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Grimm Fairy Tales: Holiday Edition #1 Posted 02 Jan 2010Writer: Joe Brusha
Reviewed by Sara Michelle Kowalczyk |
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Sela Mathers finds herself alone on Christmas Eve. What’s a single lady to do but go to a party? Unfortunately for Sela, the forces of evil are not far behind.
At the faculty Christmas bash Sela receives a nutcracker as a secret Santa gift. As readers know, when Sela is not helping people with her magical book of fairy tales, she is working as a history professor. After a couple of drinks, Sela agrees to the new hottie anthropology teacher, David’s, request to walk her home. The drugged Sela doesn’t quite make it. Overcome with dizziness, she passes out on a bench.
Awakened by the skittering sound of rats, Sela realizes she’s in a forest in the realm of magic. Hideous, giant rats chase a frightened Sela, knocking her to the ground. She drops the nutcracker who transforms into a prince. Like a knight in shining armor, he slashes the beasts into pieces.
Taking Sela by the hand, the prince escorts her to a fortress. Wooden ornaments shaped like soldiers, horses, and cannon decorate the enormous Christmas tree in front of the castle. The prince uses magic to bring the ornaments to life. His battalion defends Sela from the Rat King and his monstrous army. Finally, the prince stabs the Rat King to death.
Sela and the prince travel to the fairy realm to watch the beautiful dance of the sugar plum fairies. After the dance, he warns her that she must return to Earth before the night has ended. Sela opens her eyes and discovers she’s still lying on the bench where she fainted. She looks for David and finds his body on the ground. It’s soaked with blood and surrounded by his loyal rats.
Overall, I enjoyed Zenescope’s interpretation of the beloved Nutcracker story. What girl hasn’t come across a Rat King in her life? The only problem I had was the ending. Joe Brusha forgot an important detail. The finale of The Nutcracker ballet shows Clara waking up, holding the nutcracker. Mr. Brusha should have used this image, instead he never mentions the nutcracker again. I think showing Sela with her nutcracker would have tied together the story and the character she was portraying, Clara. On the other hand, the gore and scantily clad sugar plum fairies in Zenescope’s version are enough to get more men interested in the ballet!
My favorite part of the tale was when the prince sliced and diced the rats for his “Lady Fair.” That scene is definitely missing from the ballet. Call me old fashioned, but Zenescope has a way of bringing chivalry back in the sickest ways. Happy Holidays.