Skye has gone through the wringer a few times. Now though, the weight of her role of Guardian of the Nexus, along with her missing mentor are starting to bring her down. Luckily help is at hand, only if Skye can see it herself. But with the Dark Book comes dark enemies of all kinds!
Once again the triumvirate of Joe Brusha, Ralph Tedesco and Dave Francini provide the story with Franchini credited as writer. The trio or Franchini work the well walked road of doubting hero in a way that, regardless of the number of times it’s been seen, gives Skye a sense of belief. I do find it odd that after everything she has gone through, Skye stills needs that level of reassurance, but that is a heroes journey to some. The dialogue works well through the characters, which is the core of this book regardless of the distractions the monsters cause. There is a bit of cliffhanger that leads into the next arc; some will like it and others will think, really? It’s an interesting way to go; I wonder how far this twist will go.
Eman Casallos provides the art in the traditional Zenescope sense. That means you get girls in swimsuits, in odd poses, changing proportions and even odder perspectives. Given all that, it’s a fun energetic style that tries to add a level of seriousness to the goings on. There is plenty of action abound for fans of that element of Skye’s travails. The colors by Jorge Cortes adds to the staple that is required in a Zenescope book. Finally, letterer extraordinaire Taylor Esposito of Ghost Glyph’s Studio gets to have fun with the fonts for the characters, monsters and sound effects; but hey what would you expect from Esposito?
I have often said, that for me, the Grimm books are a bit of a guilty pleasure; there are times when they shouldn’t work, but for large parts, you can’t help but get caught up in the fun. Skye looking for Shang is getting old, so I do hope that this arc does reach a conclusion soon. With issue #50 just around the corner, I can but hope.
Writing – 3.5 Stars
Art – 3 Stars
Colors – 4 Stars
Overall – 3.5 Stars
Story by; Joe Brusha, Ralph Tedesco and Dave Francini
Written by; Dave Franchini
Art by; Eman Casallos
Colors by; Jorge Cortes
Letters by; Ghost Glyph Studio’s Taylor Esposito
Published by; Zenescope Entertainment
Author Profile
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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
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