Review - Cinderella Serial Killer Princess #1 (@Zenescope)

"That's, like, so awesome!"

Cinderella as a Disney princess is subjugated by her sisters before persevering and becoming something regal through hard-work and some luck. Cinderella as a Zenescope character is a serial killer with a desire to hack her way through any situation. Cinderella Serial Killer Princess #1 from Zenescope is a lot more of the latter than the former. The issue is written by Dave Franchini, illustrated by Salvatore Cuffari, colored by Leonardo Paciarotti and lettered by Taylor Esposito.

A loyal servant to the Dark Horde, Cindy, turned her back on it to help save the world. And all she got for her trouble was a brutal death. But sometimes those that die get a second chance and now Cindy is back with a thirst for blood. And once she's had her revenge not a single hero in the Grimm Universe will be left alive.

Zenescope's version of Cinderella is an unhinged princess with the penchant for talking like a Valley Girl and Franchini doesn't change things in Cinderella Serial Killer Princess #1. In fact, Franchini ups all of her traits to the extreme in the issue, giving readers a glimpse at a character completely giving in to her hedonistic and sadistic nature. The issue moves pretty fast as Cinderella cuts a large swath through the Zenescope universe, killing a character every other page essentially. It's almost too much and it'll be interesting to see how Franchini evens things out as the series progresses--if everyone is dead then what's the point of Cinderella wanting to kill them all. The dialogue is more or less Cinderella's stream of conscious given a voice and Franchini uses it to great effect in amplifying the intensity of her character.

The artwork by Cuffari is pretty straightforward. Cinderella dominates just about every page and Cuffari gives her an equally formidable presence throughout the book. The way Cinderella is illustrated is a little strange at times, as Cuffari seems to give her an extremely young body but an older face. The panel layouts are pretty frenetic and fit with the narrative of Cinderella on a murderous rampage throughout New York City. Esposito's colors are vivid and accentuate explosions and beheadings pretty well without being overtly gory.

Cinderella Serial Killer Princess #1 is a pretty crazy first issue. Cinderella knows who she is and what she's best at, putting both to good use (in her eyes) in the issue. Franchini spends the entire issue establishing Cinderella's vengeance with the goal (hopefully) of having her showdown with Robyn carry more weight. Cuffari's illustrations are a great match for the energy of the character, following along with her as she wreaks havoc. Cinderella Serial Killer Princess #1 gives on of the darker characters in the Zenescope universe a chance to return to her roots of evil in a big way.

Cinderella Serial Killer Princess #1 is available now.