Zenescope’s flagship franchise, Grimm Fairy Tales, has one of the strangest track records when it comes to its main characters.  There are very few comic companies that have their own shared universes (DC, Marvel, Dark Horse and IDW to a limited degree) but among them Zenescope is one where the majority of its main characters are female.  Not surprisingly, the brand does very well with female readership, even if most of them are initially turned off by the often exploitative covers which are evidently in place to draw in unsuspecting male readers.  While it is a relatively large publisher, it still struggles at times to produce its own ongoing series, instead often relying on sequences of mini-series.  The only ongoing series for the company have been the main Grimm Fairy Tales series, Wonderland, Robyn Hood, and the now canceled Myths and Legends.

With such a rich background of characters, there are still lots of options to explore to introduce new characters, and new characters to highlight in their own series, but which characters deserve their own series the most?  Here are three options.

Britney Waters/Little Red Riding Hood

It came as a bit of a surprise when Robyn Hood was given her own series over Britney Waters, who is after all the first cover girl in the series, with series lead Sela not even appearing until the second issue.  What has a tendency to work at Zenescope are the properties which are the furthest away from the magical land of Myst, that realm so often muddying or confusing the main storyline from its own focus.  Britney is a character who interacts most often with the other main characters, but also one for whom Myst is less of a connection, she has ties there, but they do not define her like they do for the other characters.  Instead there are a lot of popular characters in popular fiction at the moment that have a supernatural aspect to them, and Britney’s werewolf like powers fit well within those.  After every other major female lead has had a series focus on them, it is probably Britney’s turn for the spotlight to see if she can handle her own ongoing.

Akili

The stories of the Jungle Book as told by the Zenescope writers was one of the most surprising series that the company has published.  Instead of focusing on the adventures of the characters, it explores some deeper themes, and interacts its characters in a playful but meaningful way.  The series have mostly focused on Mowgli, as the presumed agent that will eventually free Kipling Island from its propensity for war.  Supporting her are two other major human characters of the island, Bomani and Akili.  While Bomani acts as somewhat of an antagonist to Mowgli, Akili is more of an ally, and her sensitivities to the smaller creatures of the island are also an interesting theme which could be explored.  The series writer, Mark Miller, has said that this third installation is likely the end, and it raises the question if the main characters will be thrust into the Grimm Fairy Tales Universe as all other characters are.  Either way, it might be time to let Akili have some of spotlight.

Trickster

Little is even known about this character that has shown up in only one issue thus far, in the White Queen miniseries.  While the character is far from developed, there are at least some factors which could make the character appealing to readers at least in a design way.  Part of what has made the Wonderland series popular is that the design of the characters tends towards the zany at times, counterparts in design to Harley Quinn.  Harley Quinn is herself an enigma, though while able to express major violence and lack of empathy, on her own she is a crazy intersection of much of the DC Universe, kind of like what Ambush Bug was like at another time.  Although it is unlikely that the Trickster could carry her own series, a miniseries to fill out her background and to show her true motivations would be interesting, especially as she could almost be billed as Grimm Fairy Tales’ Harley.