Fairy Tale Comics: Classic Tales Told by Extraordinary Cartoonists

An eclectic collection of fairy tales adapted by 17 cartoonists. The majority are based on tales by the Brothers Grimm, but there are a couple surprises tossed in the mix. The illustrations offer just about something for everyone.There are a couple stand-outs in the ways in which the story was reimagined. My favorite being "Little Red Riding Hood" by Gigi D.G., who gives us a female lumberjack to the rescue. My favorite art is a tie between Brett Helquist's "Rumpelstiltskin" and Karl Kerschl's "Bremen Town" - both just feel... classic, and the deep, rich coloring evokes a fairy-tale atmosphere, to me.4 stars

I like it but some stories are a little hard to read

A fun collection of illustrated fairy tales.

I found a lot of this hilarious. The various artists' interpretations served to highlight the absudities in the fairy tales, such as a prince bent on marrying a tortoise or a father giving up his daughter to a wolf-like dog that saved his life. And if Puss in Boots was so good at getting his young master into royal society, why didn't he help the family before?! (Love the square where the son says "Dibs on the mill" after the poor miller dies.) Plus the Hansel and Gretel witch is hella scary. A fun package.

Fairy Tale Comics by Chris Duffy is a riveting book chalk full of fascinating illustrations paired with clear sequence of comic strip style writing. With every page of the book, the audience is met by an abundance of color which captivates the reader. A unique style of writing that includes a comic strip layout, relates to the young reader as the pages seem to turn with ease. Reading this book is a delight because Duffy adds his own spin on classic Fairy Tales with amazing illustrations and an outlandish layout that may just guide the young reader in to learning story sequence through clear cut comic strip blocks. Fairy Tale Comics is not your average Fairy Tale book, but a breath of fresh air nonetheless.

A great anthology of graphic retellings of well-known and some more obscure fairy tales, each by different artists. My personal favorites were "Puss in Boots" and a wordless "Goldilocks and the Three Bears."

Employing a variety of comic book styles this book reinvents classic fairy tales for a new generation. A book that can grow with a child. Delightful and funny for children and adults. Some stories are new as well, but told within the context of comics and the classic fairy tale.

This book was my favorite from the traditional fantasy books I've read. I recommend this to boys and girls in 3rd grade. I enjoyed it because it was organized well and it was a comic strip. It was classic fairy tales like Rapunzel and Puss and Boots, but also had one's I haven't read like The Small Tooth Dog and Bremen Town. My favorite was Rumpelstiltskin. This is about a girl who must spin gold for the king or she will die. This is when Rumpelstiltskin shows up and helps her. But each time he helps, she gives him a reward. The final time, she has nothing left to give, so she promises him her first born child. When she has the child, she must guess Rumpelstiltskin's name in order to call off the deal. The comic strip was great and full of vibrant color. The main messages vary because there are so many stories. The main message of Rumpelstiltskin was not to lie and not to take things from vulnerable people.

This collection of fairy tales retold by several artists is quite beautifully done. There are the more traditional, popular tales like Rapunzel, Snow White and Goldilocks but also tales like The Small Tooth Dog or Give Me the Shudders that are not as common. The illustrations are all brightly done but range in style. Some are done with more lines, shading and are busier in composition. Other stories are done with simple lines, cleaner frames and solid colors. This is a book that will be read over and over again by several ages. For what the early readers can’t decode they can gather from the images and there is something new in the illustrations each time they are seen.

From favorites like "Puss in Boots" and "Goldilocks" to obscure gems like "The Boy Who Drew Cats," this volume has something to offer every reader. Seventeen fairy tales are wonderfully adapted and illustrated in comics format by such noted artists as Raina Telgemeier, Brett Helquist, Cherise Harper, and others.

When I was in elementary school, I distinctly remember how popular Jon Scieszka’s The Stinky Cheese Man: And Other Fairly Stupid Tales was. Managing to get a hold of it at the school library was pretty much impossible, because everyone wanted to read it. I can easily imagine Fairy Tale Comics being similarly popular with the intended audience. The stories are light-hearted and funny, though with just enough of the cruelty of the original tales to delight kids, because, let’s be honest, children do tend to like watching people get hurt.Most of the stories featured in Fairy Tale Comics were familiar to me and will be to other adult readers as well, being the most popular of the Grimms’ tales. However, Duffy also included a handful of tales from other sources, ones I’ve never encountered myself. This blend of the familiar and the new will be enchanting for kids and parents alike. Younger readers enjoy familiarity, and it helps make reading a bit easier if you know the story already. In fact, Duffy clearly had this in mind when he put the anthology together, because the first five stories are all Grimms’ tales, allowing the reader to get comfortable before springing something that might be new.In most anthologies, there tend to be a few real clunkers, but all of the stories in Fairy Tale Comics were really fun reads. Sure, I had my personal favorites, but none of them were horribly boring or with artwork so annoying I couldn’t deal. The stories I enjoyed the most were “The Prince and the Tortoise” by Ramona Fradon and Chris Duffy, “Rapunzel” by Raina Telgemeier, and “Give Me the Shudders” by David Mazzuchelli. Two of them were entirely new to me, and Rapunzel had a nice twist to the ending that I rather enjoyed.As is the case in “Rapunzel,” several of the tales feature clever little changes. These obviously will not stand out to those who are not well-versed in the tales, but I picked up on a few and they were all great improvements. Obviously much of the gore has been cut, but there are intentional revisions, most of which increase the role of the female characters in the fairy tales. In “Puss in Boots,” the reader learns right at the end that Puss is in fact a female cat. Similarly, the lumberjack in “Little Red Riding Hood” is a woman, rather than a man. These are small changes, but they’re excellently done, adding agency and strength to female characters.Fairy Tale Comics will be enjoyed by both parents and children, or adults like me who do not get tired of clever retellings of fairy tales. Each tale is humorous and quick for younger readers, but with subtle jokes to delight maturer readers. A great readalike for Jon Scieszka’s fairy tale retellings or fractured fairy tales, like those included in Rocky & Bullwinkle.

I'm sure that you're thinking with so many different fairy tale books out there, why the heck do we need yet another one? Surely there can't be space for this one? But you'd be wrong. FirstSecond has hit the mark with this book that's sure to be an instant classic, much like their 2011 book of Nursery Rhyme comics. FirstSecond has gathered together 17 of the best artists in the world to put their own unique twists on these classic tales. And these aren't all tales that you've heard of. Sure there's Snow White and Rapunzel, but have you read "The Boy Who Drew Cats" from Japan before? Or "The Prince and The Tortoise" from 1001 nights? I'm betting that there's at least one new tale in this book for everyone. One thing to note is that the artists have toned down some of the original horror and frightening elements that some readers might be familiar with from the original Brother Grimm tales. So if you're familiar with the originals you might find this disappointing, but you might want to keep in mind that this is an all ages book. I however, still found the stories to be quite enjoyable.The talent in this book include Jamie Hernandez, David Mazzucchelli, Craig Thompson, Raina Telgemeir, and more. Each artists takes the text of a classic fairy tale and adds their own unique spin to it. My favorite has to be Raina's take on "Rapunzel." In Raina's version the story begins with Rapunzel's mother being pregnant and getting cravings for...the Rapunzel planet. Even though her husband has brought her cornichons, stinky cheese, and marshmallow fluff. It's just such a great little twist to the tale. And the art styles in this book are fantastic! Such a wide range of mediums ranging from computer drawn to charcoal to pastels, each works well with the story chosen. Each story has something for everyone with the artists bringing their own unique talents and styles to these tales. All of them are absolutely fantastic. This is the perfect book for any age and is sure to put a smile on everyone's face. I highly recommend this book as a great addition to any shelf. 4 out 5 starsARC provided by Gina at FirstSecond