GFT Retrospective #67: Death's Key

Article by Sean Wilkinson,

a.k.a. the Ticketmaster

This week has been full of "unexpected" "surprises" (with the quotations being sarcastic because no one wants to work in a small town's grocery store deli, so the young applicants are too lazy and inexperienced and the older applicants either can't acclimate to the unique food service environment--as compared to a restaurant or concert venue--or keep up with the pace, stress, disappointment, stupid questions, and insults of varying degrees of overtness, and they quit in a state of toxic absence, leaving me, who has also grown weary of these circumstances, to pick up the pieces until it drives me mad). It's almost like reading a fairy tale that ends on a cliffhanger that says you can find out what happens next after you finish reading it.

To ensure that I can continue to do my best to spare you such contradictory conclusions, the key is that you please remember to Become A Ticketholder if you haven't already, comment your three impossible tasks at the bottom of this post (I'm keeping that in here from the last two GFT Retrospective posts for reasons that will become evident shortly), help out my ad revenue as you read to gain the favor of grateful beasts (ditto), and follow me on Tumblr, Reddit, Facebook, and LinkedIn to like what you see and receive the latest Grimm news on my content.

Yet again, we come to a named issue that has no clear fairy tale inspiration. There are many fairy tales that feature a key, like the Russian tale, "The Death Of Koschei the Deathless" (which got its own GFT adaptation much later on in issue #95), "Bluebeard" (which has a similar, "here's a key, I'm going away for awhile, don't open the room" setup) and the previously referenced "The Golden Key," wherein a boy finds a key in the snow and uses it to open a box. The End. To be continued when it's over; you just got trolled like a fiddle, wichser!

GFT #56: Death's Key

Instead of being directly based in name and plot on an existing fairy tale, Death's Key is really just The Goblin Queen Part II, or The Grateful Beasts Part III: The Final Chapter. At least, that's how it begins.

Picking up where the last issue left off, Sela and Bolder are surrounded and overwhelmed by the Goblin Queen and her...pets, forced to rely on Morrigan's forcefield bracer as a temporary defensive stopgap. And because we still have one more grateful beast to pay off, in come a pack of white wolves to even the odds for our heroes. Sela is still outmatched in swordsmanship by the Goblin Queen, but the pack leader comes to her aid, ending up looking badass with the Queen's broadsword in its jaws like a lycan version of Zoro from One Piece. The Goblin Queen surrenders the Limbo key and escapes with some cliche, threat of future retaliation dialogue that is a major step down from the "I'll bury [your hammer] with your bones. If there are any left." line she got last issue. I mean, they even give her the "vanish down a narrow hallway, dramatically followed by her flowing cape and maniacal laughter" schtick to up the dairy intolerance level of the cheese on display here.

Following some quality banter between Sela and Bolder where he starts rambling on about dwarven courage at the Battle of Oxmoor (which I don't think gets mentioned again), things cut back to the Goblin Queen as she speaks (using a mirror, because of course) to an as-yet-unidentified woman in a reaper robe with an imposing and shadowed male figure standing behind her. They exchange some vague words on dealing with Sela and Morrigan, and the Goblin Queen assembles the crown and pearls that Sela recovered in the last issue because villain alliances are always temporary conveniences built on acquiring individual power.

Speaking of which, Sela and Bolder return to Delphina's house, where they deliver the Limbo key to Morrigan...who betrays them, uses the bracer to control Sela into attacking Bolder (because his brother ruined Morrigan's life, and of course a powerful defensive magic item came with a catch), and uses the key to return to Earth where he is seen as a god (or a fallen angel, depending on the source) but still has to play stooge to the Dark One. So, Sela's quest to save Erik's soul and learn what became of their child is prolonged once again. But thankfully for her (and for my memory, because this is awesome), Morrigan suggests she go to the city of Tallus, where a priestess named Druanna may be able to provide answers. Unfortunately, though, Tallus is where the survivors of Orcus' (and by extension, Pinocchio's, Gruel's, and their army of totally original Doom creature cosplayers') rampage have fled, which means a battle will be eminent in the next Volume.

The action here is at a minimum, focusing more on grand moments and splash pages than blow-by-blow paneling. Studio Cirque does a masterful job as always with the colors, but the line work by Brent Peeples is sketchy-looking and low on detail compared to previous issues' line artists, and the absence of David Seidman in the production role shows in the dip in quality as well. The only real exceptions are the close-ups of Death (making something as stark as a human skull look expressive) and the varied goblin designs that give them varying hairstyles, physiques, and even a few with wings (but I think that makes it an imp? or is it just a winged goblin?). I appreciated the gravitas they gave to Morrigan's character here, Bolder's banter is still peak, and the introduction of Druanna, even if only by name, continues the foreshadowing of good things to come. But otherwise, there isn't much of substance going on here.

In the weeks to come, I will finish out the Volume Nine reviews with a short story of some importance, a Christmas edition that sets the tone for holiday specials to come, and a Halloween special with wasted potential, followed by the usual Omnibusted compilation post.

So Stay Tuned, and please remember to Become A Ticketholder if you haven't already, comment at the bottom of this post, help out my ad revenue as you read, and follow me on Tumblr, Reddit, Facebook, and LinkedIn to like what you see and receive the latest Grimm news on my content.

Ticketmaster,

Out.