Grimm Universe Presents Quarterly Zodiac vs. Deathforce

Grimm Universe Presents Quarterly: Zodiac vs. Deathforce

Zenescope Entertainment 2021

Written by Jay Sandlin

Illustrated by Alessandro Uezu, Babisu Kourtis & Gabriel Rearte

Coloured by Jorge Cortex & Walter Pereyra

Lettered by Carlos M. Mangual

Two of the Grimm Universes most dangerous antiheroes face each other for the first time ever in a life or death battle, neither knowing they are just pawns in a bigger game. Who is the puppet master behind the scenes pulling their strings?

This is like three issues in one lengthwise and I kind of and I wish it were a square bound book instead of stapled like it is. Other than that I have only positive things to say about this. I really do appreciate the fact that it’s the entire story in one issue because it feels nice to read such a lengthy read in one sitting. Also Jay does a pretty sensational job on this issue and creates a lasting bond of friendship between the two anti-heroes and further unites the Zenescope Universe’s characters. There are so many great characters in this universe and that they should all crossover with each other at some point should be inevitable now next Jay should take Zodiac and team him up with the Musketeers after all they all share the same benefactor.

I really like the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceedingly well. The character development we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does a magnificent job in fleshing the characters out as folks we know and/or can relate to. The pacing here is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story, the characters and the worlds, plural, we’re drawn back to a place that seems to be a thorn in the earthly realms side.

How we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow and evolve throughout the book is executed exceptionally well. What I am really enjoying about how we see the layers here is how the plot twists keep coming at us, the quality of the characterisation and the overall mood, tone and feel that they bring thanks to the depth, dimension and complexity they add to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is achieved exceedingly well.

I’m really impressed with the fact that you’d never know there were multiple artists working on this book, it looks like one creative team did the entire issue. The linework is fantastic and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the detail work we see throughout the book is well rendered. I will say I do wish we’d get more backgrounds being utilised throughout the book. Still how we see the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is well done. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show some remarkable eyes for storytelling. The colour work is pretty brilliantly rendered. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is some absolutely marvellous work.

There is some delightful creativity and imagination on display within these pages and when we first meet one character I should’ve known immediately where this was headed, though I suspected I hadn’t thought it would happen. With some strong writing and dynamic characterisation wrapped up in the madness of the interiors what we see get is a thrilling new adventure that leaves us wanting to see oh so much more.