Grimm Fairy Tales: Bad Girls #2 Review
Writer: Joey Esposito
Pencils: Eduardo Garcia and Salvador Valazquez
Reviewed by David Short
Coming into Grimm Fairy Tales: Bad Girls #1, I didn’t know too much about universe Zenescope is most known for. I had read pieces here and there recommended to me by fans of Grimm Fairy Tales, or my local shop owner. Nothing really struck a chord with me, but there was usually something that I could enjoy from each of the stories. Bad Girls has followed suit, to this point.
Bad Girls #2, written by Joey Esposito, does many things very well. For me to want to continue with a book, I have to like the characters. Joey has done a great job on that front. That is my favorite part of the book, to be honest. He seems to have a good voice for each of the players involved, and their interaction is natural and pretty funny at times. Though all the characters are handled well, I thought Red’s scene was handled spectacularly. Seeing an apprentice get the Yoda treatment is always a winner. I could read an entire issue of that alone.
Plot can’t be forgotten either, though. You can have great characters, but if nothing of importance happens, you’re left with some bored readers. Bad Girls has an interesting story, and is done well enough to keep me wanting to return to the book. We’re taken all over the place in issue two, but things are paced well. Our heroines find out what they’re up against and just what they have to do to stop it. The plan seems simple enough, but, of course, nothing is ever simple in the world of comics. Things can, and will (and do) go wrong.
Pretty much all of my complaints with this book lies in the art. Eduardo Garcia and Salvador Valazquez tag team this book, and, surprisingly enough, that isn’t the root of my complaint. I can’t say it is specific to this book either, but the way the women are drawn is ridiculous. There are two things you can take to the bank when reading female heroes: One, they will be overly sexualized, under clothed, and unrealistically curvy. And two, there will be at least one obligatory ass shot per book. Though I realize it’s comics, and it’s not supposed to be realistic; it gets to a point where it’s just too much. While most everything else in the book is handled very well, the constant shots cleavage and barely covered hind parts get to be overwhelming. It’s not something that is needed for the story that is being told, and it doesn’t really add anything to the value of the book. In fact, I think it degrades what they are trying to do here—which is, tell a story revolving around the world’s strong female characters.
Verdict
I can overlook art (to an extent) if the story is good enough. While I do have major problems with this book in that regard, I think the characters are being handled well enough for me to continue with the run. If you are into the Grimm Fairy Tales world, definitely check this book out.
