Snow, Glass, Apples

We’re all familiar with some version of the story of “Snow White.”  A young princess is sent away to be murdered at the behest of her wicked stepmother, only to escape her fate, hang out with some dwarves for a while, eat an apple poisoned by said stepmother, fall into a deep sleep as a result, and then be woken by the kiss of a passing prince.  It’s a pretty familiar and straightforward sequence of events, right? Well, what Neil Gaiman decided to do was think about how you could keep these same elements and tell a story where the “wicked” stepmother was completely justified in her actions.

The woman was originally a girl who knew some magic in the countryside who caught the eye of a passing king.  They were both taken with each other and the king brought her back to his castle where he lived with his retinue and sole daughter.  While things are good for a while, it isn’t until the woman finally meets the daughter that she finds out what she truly is. From there, it becomes a story of a woman recognizing the horror that has crept into her life and trying to find some way to deal with it.  Of course, if you remember the original story then you’ll realize these efforts are half-measures at best.

Gaiman’s a terrific writer and this story reads as good as I’d expect from him.  It’s also one of the better additions to his growing library at Dark Horse, and the second such addition from adapter/artist Colleen Doran who also did “Troll Bridge.”  She tells the story in incredibly detailed splash pages that tell the story through montage. It may be a little hard to parse the narrative through them, but it’s something which gets easier the further you get into the story.  Which is something that you will feel compelled to do as the awfulness inherent in this tale makes itself manifest in ways that will compel you to see how it all ends.