Review - Gretel #1 (@Zenescope)

"And if I succeed I'm going to eat her damn heart."

Hansel and Gretel got lost in the woods and eventually made their way out. In Gretel #1 from Zenescope Entertainment, Gretel made it out and did so with a vengeance. The issue is written by Ben Meares, illustrated by Allan Otero, colored by Ceci de la Cruz and lettered by Maurizio Clausi (Arancia Studio).

Gretel's story has been more nightmare than fairy tale ever since the tragic events of her childhood involving her brother and a maniacal witch. These events have left her cursed with a life that will span centuries.
Picking up directly after her heart-wrenching debut in Grimm Universe Presents. After consuming the heart of a psychic witch, Gretel has been gifted the power of premonition. But when she has a psychic vision foretelling the end of the world, Gretel must open old wounds if she wants to try and prevent it from coming true.

As the latest fairy tale heroine to get her due in the Grimm Fairy Tales universe, Gretel is given a pretty solid motivation courtesy of Meares script. In fact, the entirety of the first issue is essentially her origin story, traveling through the erss as she's made a name for herself as a witch hunter growing more powerful with each successive battle. Meares' dialogue is mostly of the the inner variety, with Gretel narrating her rise to power for the reader to know what's what. It's definitely the bluntest way to get across the details of her origin, but it doesn't leave Meares much room elsewhere for character interaction. Still, Gretel's origin is well-explained and makes perfect sense within the context of the larger universe she's a part of.

The artwork feels very much like a Zenescope book with Otero giving Gretel the prototypical GFT heroine appearance. She's more than capable of holding her own in combat and Otero illustrates the battles between Gretel and various witches fairly well, emphasizing the magical side of the battles. Most of the pages are stacked with panels in a dizzying array of insets and overlays which at times can be a little distracting. The characters are definitely the focus of the artwork in that Otero doesn't really focus too much on the backgrounds. Colors by de la Cruz are bright and vibrant, but they're particularly impactful in reviewing Gretel's true origin in that those pages are black and white while the heart is red.

Gretel #1 is a pretty straightforward origin story for a character familiar to most. Gretel has made it her mission to seek out and destroy any and all witches, gaining their powers along the way. Meare's narrative is really sort of a highlight of her various fights throughout history as a means of establishing her character. Otero's artwork is sufficient for keeping up with all of the aforementioned battles. Gretel #1 is pretty basic in its approach, but the longer implications of the character for the Grimm Fairy Tales universe will likely be impactful.

Gretel #1 is available now.