Grimm Fairy Tales: Holiday 2013

The holiday season approaches again which means Krampus is up to no good.  So, when Robyn gets an invite to a party being held by Sela, you just know it’s going to be crashed by Krampus.  Join Sela, Robyn Liesel VanHelsing and Red Riding Hood for a Christmas party unlike any other, as the forces of evil are out for blood and their target is one of the guests.  From the cantankerous cranium of Pat Shand, the 2013 Holiday Special shows off Robyn’s true Christmas spirit.

Like most of Zenescope’s holiday specials, this one is divided up into several smaller stories that revolve around a main one.  And with this being a Christmas tale, you know Krampus is out for blood.  Although this time around Krampus is targeting one of the main female protagonists of the Grimm Universe, I feel as though this story structure is getting a little “old-hat” so to speak.  It’s great that Krampus’ story is being developed with each holiday installment, but it would be cool to see more of a giant-sized Christmas epic instead of having it broken up so much.  However this isn’t just a story for Krampus, this is Robyn’s Christmas story.  We get to see her out of her element, no enemies, yet, no vengeance, just Robyn trying to act casual at a Christmas party.  Nice change of pace for her and some great character development here.

I definitely enjoyed the overall story.  Had a great time watching Robyn struggle through Sela’s party.  This really has been the only time she hasn’t been running from the law or hunting someone, or something, down, so rather interesting to see how she handles herself in a social situation.  I’ve become quite enamored with Robyn ever since Pat introduced her to the world and it’s been great watching this character develop into something so awesome.  Robyn’s character development aside, this issue has a nice mix of art styles that help each little sub-story stand out. 

That being said however, I think I’m forever going to have a problem with Zenescope’s inconsistent use of a single artist per issue.  It works alright with this special edition given the way its set up, but I see this far too many times with their regular books and it just bothers me.  Hey, some people may enjoy the variety, but for me personally it just doesn’t sit well.  So, aside from that and a “it’s been done” story structure, I really did enjoy this issue.

So, comes to close another year in the Grimm Universe and as usual, all is not well.  Pain and death are around every corner this holiday season and only Sela and crew can put a stop to it.  So, grab your blanket and your sword, lest the Krampus sees you gored.  Fix yourself a Christmas snack then wait for the attack.  Pick this up and then you’ll nestle with the 2013 Holiday Special.  For more info on where find this issue, visit the Zenescope website, or the Zenescope Facebook page.

Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are those of the individual reviewer under no pressure from Krampus...we think.

Strange Attractors

A young graduate student discovers that his aging professor has been saving New York City from collapse by a series of “adjustments,” a la the Butterfly Effect, only to be informed that he must be the one to take over keeping the city alive. A grounded sci-fi thriller in the vein of Source Code and The Adjustment Bureau.

Every once in a while you pick up a book with no idea of what you’re getting into and finding yourself hooked really fast.  That certainly ended up being the case for me with Strange Attractors after just a few minutes.  I love a more fictional approach to stories as much as the next guy, but this more reality driven tale was a great new read for me.

Stories like this that sit so close to possible always seem to be that much more interesting, as it really drives your imagination into high gear.  Our main character is just an average guy, but his life quickly becomes not so average when his unforeseen quest to save the Big Apple begins.  This fast paced, sci-fi ride set in the world we all live in may be fiction, but the compelling story Soule tells almost makes you wonder how real it could be.

The artwork here actually has a few strong components that should be mentioned.  The main story imagery throughout the book is quite nicely done, in both pencils and color work that the respective artists offer up.  The other component that I personally enjoyed was the mathematical additions with the complexity maps.  These added a nice touch that really drove home the major focus of the story.

If there’s one thing that can set the bar higher for me personally, it’s when I finish a book and wish it would get turned into a movie.  That says something when a story is that enjoyable in the graphic novel format that it would be worth seeing on the big screen.  That likely won’t happen of course, but it’d be great if it did.  Needless to say, this gets two thumbs up for me and a definite suggestion for you to get a copy to check it out.

For more information on Strange Attractors or other titles, check out Archaia.

Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are those of the individual reviewer.