A review by roshreviews
Grimm Tales from the Cave by Mark London, Anthony Cleveland, Nadia Shammas, Mario Candelaria, Malissa White, Cullen Bunn, Che Grayson, Christopher Sebela, Dalton Deschain, Chuck Harp, Stephanie Phillips
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
3.75
A graphic novel containing darker, gorier and modernised retellings of the classic Grimm Fairy tales, which themselves are quite gloomy to begin with. In some of the cases, I could make out the original story but not for all. And I enjoyed the former category better, where I could figure out how exactly the classic had been altered for the retelling.
This started with a bang but as it went ahead, the quality varied, as in most anthologies. All the stories are dark and creepy. Quite a few of the stories are mind-blowing. Here’s my brief spoiler-free feedback on each of the eleven stories:
1. Soldiers of Fortune – Based on ‘The Devil and His Grandmother’ – In a word, WOW! Loved it from the first panel to the last. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
2. Pay the Piper – Based on ‘The Pied Piper of Hamelin’ – Yet another awesome story. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
3. Hello My Name is - Based on ‘Rumpelstiltskin’ – I didn’t like the graphics in this one but the story was good 🌟🌟🌟🌟
4. Mother’s Thorn – Based on ‘Mother Holle’ - I wish this were longer. It was beautifully written and sketched. 🌟🌟🌟🌟
5. Birds of a feather – Based on ‘Bluebeard’ I guess, not very sure. Found it decent. Nothing great, nothing bad. 🌟🌟🌟
6. Billie & her friend Death – Nice story. Loved the use of the virus and the pandemic in this one. A bit predictable. 🌟🌟🌟🌟
7. Little Deaths - This had potential but left a lot of loopholes at the end. Without any kind of background into the characters, the entire plot felt abrupt, right till the ending. I would have enjoyed it more had I know the who’s and the why’s. 🌟🌟🌟
8. The girl with dirty hands – I wish I knew the original tale for this one. It was so amazing! 🌟🌟🌟🌟. 🌠
9. No good deed - Well-written and well-sketched. 🌟🌟🌟🌟.🌠
10. Weft – Based on ‘Rapunzel’ – Was absolutely predictable but still I enjoyed it. Credit goes partly to the creepy illustrations. 🌟🌟🌟🌟
11. New Nightmares Sold Cheap – Didn’t like the story, didn’t like the graphics. 🌟
There is a lot of gore in the stories, possibly containing the same level of carnage and cruor as the Sandman comic series. If you are squeamish about blood and horror, better stay away.
Usually, one expects an entire book to have the same style of illustrations. But with there being multiple writers and illustrators for this anthology, there is no unifying graphical style. I did enjoy the sketches in most of the works. (The sole exceptions being “Hello My name is…” and “New Nightmares Sold Cheap”, they were too plain and hence felt bland against the rest of the book.)
Overall, I did enjoy the book to a great extent. It provides a novel take on the classic fairy tales. If you enjoy horrifying retellings, do give it a try.
3.75 stars, rounding up to 4.
Thank you, NetGalley and Diamond Book Distributors, for the ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.
This started with a bang but as it went ahead, the quality varied, as in most anthologies. All the stories are dark and creepy. Quite a few of the stories are mind-blowing. Here’s my brief spoiler-free feedback on each of the eleven stories:
1. Soldiers of Fortune – Based on ‘The Devil and His Grandmother’ – In a word, WOW! Loved it from the first panel to the last. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
2. Pay the Piper – Based on ‘The Pied Piper of Hamelin’ – Yet another awesome story. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
3. Hello My Name is - Based on ‘Rumpelstiltskin’ – I didn’t like the graphics in this one but the story was good 🌟🌟🌟🌟
4. Mother’s Thorn – Based on ‘Mother Holle’ - I wish this were longer. It was beautifully written and sketched. 🌟🌟🌟🌟
5. Birds of a feather – Based on ‘Bluebeard’ I guess, not very sure. Found it decent. Nothing great, nothing bad. 🌟🌟🌟
6. Billie & her friend Death – Nice story. Loved the use of the virus and the pandemic in this one. A bit predictable. 🌟🌟🌟🌟
7. Little Deaths - This had potential but left a lot of loopholes at the end. Without any kind of background into the characters, the entire plot felt abrupt, right till the ending. I would have enjoyed it more had I know the who’s and the why’s. 🌟🌟🌟
8. The girl with dirty hands – I wish I knew the original tale for this one. It was so amazing! 🌟🌟🌟🌟. 🌠
9. No good deed - Well-written and well-sketched. 🌟🌟🌟🌟.🌠
10. Weft – Based on ‘Rapunzel’ – Was absolutely predictable but still I enjoyed it. Credit goes partly to the creepy illustrations. 🌟🌟🌟🌟
11. New Nightmares Sold Cheap – Didn’t like the story, didn’t like the graphics. 🌟
There is a lot of gore in the stories, possibly containing the same level of carnage and cruor as the Sandman comic series. If you are squeamish about blood and horror, better stay away.
Usually, one expects an entire book to have the same style of illustrations. But with there being multiple writers and illustrators for this anthology, there is no unifying graphical style. I did enjoy the sketches in most of the works. (The sole exceptions being “Hello My name is…” and “New Nightmares Sold Cheap”, they were too plain and hence felt bland against the rest of the book.)
Overall, I did enjoy the book to a great extent. It provides a novel take on the classic fairy tales. If you enjoy horrifying retellings, do give it a try.
3.75 stars, rounding up to 4.
Thank you, NetGalley and Diamond Book Distributors, for the ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.