The brief introduction to Juan Jose Molinares’ Scarlett VS is electrifying. A swirl of Candyland colors clashes with the darkness of magic and sorcery; there’s something immensely powerful about the art and colors of this particular graphic novel. Scarlett, the beautiful and fierce main character channels Alexa Bliss and Lilly with a touch of Black Widow. She’s cunning and adventurous, with a childish charm that fits into the whole twisted fairytale aesthetic. As she hops from one classic story to another in the sea of painted faces and masked characters; Scarlett will have to find the answer to all that she has been dreaming of—and more.
Only one issue in and the comic has already covered several familiar bedtime stories. The whole thing is like an open-world RPG with new characters and obstacles coming Scarlett’s way left, right, and center. Plot execution follows the string of Alice and Wonderland, and the progression is structured like Into the Woods. The best thing about this is that each page is a chance to showcase the wonderful art and colors. Character designs have a very anime-like touch to them – like Black Butler: Book of Circus – but they’re also quite distinct to Western artistic details such as realistic body proportions and natural features. There’s also a bit of a magical girl twist to everything going around. But we’ll save that for you to find out yourself.
Andres Ramirez is the backbone of the graphic novel’s aesthetic. He chooses a high contrast palette, with dark colors that are sharp and kinetic against the backdrop of bright and vibrance. This clash suits the happy-go-lucky quality in the main character and this fairy-land world, against the action and darkness lurking within. While the story is intriguing on its own, Ramirez sells the whole world super well with his color direction. Ken Reynolds’ letters also aid in that regard, adding flavor to the page with onomatopoeic impact and subtlety.
The world is amazing, the main character is endearing, and the story is intriguing. But as a reader, I’m looking at this from an outsider’s perspective. After all, Scarlett VS is just a continuation of Molinares’ one-hundred-plus page book, Scarlett Book One. But this comic does a great job of piquing my interest. So much so, I might just go back and read up on it. Which is really the point of this issue—to introduce new and unsuspecting readers into a world they might not have thought existed. It‘s easy to fall in love with Scarlett VS, at least for me who always loves the dark sides of my favorite childhood stories and fairytales. So, if you’re planning on picking this one up, give its predecessor a try. You might find yourself sucked into quite the rabbit hole.
Do you like dark and twisted turns and takes of all your favorite fairytale classics? Perhaps give Scarlett VS a try and see all of that come to life before your eyes. You can find more on how to get a hold of it over on its Instagram page! Don’t forget to let us know your thoughts over on Twitter or Instagram!
