SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Manga
  • All Ages
  • Young Adult
  • Interviews
  • News

August 15, 2013 by Michael May

Review | Fairy Tale Comics

August 15, 2013 by Michael May   1 comments

Fairy Tale Comics
By Graham Annable, Emily Carroll, Gigi D.G., Vanessa Davis, Chris Duffy, Ramona Fradon, Charise Mericle Harper, Brett Helquist, Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez, Karl Kerschl, Joseph Lambert, Bobby London, David Mazzucchelli, Luke Pearson, Jillian Tamaki, Raina Telgemeier, and Craig Thompson
Edited by Chris Duffy
First Second

One of the wonderful things about fairy tales is the way they can be retold and reinterpreted from generation to generation. In fact, it’s not so much that they can go through that process; it’s that they have to. Since fairy tales were originally passed along orally, there are no definitive versions. People talk about the “original” Brothers Grimm stories, but even those were pieced together from various sources and not always the most authentic ones. There were already revisions of the Grimms’ written collection within the brothers’ lifetimes as they reconsidered who their audience was. These stories belong to all of us and seeing how they change over time is a fascinating way to study the cultures in which they’re retold.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

To that end, Fairy Tale Comics features classic fantasy stories reinterpreted by some of the best cartoonists today. Some of them include elements from early, darker versions of the stories. The end of Jamie Hernandez’ “Snow White” is much more Grimm than Disney, for example. Others are more or less straightforward accounts of the traditional versions, like Vanessa Davis’ “Puss in Boots” or Gilbert Hernandez’ “Hansel and Gretel.”

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

That’s not to say that these familiar versions are uninteresting. The visual interpretations of the characters and seeing what story elements each cartoonist chooses to highlight are always worthwhile, even when the tales themselves are well known. One of my favorite stories in the collection is Graham Annable’s silent and visually quirky, but otherwise extremely faithful version of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” so I’m certainly not knocking this approach.

The ones that I found most interesting though are the stories that have been updated to reflect modern ideas about people and culture. In Gigi D.G.’s “Little Red Riding Hood,” the woodsman has become a tough, female lumberjack. Continuing the theme of feminist interpretations, the heroine in Charise Mericle Harper’s take on the “Beauty and the Beast”-like story, “The Small Tooth,” has a surprising level of awareness about her situation and her father who put her in it. And Raina Telgemeier lets Rapunzel turn around and rescue her would-be savior in the most awesome way imaginable.

These revisions not only comment on their own stories, but also cast new light on some of the traditionally told ones. Brett Helquist’s “Rumpelstiltskin” follows the established version closely, but pulls no punches in portraying the abusive, horrible king who enslaves and terrorizes a young girl for his own, financial benefit. However, the atrociousness of the king is seen even more clearly against the feminist updates in the other stories.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

In a different kind of revision, Joseph Lambert modernizes the Bre’r Rabbit tales in “Rabbit Will Not Help” by having the animals drop their “Bre’r” titles and eliminating the infamous name of Fox’s tar creation. The tar-creature sequence is still there; it’s just the racial slur that’s absent.

Rabbit Will Not Help

Those who enjoy lamenting the political correction of stuff like this will find plenty to complain about, but it should be clear that these cartoonists aren’t simply taking away from these stories without adding something back that’s even more valuable. Lambert’s story is a perfect example. It’s hilarious in many ways, starting with the intentionally childish dialogue and extending to his substitution of the briar patch with something much funnier.

Karl Kerschl’s “Bremen Town” is also worth mentioning for adding to the original story, not in a politically correct way, but just by making the talking animals sound like hip, young, modern musicians. And really, commenting and improving is what all of these stories do, regardless of how much or little they change the source material. Ramona Fradon offers some great visuals to her and Chris Duffy’s humorous adaptation of the One Thousand and One Nights tale, “The Prince and the Tortoise.” And the young, focused hero in Luke Pearson’s “The Boy Who Drew Cats” is similarly comical in his single-mindedness.

Fairy Tale Comics is a fascinating look at modern culture through the lens of classic stories, but that’s what grown-ups are going to get out of it. For children, it’s simply an exciting, funny, beautifully drawn collection of unique versions of their favorite tales.

Filed under: Reviews

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
Bobby LondonBrett HelquistCharise Mericle HarperChris DuffyCraig ThompsonDavid MazzucchelliEmily Carrollfairy talesFirst SecondGigi D.G.Gilbert HernandezGraham AnnableJaime HernandezJillian TamakiJoseph LambertKarl KerschlLuke PearsonRaina TelgemeierRamona FradonVanessa Davis

About Michael May

Michael May has been writing about comics for a little over a decade. He started as a reviewer for Comic World News and soon became editor-in-chief of the site. Leaving editorial duties to focus on writing, he joined The Great Curve, the comics blog that eventually became Blog@Newsarama and finally Comic Book Resources' Robot 6. In addition to loving comics, he loves his son and enjoys nothing more than finding (and writing about) awesome comics for the boy to read.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

February 2023

Kiss Number 8 | Review

by Michael May

February 2023

The Archie Encyclopedia | Review

by Michael May

January 2023

Monkey Prince Vol. 1: Enter the Monkey | Review

by Michael May

January 2023

Young Agatha Christie | Review

by Michael May

January 2023

Andy Warner's Oddball Histories: Pests and Pets | Review

by Michael May

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Surprise! Announcing CABOOSE

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Jump Into this Guest Post by Shadra Strickland About Her Latest Book: Jump In!

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Kiss Number 8 | Review

by Johanna

Heavy Medal

What’s Coming in 2023, A Feedback Poll, and Goodbye for Now…

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

WRITING FOR YOURSELF FIRST, a guest post by author M. K. Lobb

by Karen Jensen, MLS

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

A Book 25 Years in the Making: Marla Frazee Visits The Yarn

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Jen Wang Draws from Reality

A Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Book Challenge | Most Popular Posts on SLJ

Q&A: Harmony Becker, Creator of "Himawari House"

Graphic Novels Extend Their Frontiers

SPONSORED

10 Manga Titles for Teens Who Watch Anime

Reader Interactions

Trackbacks

  1. My Son’s New Obsession: Fairy Tale Comics Edited by Chris Duffy | The Picture Book Review says:
    October 9, 2013 at 3:21 am

    […] https://blogs.slj.com/goodcomicsforkids/2013/08/15/review-fairy-tale-comics/ […]

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023