Jacko in Dying to Escape from Little Banzaroo

by Enrique Lopez and others.

This one's a weird action-gunplay story. I can't see where the fairy tale connection is right off the bat, maybe with 'Jacko' himself being Jack be nimble? It's entertaining.

The Emperor's New Battle Mech

By Geoff Webber

This one's funny! It follows the 'invisible suit' idea of the original fable, but takes it one step further as the title implies. A vicious revenge tale!

The Dress

by Marimar and Enrique Lopez

The Cinderella story, with a few interesting details added in, such as a custom dress maker. There's an interesting twist at the end I didn't expect to see coming.

Home Cooking

by Andrew Birkett
art by Marcus Pattern

Two kids go on an arsonist rampage but and try to escape the cops. They wind up in a lady's back yard but get into a whole lot more trouble than they bargained for! A weird take on the Hansel and Gretel story.

Take Out

by Enrique Lopez
art by Matt Buttich and Enrique Lopez

A swiftly entertaining spin on the old 'big bad wolf' trope, combining Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs stories. I like the horrifying conclusion that went way up against type.

Pied

by Jay Mooers
art by Rusty Gilligan

After the Pied Piper played his flute and drove out the rats -and the children- from Hamelin he's bored. Along comes a girl who changes everything. This one was richly illustrated.

For the Love of Salt

by my friend Melissa Massey

This one's a very sobering and quiet tale. A lot of feeling went into it, without really setting up punchlines or jokes. The artwork has a soft warm glow to it, and there's a nice redemption at the end that made me smile.

Jack and Jill

by John Muller

No holds barred swift take on the six-second long rhyme that every kindergartener knows. Absolutely loved its twisted ending. This one for sure lives up to the 'not so fair' theme of the anthology.

Socialis Speculum

by Enrique Lopez

The Man in the Iron Mask retold... I think that was an Alexander Dumas story (the guy who wrote The Three Musketeers). Anyway, it's old and it could conceivably belong here. The last page really caught me off guard.

Labor of Love

by Brant Fowler and Lisa Moore
art by Cesar Gutierrez

The Little Old Woman who Lives in a Shoe story again. Only this time it really is an enormous shoe and not a trailer. The woman is a bit mean to the kids like the nursery rhyme, but she's also very gullible. Adding a giant who needs shoes was a smart tweak.

What is in a Name?

This one's the last one, and probably the best. It's also drawn by the anthology director,
John Edingfield III. Written by Will Allred. A wicked King with a permanent tan and strange blond hair goes back on his word when he gets a girl to spin gold out of wool. Not a shred of doubt as to who the king is spoofing. Again, this and Jack and Jill probably used the 'not so fair' theme to the best advantage.