Review: Grimm Fairy Tales 2021 Swimsuit Edition

I noticed on Twitter recently a little conversation around the idea of a DC swimsuit special, in line with the old Marvel editions of the past. Ironically, a week later Grimm’s consistent edition hits the eeerrrr…. rack, no pun intended! For those not familiar with these special editions you get a short story before the book turns into a cheesecake celebration of the Grimm heroes and villain in their swimsuits and bikinis.

Behind the god awful cover A (see above, with a seemingly dislocated knee), from Michael Dooney, lies a story from Grimm stalwart Dave Franchini featuring Gretel. Where there is Gretel, you know that there will be witches around and that is pretty much the case here. Two kids go looking for an errant frisbee under the pier and become targets. Of course with Gretel around there is a chance that they will be saved. Down the line, there is a minor lead into future issues.

Dave Franchini know what is expected, story wise at least, from a Grimm book. The plot is quite simple, but for this edition, i doubt that anyone is buying the book for the “article”. The idea that this is going to lead somewhere eventually feel a little tried and tested. After all, Zenescope have published a spate of one-shots over the last year with the intention of teasing new readers into the up and coming storylines. Dialogue wise, the book reads pretty much like you would expect, characters are almost caricature rather than demonstrating any particular characteristics.

The art from Moy R shows some pretty strong manga tendencies. I will admit, that I feel like I am the only person in the western world that doesn’t like manga, so the art here doesn’t impress me much. Over animated faces with odd body poses that lack focus or movement just doesn’t inspire me. This is a Zenescope book, so you know that the colors are normally going to be good. However, for the first time in a while I feel that their usual high standards have not been met by Clau Violette. At least you can always rely on the lettering from Ghost Glyph Studios’ Taylor Esposito who again delivers an extremely readable font and makes me wonder why isn’t he on bigger books? As its a Zenescope book there are a raft of variants; my favourite is the Van Helsing cover from Micheal DiPascale and Senju Nivangune (see right).

Of course you are probably not buying the book for the minor, almost afterthought, of a story; you want the pin-ups! In this regard, the various artists and colorists do a pretty good job of casting the characters in various beech environs and states of sunbathing. Some are excellent, with Peyton “Black Knight” Parks by Mike Krome and colors from Hedwin Zaldivar getting thing off to a great start, before things get a little inconsistent. Keep flicking through the book as there is excellent are examples from Bobby breed and colorist Jorge Cortes and Julius Abrera and colorist Grostieta.

I know that there will be people who will hate this sort of book, citing how women are viewed. Thing is, the book shows a plethora of bodies that you can actually see at any beach! At the very least, it is an opportunity for a range of artists and colorists to show their wares with an almost captive audience.

Writing – 2.5 Stars
Art – 2.5 Stars
Colors – 2.5 Stars
Pin-ups – 3.5 Stars

Overall – 3 Stars

Written by; Dave Franchini
Art by; Moy R
Colors by; Clau Violette
Letters by; Ghost Glyph Studios’ Taylor Esposito
Covers by; Michael Dooney, Riveiro, Michael DiPascale & Alfredo Reyes
Published by; Zenescope Entertainment

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network