Comic book review: Grimm Tales of Terror #2- The greed of man meets eight legged judgement

Writers: Shane McKenzie
Artist: Przemyslaw Klosin
Publisher: Zenescope Entertainment Inc
Released: 3rd September 2014

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_from_the_Crypt_(TV_series)


If you enjoy reading old horror comics then this is a book that you’ll want to pick up. It’s very old fashioned, with the script reading like an old episode of ‘Tales from the Crypt’ with the bookend technique of a ghoulish narrator laughing at us stupid, vain and greedy human beings. Only this time we don’t get the Crypt Keeper telling the tale, in his place we get a busty postwoman who delivers death with a whistle.

I found this technique to be a little confusing in comic book form, as she didn’t have anything to do with the main story apart from igniting it. Plus the end panels of her watching over the death of a cruel rich guy had absolutely nothing to do with the main tale. It was a little bit confusing and not as satisfying as it could have been.

The main tale involves greedy treasure hunters and a giant spider. It’s not original, and it’s been done a lot better many times before. There were some problems with the three main personalities involved in the tale as well. They were more complicated than they needed to be, and because of the short nature of this tale there wasn’t enough time to fully develop the characters. There were hints that went nowhere, and when the characters met their inevitable demise the impact was somewhat lessened because I couldn’t get a secure grasp on who they actually were.

These tales should be simple. You need good guys, bad guys and a twist. This book had bad guys, more bad guys and no twist. I shouldn’t have enjoyed this book, because it had huge flaws, but there was something about it that I really did enjoy.

I liked the tone of the writing, the humour in the dialogue, the silliness, the fast paced nature of it, the excitement of following the protagonists into a creepy cave and the old fashioned sense of adventure and horror that it was all wrapped up in.

The art did not detract from the tale and some large panels of arachnid based horror certainly had an impact. It’s not going to win any awards, but some of the dark shading and torch lit panels of the explorers looked suitably atmospheric, daunting and creepy, and the postwoman character looked very alluring in her slightly too tight uniform. In my far from unbiased and slightly seedy opinion, if an artist can draw a ridiculously bosomed female in very tight clothes then he must be doing something right.

Grimm Tales of Terror #2 has its flaws, but it’s a very enjoyable book. It has the feel of an old-fashioned horror comic with a strong moral message at its centre, and with a conclusion where greedy and unpleasant characters get exactly what they deserve. It’s a nice way to spend ten minutes of your time, and if you enjoy your old style horror comics then I’m sure you’ll get a lot of enjoyment out of the book.

Rating: 7/10 (simply, because it was fun)