Fairy Quest Vol. 1 Outlaws
In this first episode of a promising new series, a single Brother Grimm heads a squad of mind-erasing henchmen whom he directs to hunt down and punish fairy-tale folk who won’t stick to their appointed story lines. Red Riding Hood, now in league with a Big (not-so-bad) Wolf, goes on the lam to Neverland, where Peter Pan assigns a conniving Tinkerbell to get them to safety . . . and so the story tumbles on. This all-ages riff, featuring fractured fairy tales, dystopian politics, a manga-like micro-skirted Red, and an arch mama narrator regaling her tot with the skewered stories, is sure to entertain readers of many stripes. The full palette is lush: the greens of the forest; the candy colors of the gingerbread house, inhabited by the children-eating witch; and the quiet, gently lit bedside of the little boy, who very occasionally interrupts his mother with a lisping query reminding readers of the way the story is supposed to go. Fans of deconstructed fairy tales, such as Bill Willingham’s Fables and all its spin-offs, will be impressed. Grades 4-7. --Francisca Goldsmith