Grimm Fairy Tales 2018 Cosplay Special

FTC Statement: Reviewers are frequently provided by the publisher/production company with a copy of the material being reviewed.The opinions published are solely those of the respective reviewers and may not reflect the opinions of CriticalBlast.com or its management.

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. (This is a legal requirement, as apparently some sites advertise for Amazon for free. Yes, that's sarcasm.)

Submitted by RJ Carter on Fri, 06/29/2018 - 08:00

Ah, the comic art pin-up. What once used to be a one or two page bit in KATY KEENE grew into full-blown books in the 1990s from Image and Marvel when they turned pen and ink to ride the popularity of the SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SWIMSUIT issues.

Zenescope is continuing that tradition, but with a fan twist. Instead of a swimsuit issue, their pin-ups are dedicated to cosplay. It's something that's become a bit of a trend. And to make sure you're not just plunking down coin for a collection of art pages, Zenescope includes a short story to serve as the lead-in, with Skye Mathers costume shopping and then having to take out a demon while wearing a LEGEND OF ZELDA costume. (Spoiler alert: Shang prefers Poison Ivy to Harley Quinn!)

While the story is fine enough for a fluff piece from Adam Kelly and Moy R, it really is the pin-ups you're buying this for. My one criticism of Zenescope titles is always that they get better cover artists than they do interior artists, so to get several pages of the high quality stuff is a deal. Plus, Zenescope has found a creative way to use other licensed characters in their publication through cosplay and homage. You can find tributes to Waldo, The Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, Mega Man, and many others.

Even this Justice League character gets a revamp the Zenescope way. Yep, that's Skye Mathers -- Ruler of Atlantis. I bet when she talks to fish, they listen!

That's Mike Krome, by the way, rending that picture. You'll also find work by Gregbo Watson, Ryan Kincaid, Paul Green, David Nakayama, and many more purveryors of find good girl and bad girl artwork.

Yes, it's eye candy. And yes, it markets itself to a certain demographic. But all things in moderation: a little eye candy is good for the soul.

Right now, my soul has a bit of a sweet tooth.