GFT Retrospective #75: Grimm Fairy Tales #57

Article by Sean Wilkinson,

a.k.a. the Ticketmaster

We must be careful what we allow to come out of our mouths, Ticketholders!

While this is particularly apt in the modern world, where any form of self expression can be preserved in perpetuity and interpreted in any given context as a meme or a reason to cancel someone, it is not a new moral by any means, as we will see in this first issue of the Grimm Fairy Tales Volume Ten Trade Paperback.

As suggested by Volume Nine, Volume Ten will continue to follow the journey of Sela and her companions through Myst. According to the Zenescope Entertainment Wiki Chronological Reading Order, Volume Ten is also the last before Zenescope's first two big event series (Myths & Legends and The Dream Eater Saga). And last but not least, it is the first time since GFT #49 that an issue has gone untitled on the credits page.

It has a title...eventually. But I'll get to that right after I remind you to please Become A Ticketholder if you haven't already, comment your pearls of wisdom at the bottom of this post, help out my ad revenue as you read so I can get paid in diamonds, and follow me on Tumblr, Reddit, Facebook, and LinkedIn to like what you see and receive the latest Grimm news on my content, scales, warts, and all.

GFT #57: Diamonds and Toads

This was certainly a journey, as without a source fairy tale to talk about, I'm pretty much just recapping a plot and giving my subjective opinion on the art and writing of a given issue. So upon noticing that this issue wasn't titled after a fairy tale, I looked at the cover and Googled "snakes and pearls fairy tale" (because I'm getting as nearsighted as I am shortsighted), which led me to the third world snakebite remedy called the "snake stone," "viper stone," or nagamani. Believed to be the calcified, unused venom of a dead snake in ancient cultures, it is in reality a charred animal bone or prepared fragment thereof, and has been scientifically debunked on multiple occasions as a viable cure for snake poisoning (though a different, relatively more recent and Western preparation called activated charcoal is still marketed and used as a treatment for ingestible poisons and gastrointestinal distress). Ancient Celtic cultures had something called an "adder stone," made of blown glass with holes in it to filter or repel evil spirits from a location (similar to the dream catcher from American indigenous cultures or the use of incense in Asian cultures).

None of this applies to today's issue beyond me sharing my research journey with you, however.

I also looked up the lyrics of the poem that Blake is reciting on the opening pages, and it seems to have been written as an original piece for this issue, so props to the Zenescope crew, and writer James Patrick (the 2010 run of Green Arrow), for coming up with the following:

"Beautiful skies and black sunrise,

There came black clouds against you.

Whistling winds and villagers' hymns,

I listen but I no longer hear you.

My land is gone, all is wrong,

The only thing left...is war."

Blake has spent offscreen downtime and the duration of Morgarzera's first attack with Sela, and Sela has spent time traveling and fighting with Bolder at her side, but this is the first time the trio have all been together at once. So with Blake (taking charge and acting all Vegeta about his status as a member of the Council Of the Realms even though the Dark Horde killed them all) and Bolder (quippy but managing to be a million times the mentor to Sela in one Volume than Shang ever was or will be) at each other's throats over conflicting leadership styles, Sela kind of takes an active background character role in her own story here (still acting as the voice of "yes, we need to get to the place and do the thing, but the fate of the smallest innocent matters, too, even if they're already dead" that she was through the Grateful Beasts arc). We also learn that in addition to being handy with a sword (as we've seen briefly in his previous appearances), Blake is an archer with a spell that makes his arrows seek their targets like guided missiles. Cool.

The issue takes an interesting turn with a focus on the - until now - generic "paint the lands in blood and fire and gnaw the meat from their bones" villainy of Orcus' group. Yes, Orcus has simple, compelling motivations, but he's not important here, either. Believe it or not, the important, compelling character here (who may land somewhere between Morrigan and Belinda in terms of sympathy) is Morgarzera's troll-looking servant, Gruel. Yes, I'm serious. So far in the Retrospective, Gruel is one of the three best, most compelling and sympathetic villains Zenescope have created. And this is where the issue's "titular" fairy tale comes into play.

Originally, "Diamonds and Toads" was a French fairy tale by Charles Perrault, who brought us versions of "Little Red Riding Hood," "Cinderella," and "Sleeping Beauty," as well as "Puss In Boots" and "Bluebeard." Like "Cinderella" (and the initial Mathers family dynamics from The Library), "Diamonds and Toads" begins with a widowed parent with multiple children. One daughter more closely resembles the mother, while the other resembles her late husband, so she dotes on one and is cruel and exploitative of the other's good nature. The kinder daughter encounters an old woman while gathering water for her selfish family, and offers her a drink. The old woman reveals that she was a fairy in disguise, wandering the land to test the kindness of humans, and bestows the girl with the "gift" of producing diamonds from her mouth when she speaks. When the mother and ill-tempered daughter learn of this, they seek to double their fortunes by exploiting the fairy's kindness. But because she is a rude, selfish brat, the other daughter insults the old woman and is cursed to have toads leap from her mouth when she speaks. So, be unconditionally kind and generous in all things and watch your tongue, or life will suck for you. The end.

In Zenescope's version, the children are boys and are not related by blood, there are two fairies, the kind son gives up on his mother and brother and leaves, and the other brother (introduced as Gruel) kills his mother and learns that he was doubly cursed. In addition to the toad-spitting curse, the dark fairy gave him a Dorian Gray affliction, except Gruel himself is the painting, and his cruelty mutates him over time from the boy into the hunched-over troll he is at present. A continuation beyond the original story's ending sees Gruel meet Morgarzera for the first time, and we find out that the animal-shifting sorcerer was the one to cure his toad affliction and halt the progression of his mutation curse. There's also a fun nod where Gruel's underlings speculate that he might have been The Frog King, but that's all it is: a fun nod.

Following the conclusion of Gruel's origin tale, Sela, Blake, and Bolder have arrived at the fortified city of Tallus (where they are to find the priestess, Druanna, according to Morrigan's parting advice at the end of Death's Key). Unfortunately, also as promised at the end of that issue, Orcus' army are coming to the attack right behind them, with fleeing villagers at their mercy as the issue ends.

I have nothing more to say in terms of criticism. I suppose Blake and Bolder felt a little off-character from what we've seen before, but they've also never had to work together before. The art team for this "Sela trapped in Myst" portion of the story that began in The Glass Coffin are still on point with their beautiful background work and dramatic shadows, and our main trio are drawn fairly close to model. And the writers and editors made an otherwise forgettable subordinate character like Gruel into a sympathetic (if not initially likeable because he’s a spoiled, matricidal brat) villain of some depth and potential. Also, I must mention that the orc army here are riding dinosaurs, which is awesome.

Next week, I begin what sources remind me is called the Mother Nature arc, so Stay Tuned as the Grimm Fairy Tales Retrospective continues, and please remember to Become A Ticketholder if you haven't already, comment your pearls of wisdom at the bottom of this post, help out my ad revenue as you read so I can get paid in diamonds, and follow me on Tumblr, Reddit, Facebook, and LinkedIn to like what you see and receive the latest Grimm news on my content, scales, warts, and all.

Ticketmaster,

Out.