Grimm Fairy Tales Presents: Sleepy Hollow by Dan Wickline (Grimm Fairy Tales Presents)

6/10

A legend is about to become all-too real! When a prank goes deadly wrong, those responsible will learn the truth behind the legend as the Headless Horseman returns to exact a horrifying vengeance none will never forget! From the writer of Salem's Daughter: The Haunting comes a tale of horror and terror that will leave you on the edge of your seats. Hold on to your hats... and your head!

This is another one shot collection from Zenescope which focuses this time on the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The story is set in Tarrytown, NY which is the same place as the legend. The main character Craig is a history major who is asked to tutor a basketball player for a forthcoming exam. The player asks him to give him the answers to the exam and Craig, being a good and honest student, says no. This leads to echoes of the original story and also ties into the main Grimm Fairy Tales universe with Sela Mathers posing as a teacher of Mythology and Folklore at the university.

The story revolves after this with the death of Craig, whether it is an accident or not it’s up to you to discover, but this allows us to compare the legend to the current story and whether this has awakened The Hessian. Another version of the Legend can be found in the story of Ichabod Crane (see the film Sleepy Hollow for another version).
This graphic novel gives a slightly more historical version for the headless horseman, who was betrayed by people he believed to be his friends, where his downfall was caused by jealousy over a woman. The graphic novel focuses on the classic motives of betrayal, grief and retribution.

As this is a graphic novel, I found that the standard of the artwork was not consistent throughout. There is a lack of detail on minor characters leading to some confusion in murkier sections. Although if you enjoy pictures of inventive decapitations this may be the graphic novel for you.

I found that the story presented is an interesting parallel to the legend of Sleepy Hollow and with the inclusion of Sela Mathers it can also be seen as vaguely Meta as she seems to be a nexus of worlds.