Before I begin, I owe you all an apology. Yes, I know I’ve been gone since November, and I have a perfectly good reason for that.
I’ve been dealing with a lot of real-life problems over the past few months. I’ve been under a lot of stress. I’ve been working on an internship (and I still am). My sister got engaged and has moved out, so we have to save money over the next year while we make wedding preparations. My family has also had to deal with health problems that I’d rather not get into. It’s been a stressful few months, and thankfully, the worst of it is out of our way, and I feel confident enough to be updating this blog again.
Anyway, there has been a recent trend in Hollywood movies to adapt popular fairy tales for the big screen. So why not review a webcomic that does that as well?
Title: Erstwhile
Author: Gina Biggs, Louisa Roy, Elle Skinner (artists), Brothers Grimm (writers)
Start Date: 2011
Genre: Fantasy
Update Schedule: Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays
Website: http://www.erstwhiletales.com
Synopsis:
Erstwhile isn’t bound to just one story, but several. This webcomic adapts the lesser-known tales from the classic German folk lore writers, the Brothers Grimm. Each of the three artists takes their turn adapting and interpreting one story at a time. (Note: Although Gina Biggs is credited with “adapting the story” on nearly all of them, the illustrators are left to their own devices.)
Recommended Age Group: All ages.
Strengths:
Each comic is stunningly gorgeous to look at. Even though this comic is drawn and colored by three different people, their art styles complement each other nicely. It’s also fun to watch how each interpretation plays out, depending on their ranges of narration and visual flair. It also helps that they’re specifically adapting the more obscure titles from the Grimms and none of the popular ones. You won’t see anything that was already covered by Disney in this series.
Weaknesses:
Unlike adaptations which like to modernize a classic fairy tale or play it for parody, the artists adapt the Grimms’ tales completely straight, as they were originally written. If you’ve read these stories before, you will be spoiled on how the tales end.
Verdict:
I give this comic a wholehearted recommendation. Children and adults alike would love this. They would be great in school courses for exposure and critique. This comic is a fantastic gateway to explore the often overlooked tales by these classic authors.