Before I say anything about this comic, I need to point out that I had never heard of Zenescope Entertainment until very recently. So it’s safe to say that I had never heard of their Grimm Fairy Tales series nor had I read any of the comics. That being said, it was clear upon reading Cinderella Serial Killer Princess that I was missing a huge chunk of the story and I went into it extremely confused. I didn’t know what titles I was supposed to read beforehand and I’m not about to start at this moment in time. With that in mind, this review of Cinderella Serial Killer Princess will be done completely at face value and my confusion surrounding the story did not hinder the score.
From my understanding the story goes as follows: Cinderella awakens on a bed confused and disoriented as she was supposed to have been dead. A man named Baron Samedi AKA Voodoo (who looks suspiciously like Doctor Facilier from Princess and the Frog) tells her that he brought her back and the Dark Horde wants her to murder someone named Robyn, the person who “killed” her. Cinderella eagerly accepts the offer and starts her rampage; killing everyone Robyn loves and cares for before taking her out.
Cinderella Serial Killer Princess can be summed up in four words: ostentatious, ridiculous, vulgar and cruel. However, I mean all of that in the best way.
I don’t know what lead up to this insanity but the story was easy enough to follow. It’s literally just 23 pages of Cinderella murdering her “enemies” and looking pretty while doing it. It’s rather difficult to judge the comic story-wise since I personally don’t see a point in murdering all of the pre-established and long standing characters, but knowing how comic books go, the murders will either turn out to have been a dream or everyone will get brought back to life somehow.
Readers should be forewarned that this Cinderella is not the charming underdog we grew to love, as that woman doesn’t exist in this universe. She comes off rather valley-girlish and ditzy and she stretches out her vowels and ends most sentences with upwards inflection. Her perceived immaturity seems to be a façade however as this Cinderella is a hilarious hardened badass dressed in a sex store counterpart to her blue ball gown. Her battle skills are to be commended, as she’s able to take out other characters with surprising ease and in quick succession with much cruelty and viciousness. She rolls a woman in a wheelchair off a building and even sticks another woman’s head on her sword and uses it like a puppet. From a girl who grew up being treated like a servant by her evil stepmother, it’s just so jaw dropping and comical that I played cartoony noises in my head with every kill.
What I greatly appreciated was that Cinderella Serial Killer Princess lives up to its name through the artwork. It’s a gore hound’s fantasy; limbs are blown off, bodies are crushed and squished and blood splatters across every page. The artwork isn’t that unique in terms of character design but it’s colourful and busy enough without being too distracting and fits the fairy tale universe it inhabits. The comic is easy and fun on the eyes.
Cinderella Serial Killer Princess is junk food for the brain—nothing but mind numbing violence. If you’re looking for a comic with substance, you won’t find it here but it’s not meant to be that way. It’s a teenage boy’s wet dream, a fast-food combo of violence, boobs and absurdity. If you love that kind of thing, I suggest you add this comic to your collection for a good laugh.
