Monday, June 8, 2009

Zenescope Update - Dante's Inferno



Later this year, Zenescope’s Grimm’s Fairy Tales gets an expansion as Mercy Dante returns.

Fans of the series know that Dante committed an unspeakable act of violence in issue #29, and in August, Dante returns to the series in issue #41, a lead-in to the five issue, Grimm Fairy Tales: Dante’s Inferno

Described by Zenescope’s Ralph Tedesco as “Jacob’s Ladder meets Resident Evil,” the five issue miniseries promises to follow the Zenescope model of keeping the themes of a known story, while adding its own devious twists.

We spoke with Tedesco and Raven Gregory for more.

Newarama: So guys, can you tell us what the premise is of Grimm Fairy Tales: Dante's Inferno? Is it similar to the beginning of the Divine Comedy or does it just happen to share the name?

Raven Gregory: It's a much more modern take on the allegorical poem. There's a woman, an assassin, Mercy Dante, last seen in Grimm Fairy Tales #29, who shares a lot of qualities with the original Dante. This is a woman who commits an unforgivable crime that haunts her to this very day. Something so bad it is quite literally driving her insane and she's helpless to do anything to stop it until Sela offers her a chance at redemption.

NRAMA: Now how many issues will this consist of?

Ralph Tedesco: Well Grimm #41 is a prequel story to the "Dante's Inferno" mini-series. The mini-series will be five issues though.

NRAMA: Can you tell us something about the artists working this?

RG: We have a couple guys lined up. Some really incredible talent. One who has worked on Grimm Fairy Tales before and a brand new artist that I think people are really gonna dig. I don't want to say who yet until we get a couple issues under our belt but I think fans will be really pleased.

NRAMA: Would you consider this book more horror-oriented or action?

RT: It's part horror, part psychological thriller and definitely part action. It wraps all three into one which makes for a fun ride and something a little bit different too.

NRAMA: So would you guys say it's still in the style of the material Zenescope is known for or does it branch off a bit?

RT: Actually it's like taking the different styles we're already kind of known for and rolling them up into one.

RG: But there's definitely some new surreal styles we're working into this one. Some stuff readers won't see coming from a mile a way that we've never tried before. It's very exciting stuff that I think will have people talking for some time to come.

NRAMA: You guys over at Zenescope always seem to have some sort of horror influence in your works. Not that Hell isn't horrific enough, but is there any other source you tapped into for this arc?

RG: There's a truly disturbing sense of realism we're bringing into the mix with this tale. The idea that, sometimes, there's something that's loaming just beneath the surface. Something that, if we're lucky, we never have to deal with. But that doesn't mean it's not there or that we don't breathe a sigh of relief that it happened to pass us by. But for Mercy, one wrong choice is all is takes to step out of the light and into the darkness.

RT: This series will have a little bit more action than our GRIMM fans are used to, that's one thing. We're definitely influenced by horror with the Grimm series but we also are always influenced by other genres as well and that's what we hope keeps our readers interested and on their toes.

Grimm Fairy Tales #41, the lead-in to Dante’s Inferno hits stands this August


This article courtesy of Newsarama
http://www.newsarama.com/

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