GFT Retrospective #33: The Golden Touch Returns
Welcome to November, Retrospectres! Tradespeople? Pageturners? Hmm. I've unintentionally given myself over a day and a half to think about this, and none of these really feel right. I guess we'll stick to retronym territory for now. So let's start again.
Good afternoon, Ticketholders! So, as I said while I was thinking, I'm what feels like at least a day and a half late at following up on the end of the last Retrospective post. And since the average modern attention span doesn't last beyond this post's first use of punctuation, I'll remind you here that the last issue of Grimm Fairy Tales sucked. Badly. It was the standout oddball for all the wrong reasons; the blackest of black sheep among a mostly gray flock that is nonetheless interesting because who doesn't like animal videos?
Weird analogy, I know.
But the Ugly Duckling issue was uninspired, cliche, detached, and otherwise so noticeably bad that the proverbial Boy might choose not to cry wolf and Little Boy Blue might turn a blind eye at the appearance of said wolf among the flock, except that the wolf would die vomiting at the first bland taste of The Ugly Duckling's unsavory mutton.
After the last issue having almost nothing recognizable of the Grimm Fairy Tales brand outside of Belinda, this issue is back to form with series veteran writers Raven Gregory and Ralph Tedesco at the helm. The King Midas tale is framed here by your average debt-and-ransom plot, with a wealthy man named David Franks (first name, Biblical king, last name, the official currency of Switzerland, the country with one of the most morally gray banking systems on the planet) who is indebted to Belinda and is secretly a hitman for hire.
Belinda reads David’s daughter, Trisha, the story of King Midas. It goes much the same as the common knowledge version, with the wish for the golden touch being granted by Belinda herself in this version (rather than a satyr or an elf, as traditionally told), and the king dying of starvation after turning all of his food--and his daughter--to gold.
After the fairy tale (which is not a Grimm Fairy Tale, but a Greek myth), Trisha is kidnapped by Mercy Dante, a woman who has some bloody personal history with David Franks. I had forgotten Mercy’s backstory since the first time I read this, and revisiting it now only makes me appreciate even more what a badass character she turns out to be. Mercy will return in her own issue later on and be featured as a lead character in several miniseries.
Tune in tomorrow for dream sequences, questionable continuity, and pure awesomeness in the next Grimm Fairy Tales Retrospective.
Ticketmaster,
out.
Good afternoon, Ticketholders! So, as I said while I was thinking, I'm what feels like at least a day and a half late at following up on the end of the last Retrospective post. And since the average modern attention span doesn't last beyond this post's first use of punctuation, I'll remind you here that the last issue of Grimm Fairy Tales sucked. Badly. It was the standout oddball for all the wrong reasons; the blackest of black sheep among a mostly gray flock that is nonetheless interesting because who doesn't like animal videos?
Weird analogy, I know.
But the Ugly Duckling issue was uninspired, cliche, detached, and otherwise so noticeably bad that the proverbial Boy might choose not to cry wolf and Little Boy Blue might turn a blind eye at the appearance of said wolf among the flock, except that the wolf would die vomiting at the first bland taste of The Ugly Duckling's unsavory mutton.
Well, that was a convoluted way of saying it was terrible.
But thankfully, The Ugly Duckling was an anomaly, and the next issue, which I will look back at, starting now, shows major signs of redemption.
GFT #29: King Midas
Belinda reads David’s daughter, Trisha, the story of King Midas. It goes much the same as the common knowledge version, with the wish for the golden touch being granted by Belinda herself in this version (rather than a satyr or an elf, as traditionally told), and the king dying of starvation after turning all of his food--and his daughter--to gold.
After the fairy tale (which is not a Grimm Fairy Tale, but a Greek myth), Trisha is kidnapped by Mercy Dante, a woman who has some bloody personal history with David Franks. I had forgotten Mercy’s backstory since the first time I read this, and revisiting it now only makes me appreciate even more what a badass character she turns out to be. Mercy will return in her own issue later on and be featured as a lead character in several miniseries.
Tune in tomorrow for dream sequences, questionable continuity, and pure awesomeness in the next Grimm Fairy Tales Retrospective.
Ticketmaster,
out.
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