Tag Archives: coven

Review: Coven #2

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coven002It is common among the independent publishers that they tend to take more chances and to give more creative control to their writers and artists.  Despite that, Zenescope could be identified as one of the companies that does so less than than others.  After the initial success of Grimm Fairy Tales, it mostly figured out this formula and while there is always room for creativity, it has also not deviated too far from this script too often.  This is perhaps most true in the main Grimm Fairy Tales title, which while it has moved into more of a Young Adult setting, is also one which hasn’t really tried to push its own boundaries since its early days.  There is of course another problem for an independent like Zenescope and that is exposure.  With a much smaller portion of the comic market, they have to make calculated decisions more so than the bigger companies, which can give secondary characters a chance to shine in their own series before letting them fail and pass back into obscurity. This leaves many of the more intriguing characters that Zenescope has at its disposal often unused with the likes of Britney Waters, Liesel Van Helsing and Baba Yaga often reduced to only cameo appearances.

What Zenescope does do well though is give its second tier group of heroines a chance to shine in miniseries, and such is the case with Coven.  As was shown in the first issue, a small coven of witches is attacked with their leader subdued and kidnapped while the others are murdered.  Baba Yaga intervenes in order to find one of her disciples and in this issue enlists the aid of some other powerful witches before launching her rescue mission.

While an occult vs. military concept is not exactly new, it is interesting to see it in this setting for Grimm Fairy Tales.  While a lot of the properties for Grimm Fairy Tales can be fun, they also seem to be in somewhat of a comfort zone, and don’t really move much beyond that.  This series on the other hand seems to be trying a few new things, and while they are not spectacular at least deserve to be recognized as such.  Also worthy of recognition is that the series features Baba Yaga, on the surface a strange choice for a series protagonist but also one that works in this setting.  This might not be an amazing series, but it is fun and worth a look for those that don’t mind a bit of a mix between genres.

Story: Zach Calig Art: Diego Galindo
Story: 8.7 Art: 8.7 Overall: 8.7 Recommendation: Buy

Review: Coven #1

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coven001Grimm Fairy Tales has mostly stuck pretty close to the same formula throughout its entire run.  Although it has vastly modified its source material, it has mostly depended closely on fairy tales, myths and legends in order to tell its stories.  There have been a few diversions where the characters involved are more or less completely original, although that has been the exception.  One of those cases was one which was a bit of a non-starter for Zenescope, a series called Salem’s Daughter and which told the story of Anna Williams, a witch who sought out to help people despite being constantly threatened because of her powers.  Although set in a different time, the character was still identified as part of the Grimm Fairy Tales universe on multiple occasions.

This new series is a combination of both inspirations.  The first part of the story deals with this same inspiration as was for the series of Salem’s Daughter as it shows a modern coven of witches in the Salem Woods, still targeted by witch hunters, though these witch hunters are a bit more refined than those in the past.  Out are pitchforks and in is full assault gear with state of the art weaponry.  While this serves as the introduction to the series, what follows is probably of note to many fans of the ongoing series, as it shows the return of Baba Yaga, a fan favorite who plays the anti-villain role, a female antagonist, who equally sometimes sides with the heroes when she doesn’t like what other villains are getting up to.  She leads the search for the abducted coven although she apparently isn’t aware of all of her actions as she seeks out help.

Grimm Fairy Tales has a tendency to get a bit bogged down in its main stories as it is so intricately woven together with its different inspirations.  This series on the other hand proves that there is a lot of hidden talent at this company, with the creative teams that it puts together to cover different concepts.  The result is this series which is a deviation from the usual Grimm Fairy Tales script, but a welcome one as it adds something extra to the universe which hasn’t been seen in some time, and manages to do so in an engaging way.

Story: Zach Calig Art: Diego Galindo
Story: 8.9 Art: 8.9 Overall: 8.9 Recommendation: Buy

Zenescope Launches Coven #1

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Zenescope Launches Coven #1Zenescope Entertainment, is planning in-store launch events for three of its brand new titles coming in July and August. The company will be holding the events at various comic book retail outlets throughout the country on July 1st, July 15th, and August 19th.

Zenescope will be giving away free comics and other prizes to event attendees as well as holding raffles for the chance to win limited edition canvas prints and other big prizes during each appearance. The first in-store launch event will be for Zenescope’s brand new Grimm Fairy Tales spinoff title, Coven, which will appear at nine separate comic book retail locations throughout the US on July 1st.

Coven tells the story of a powerful sorceress named Baba Yaga as she attempts to protect a young woman named Avril Williams from being hunted by a radical group of modern day witch hunters. The “New Crusaders” are sworn to eradicate witches throughout the world, but they want to take Avril Williams alive in order to use her immense and untapped power for their own devices.

Zenescope will also be hosting a second Launch Event on July 15th for its brand new sci-fi/horror title, Aliens vs. Zombies and a third on August 19th to celebrate the return of fan-favorite character, Liesel Van Helsing in Van Helsing vs. Dracula.

Coven Launch Locations

Wade’s Comic Madness – Levittown, Pennsylvania
Comic Collection – Feasterville, Pennsylvania
Uncanny! KoP (formerly Comics and More) – King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
New Wave Comics & Collectibles – Schwenksville, Pennsylvania
Superhero Beach – Jacksonville Beach, Florida
Superhero Hive – Jacksonville, Florida
Coliseum of Comics – Orlando, Florida
Coliseum of Comics – Kissimmee, Florida
Meltdown Comics, Los Angeles, California