Another month and we have another Zenescope twist on a childhood story. This time, the popular Maid of Murder returns, back from the dead with an eye out, ironically, for revenge on Robyn. So begins a killing spree in an effort to destroy Robyn“s life, starting with her friends and spiraling down to the golden-eyed archer herself.
Writer Dave Franchini has his tongue planted firmly in his cheek with this book. Depending on your frame of mind when you read it, you will either love it or hate it. There is no middle ground. Cinderella is not a totally unlikable character, for a girl who has hate in her heart. True, Franchini has her talking like an extra from teen movies such as Legally Blonde and Clueless. Still at times, as with Shakespeare, once you get a handle on the language, everything is just peachy. It“s odd that in this setting I don“t mind the “hip-lingo”“ dialogue, whereas on other books it has just left me cold. I think it“s due to the fact that this book doesn’t take itself too seriously adding humour which somehow manages to dilute the flagrant violence that hits the visual cortex, which whilst bloody is clearly fantasy violence. This then has the feel of a Zenescope book. The gag/insult quota is running full steam ahead, even if there are a couple of gags that don“t work and border on the hyper-insensitive.
Artist Salvotore Cuffari draws a fine and smooth line, which I imagine is part of the charm of a book where the lead character is walking around in a skimpy outfit with white thigh high stockings on. Whilst you would expect an element of sleaze to proceedings, Cuffari instead goes for cheesecake, with a lot of effort going on the facial aspects of the story. Remember, this book is all about confrontation and there are confrontations abound, most of which are handled in an almost bad taste fashion. Some will say that I am nit-picking, but the art is a little let down by the colourist, Leonardi Paciarotti, who somehow can“t decide the colors of Cindy“s shoes. This may seem like a little thing to most, but to me it goes to show that to some extent, Zenescope are going for the feel of a book or the look of the character, without actually focusing on the details. Show some consistency! The rest of the colors look great, which has become bit of a Zenescope trademark, giving the book an action first horror second feel.
As I alluded to, it depends with which part of the brain you use to read this book which will determine your enjoyment. If you take books too seriously (as I sometimes do), then reading this book will only serve to make your eyes roll so hard you will get dizzy. On the other hand, if you have a itchin“ for a sassy lassie with a gleefully murderous spirit then you could do worse than check out this mini-series.
Serious Head                                             Not So Serious Head
Writing                              2.5 Stars                                                              3.5 Stars
Art                                         3 Stars                                                                  3.5 Stars
Colors                                  3 Stars                                                                  4 Stars
Total                                     2.5 Stars                                                              3.5 Stars
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
(W) Dave Franchini (A) Salvotore Cuffari
(P)Zenescope
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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