place, since the Ancient Athame destroys the very soul of the person or creature it kills. The other part shows the battle between Valen and the sisters. The results of both of these struggles will have a lasting effect on all of their relationships. Pretty good series so far. My Rating: 4/5
Grimm Fairy Tales presents Realm War #7: Releases 02/18/15. Sela and the remnants of her group left Shang to face the Dark Queen and the Horde. Sela’s mission to find the anti-Highborn weapons may be the last hope the Realms have. Now, Shang is in the Queen’s dungeon, Thane is dead, and things look pretty bleak as Thane is not the only casualty of this war. Sela and her team have reached Area 51, but the traitor among them is bound to cause some trouble. Malek is setting up his plan to kill Lucinda and reveals a secret something to Venus… in more ways than one. Lucinda has her own plans and they are about to be set in motion, as well. By the end of this issue Sela’s team will “get the point” as to who they can trust. Scary stuff as the chances for success continue to dwindle. What will happen to the Realms? Time will tell. This is an awesome issue that you must pick up. Too much carnage to miss out on. My Rating: 5/5
Grimm Tales of Terror #7 + 8: “Bloody Mary”- The first story centers around the urban legend of Bloody Mary a killer spirit that will appear behind you if, in a dark room, you look stand in front of a mirror and repeat her name three times. The truth of this tale is both chilling and touching. I really enjoyed issue #7 and the story that wraps around the main tale is always a lot of fun as Death, the red-headed hottie, metes out justice as it should be given, full of gore and irony.
“Black Eye” – Releases 02/18/15. A trucker term for a burnt out headlight, you don’t want to get caught with a black eye on the road at night. The main tale is about a guy who picks up a young woman on the highway. Her philosophy is that you do good and good comes to you, but you hurt others and you will be hurt. Sounds like a fine philosophy. This story takes a pretty severe twist and in the end, things just don’t really work out. I enjoy this series, because each one is really just a stand alone tale, but the overall mission of Death always has a pretty cool play out as well. If you like horror stories, this should be a series you are picking up. My Rating: 4/5
Grimm Fairy Tales presents Robyn Hood #2 – 7: So, quite a few issues to catch up on all at once to get to the current issue this week. Long story short? Robyn and Marian have left Myst and journeyed to Earth and set up a supernatural detective business. Their first case was working with a team of roller derby girls/coven of witches that were using a drug to boost their powers and now were being targeted by a demon posing as a priest. Fun stuff. The first battle ends with Robyn throwing him out a window and him escaping. As she and Marian try to understand that magic, and the drugs, that the roller girls were using, whoever cursed those drugs is out to hurt the roller girls and Robyn and Marian along with them. The truth goes a little “deeper”, as Robyn finds out the priest is out to steal the souls of each person using the drug for some dark ritual. In the end the coven of roller girls uses a healing spell to cleanse themselves and the crazy priest of the drugs and save the day. Peter, the guy who was skulking around, helps out but then runs off with the jar for catching the witches’ souls. In the end of issue #3, we get our first look at the creepy Cabal and their leader, Brendan A. Allen
Issue #4 brings Robyn and Red riding Hood together to stop a “big bad wolf”… or a whole group of werewolves and vampires and some creepy little girl like the one from that movie The Grudge. Issue #5 kicks off with a battle to the death. Cool stuff, except it is Red vs. Robyn. I like them both so I don’t want either one dead. Marian goes clubbing… literally clubbing the wolves and vamps to death in search of Robyn. As Red and Robyn duke it out, Marian is right outside of The Mesopotamia, a building owned by Brendan A. Allan, who we know as the leader of the Cabal. But, he is of interest now because he has an unusual visitor, Dracula. In the end, the ladies find a way to return the city to normal… for now.
Issue #6 is sort of a stand-alone tale as Marian tries to figure out what has happened with her magic. After accidentally wiping out a couple’s bank account with a spell gone wrong, she goes to see a woman called The Peacemaker. She and Robyn both lie to each other about the day, mainly because Robyn wouldn’t understand and Robyn is off to see a therapist. They both sort of get what they are looking for, and we find out that Avella, the dark witch that trained Marian back in Myst, is on Earth and a captive of the Cabal.
NEW THIS WEEK! Issue #7 starts a new arc, “Window to the Soul”. We get a little history of Brendan A. Allen and find out that he has connections to Athena and Malec as head of the Cabal. Robyn and Marian are still trying to eke out a living doing the odd supernatural sleuthing, and this new one is a doozy. The Church of Many eyes is the target as a young woman comes to them about her boyfriend who has recently disappeared. Robyn may be getting into some real trouble. Meanwhile, Marian finally makes her move, asking the focus of her crush out on a date. Will Robyn find the missing boyfriend? Will Marian find love? Check out this great new launch title from Zenescope. My Rating: 4/5
That catches us up through this coming week’s books. Look for one more catch up article and then a new article each week detailing what is coming out that week. Next week look for a catch up of the Jungle Book so far and a full review of the new Little Mermaid. Keep supporting Zenescope and thanks for reading my articles and being a fan of Comic Booked. Maybe I can get some cool giveaways around Little Mermaid for you? I will try.
