There's Something There That Wasn't There Before in Zenescope's GFT Universe: Belle, Beast Hunter

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Submitted by RJ Carter on Sun, 01/14/2018 - 13:45

There've been a ton of fairy tales reimagined in the Grimm Fairy Tales universe from Zenescope Entertainment. So many, that it's hard to believe they've gone this long without tapping the iconic Beauty and the Beast for inclusion.

Meet Belle: a girl who's strange but special, and most peculiar. She's the latest caretaker in the family business, which happens to be monster hunting. Assisted by her mentor and director, Candlestick, we watch as this lithesome masked beauty takes out a minotaur before hopping onto a tricked out cycle to take it to a centaur appearing elsewhere the same night. And on the ride, we get treated to Belle's thoughts, which help explains her world and her place in it.

The cool thing about this first issue of BELLE: BEAST HUNTER is that you get a tightly encapsulated origin story, which lets you get right on with the action. By the end of the issue, you care enough about the main characters and have a tight enough grasp on the mission to realize how good they are at it, and how screwed they are with the cliffhanger.

The monsters are big and bad. The centaur isn't some beach-bodied escapee from Harry Potter. He's enormous, foul, and mean. But he's nothing compared to the truly Lovecraftian level beast that awaits her.

The concept is one part Beauty and the Beast, one part Batman, and one part Buffy. Writer Dave Franchini has created a very neat-and-tidy jumping on point for a new facet of the GFT world, while artist Bong Dazo delivers some superbly detailed backgrounds to complement the exquisite human and monster forms that populate the setting.

If you haven't dabbled in the Zenescope titles before, this is the perfect opportunity to wade in and test the waters. You'll find them warm and inviting, and possibly tempting you into the deeper end of the GFT pool.

Grade:

4.5 / 5.0