Tag Archives: anne toole

Review: Grimm Fairy Tales: Dance of the Dead #2

Posted on by

Trapped in the Shadowlands, Mystere and Jasmine must rely on each other to survive while searching for a way to escape back to Earth. But the evil wizard Gruel has other plans for them and that includes suffering at the hands of his newest ally…The Snow Queen.

Nothing in the Shadowlands is exactly what it appears to be inGrimm Fairy Tales: Dance of the Dead #2. Mystere and Jasmine realize they share a common history and some issues as well. That allows them to bond, as the past of the Shadowlands is slowly revealed by writer Anne Toole.

The art by Enn brings in both past and present with unique visuals. There’s a clear distinction between the two with vastly different color schemes helping delineate which is which.

Despsite the two time periods, each moves the plot forward and action as Jasmine and Mystere try to escape the Shadowlands.

Story: Anne Toole Art: Enn
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy

Zenescope provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Review: Grimm Fairy Tales: Dance of the Dead #1

Posted on by

The Shadowlands are a dark and mysterious place, filled with the most evil creatures that have ever haunted mankind’s imagination. Now Mary Medina finds her trapped there with no means of an escape, lured by a powerful enemy, into a dance with the dead.

Sometimes the path less taken has a reason no one takes it. Grimm Fairy Tales: Dance of the Dead #1 takes that idea and runs with it. There’s a great darkness as the debut issue reveals the Egyptian past of Mary Medina. The issue also reveals a little of the history of Jasmine. It all makes me wonder if they are different sides of the same coin and somehow split by the Shadowlands.

The art by Enn and Ario Murti features contrasting color palettes which stands out. The artists distinguish the few settings with ease putting the emphasis on either dark or bright colors.

Story: Anne Toole Art: Enn, Ario Murti
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy

Zenescope provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Preview: Crystal Cadets

Posted on by

Crystal Cadets

Anne Toole (w) • Katie O’Neill, Paulina Ganucheau (a) • Katie O’Neill (c)

Cadets Go! Join this team of darkness-fighting, world-saving, power-packed teen girls from all over the world on their first adventure! When an unusual crystal grants Zoe mysterious powers of light she becomes the Diamond Cadet, but she’s not the only one! Suddenly she’s meeting new friends with their own powers! It’s all fun at first, but every light casts a shadow… and this group of action-hero girls will have to confront a growing threat—The Darkness.

TPB • FC • $12.99 • 128 pages • ISBN: 978-1-63140-462-7

Crystal Cadets_cvr

Preview: Crystal Cadets Vol. 1

Posted on by

CRYSTAL CADETS

by Anne Toole, illo. by Katie O’Neill
Pages: 128
Format: Paperback
SRP: $12.99
Age Range: Middle Grade (8-12)
Publisher: Roar Comics (an imprint of Lion Forge Comics)
Distributor: IDW Publishing / Diamond Book Distributors
Pub Date: December 29, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-63140-431-3
Item Code: OCT150478

What kid doesn’t dream of finding out they’re secretly destined to greatness, with hidden powers passed down through the generations to their adventure-seeking hands? In Crystal Cadets, the new magical girl series from Roar Comics, we meet six young heroes who find their true calling to save the world, but this time they come from all walks of life to form the most relatable and diverse cast in the genre.

First up is adopted Zoe, who has always felt out of place. That is, until she finds a mysterious diamond left to her by her birth mother. Zoe soon realizes it’s no ordinary gem; it grants her powers of light and she’s not the only one. Her discovery creates a disturbance in the force (so to speak), and she soon finds new friends Jasmine, Gwen, Olivia, Liz, and Milena who come together to form the Crystal Cadets! Reading like an action-packed, modern love letter to Sailor Moon, Crystal Cadets invites girls from all over the world to join this team of power-packed teens as they take on the malevolent evil known only as The Darkness.

The charming, Studio Ghibli-esque adventure comes to us from writer Anne Toole and Tumblr superstar artist Katie O’Neill. Recalling both the fun of ‘80s Saturday morning cartoons and the thrill of the first manga explosion, Toole and O’Neill have updated all of that questing magic for today’s eager young readers.

LionForge-CC1_Cov

Review: Grimm Fairy Tales 2014 Holiday Special

Posted on by

GrimmFairyTales2014HolidaySpecial-coverOne of the common problems with the Grimm Fairy Tales Universe.  When it focuses on stories other than ones that it has tried to incorporate from a variety of fairy tales, literature and mythological pantheons, it tends to get a bit bogged down.  That is not to say though that original stories from this company are all bad, only they tend to do better whenever they come in a format which more closely resembles fairy tales.  That is the case here as once again Sela is forced to deal with Krampus at Christmas time instead of just being able to sit back and enjoy some egg nog and candy canes.

Over the past few years, it has been a common theme of Sela to intervene from Krampus attempting to kill as many people as he can over the holidays.  Usually this is a play on one of the good aspects of the holiday being distorted.  That is to say that Krampus has acted as an agent that punishes those that use (or misuse) Christmas traditions for their own interests.  While these previous issues have been of variable quality, the stories generally fit closer to the profile of what should be expected from this universe’s specials – a tale of morality usually involving a bit of gore.  This year’s story is a little different as instead of it focusing on those that Krampus wishes to punish, it focuses on the character’s background.  The effect of this is a story which is a lot more fairy tale like than most in the past specials, and it works well enough, especially with Sela trying to teach her disciples how to enjoy Christmas.

The end result is not amazing, but this fits better into the sequence of holiday specials than most of them have, for instance the relatively recent 2014 Halloween special.   Fans of the main series will probably find enough here to keep them happy, but this issue stands alone as enough of a creepy Christmas story for any readers interested in a little gore mixed in with their mistletoes.

Story: Anne Toole Art: Butch Mapa
Story: 7.8 Art: 8 Overall: 7.8 Recommendation: Read

Recent Entries »