Review: Grimm Tales of Terror Quarterly Sea of Souls

Given the world is still in the grasp of a pandemic, though possibly not reported as such, holiday destinations can still be a tad unnerving. What better way to spend your vacation then to sail the high seas with terror as your cabin mate and death your captain!

Coming across like a horror hybrid of the Love Boat and Below Decks, this book of four separate stories, with a minor connecting arc, plays out against the backdrop of infidelity, greed, lust and arrogance.

From a story by Joe Brusha, Ralph Tedesco, Dave Franchini, David Wohl & Jenna Lyn Wright (it is a Zenescope book after all), Jenna Lynn Wright gets the writing nod. Wrights looks to establish strong acts that cater to most of the horror tropes. Hot women where beauty is only skin deep, philandering husbands who won’t admit to the dark ways; there is human horror along with the more traditional ghosts, monsters and gore. The ship acts as a metaphoric anchor for the guests that fall under its curse. Wright works hard to get the reader invested in each little vignette, though some are more successful than others; from a personal point of view, I think I enjoyed the first two the most with the last probably being the weakest of the bunch. Part of this is that its hard to feel empathy for already bad guys and the other is that horror gore, though done well here, isn’t my favourite.

With four stories we will also get four artists. Alvaro Feliu really >ahem< kills it in the first act. Strong lines lead to well proportioned frames which when coupled with clever camera angles puts all the focus on the lead characters. This is a trend in the writing of Wright; there are few panels with a load of interacting characters, giving the artists time to make the leads the focal point of each story. Next up is Juan Francisco Moto who has a nice easy going, almost Archie style going initially which soon develops a darker style as the lead character treads a dark path. Who knew red one-piece swimsuits could be so alluring? Ricardo Osnaya ratchets up the cartoony feel with a look that, at least, body wise reminds me of Mark Bagley, though the aforementioned cartoon style shines through, emphasising the comedic aspects of the key relationship. Finally, bringing in the gore element is Erik Lopera Tamayo who tries to bring a sexy vibe to proceeding, dropping to average lines and postures before dropping the hammer in bloody fashion. Along with four artists, there are four colorists; Jorge Cortes, Robby Bevard, Maxflan Araujo and Walter Pereyra, all of whom Zenescope fans will have seen before and as such know the level of quality that they bring to their work. Each colorist looks to build on the various vibes and looks of each arc. Thankfully there is only one letterer and it is Taylor Esposito of Ghost Glyph Studios who acts as a contestant in the turbulent waves of pencils and colors.

For a slice of Zenescope charm, I don’t think you can go wrong with book; it fits their production model well, wearing its heart on its barely covered cleavage. All the tropes are on show, sexy women, horror, gore and monster all make an appearance, in what is as at rue one-shit affair.

Writing – 4 Stars

Art – 4 Stars

Colors – 4 Stars

Overall – 4 Stars

Story by; Joe Brusha, Ralph Tedesco, Dave Franchini,
David Wohl & Jenna Lyn Wright
Written by; Jenna Lyn Wright
Art by; Alvaro Feliu, Juan Francisco Moto, Ricardo Osnaya
& Erik Lopera Tamayo
Colors by; Jorge Cortes, Robby Bevard, Maxflan Araujo
& Walter Pereyra
Letters by; Taylor Esposito of Ghost Glyph Studios
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