My Rating
“Tomb Of Blood And Shadow”
A Time-Nexus has reset Earth and scattered its heroes to all corners of the globe. Now, dark forces are on the rise once again. In a remote forest in Romania, Britney Waters—the Red Agent—has located an old threat capable of defeating even the Goddess of Death herself. As she gathers more data, halfway around the world in the United States, a team of supernatural investigators arrives to do battle with demonic forces.
Back at Arcane Acre, the estate owned by Keres, two adversaries test their talents in one-on-one combat. Don’t worry, nobody is trying to overthrow the Goddess of Death—at least not yet. This is merely a distraction from a much bigger problem. Something evil has emerged in the mining town of Blackstone Ridge, and whatever is lurking beneath the surface has begun slaughtering innocent mine workers.
It looks like another job for the supernatural! Mystere, Skye Mathers, and Kalen Vale head toward Blackstone Ridge to investigate the mysterious deaths. Unfortunately, the deeper our heroes travel into this nightmare, the more obvious it becomes that they’re dealing with something far beyond your average creature that goes bump in the night. A powerful demon has taken up residence, and the body count is beginning to rise.
Meanwhile
Meanwhile, the strange events unfolding across the globe appear to be connected to something much larger. Ancient enemies are stirring, supernatural creatures are returning, and the aftermath of the Time-Nexus has left Earth vulnerable. Even heroes accustomed to battling witches, demons, monsters, and creatures from other realms may not be prepared for what is coming next.
What exactly did Britney Waters discover in Romania? What kind of demon is terrorizing the workers of Blackstone Ridge? And perhaps most importantly, what could possibly be powerful enough to threaten Keres, the Goddess of Death herself? The Grimm Universe has been reset, the pieces are moving into position, and something very nasty is waiting in the darkness!
Review
I’m still relatively new to Zenescope Entertainment’s Grimm Fairy Tales universe, so I’ll admit that I struggled a little with this issue. Writer Joe Brusha throws a lot of established characters at the reader, and names like Keres, Mystere, Shang, Skye Mathers, Kalen Vale, and Britney Waters obviously carry considerably more history than a newcomer like myself is going to understand. There were several moments where I found myself wondering, Okay, who is this person again? That’s probably going to be part of the learning curve as I explore more of this universe.
Thankfully, Brusha doesn’t allow all that history to overwhelm the basic story. The premise is easy enough to follow: the Time-Nexus has changed the world, the heroes have been scattered, and supernatural forces are taking advantage of the chaos. That gives this first issue a genuine feeling of uncertainty. We aren’t dealing with one monster or one isolated threat. Something bigger appears to be developing in the background, and Brusha gives us just enough information to keep the mystery alive.
I especially enjoyed the tension between the characters and the unfamiliar situations they’re being forced to confront. The investigation at Blackstone Ridge provides the horror elements I was looking for, while Britney Waters’ mission in Romania teases a potentially much larger threat. Throw in Keres and the possibility that something exists capable of defeating the Goddess of Death, and you’ve certainly got my attention! There’s a lot happening here, but by the final pages I wanted to know where Brusha was taking us next.
As an introduction to this new era of Grimm Fairy Tales, I enjoyed it. Longtime readers will undoubtedly recognize connections and character histories that sailed right over my head, but I’m actually looking forward to learning more about this universe as I continue reading. If Brusha can maintain the mystery, horror, and character tension established here, this could be a fun ride.
I give this issue of Grimm Fairy Tales Vol. 3 a rock-solid four out of five stars!
