The fairytale that we know and love takes a bit of a twist in Boom! Studios’ “Briar.” Sleeping Beauty becomes a bit more grim when Briar Rose isn’t awoken by true love’s kiss. From writer Christopher Cantwell, artist German Garcia, colorist Matheus Lopes, and letterer AndWorld Design, the premier issue of Briar is already slated for a second printing. The limited new series is a four issue tale of the story we no longer know.
The story begins as we would expect. Briar Rose lives in a beautiful castle with her family and godmothers. She is to stay away from anything sharp, but she can’t help herself and pricks her finger on the spindle of the spinning wheel. She falls into a deep sleep until a valiant prince comes to her rescue. Here’s where the story takes a pretty drastic turn.
The prince decides that rather than dealing with a princess who’s awake; he should just marry her in her current comatose state. (I told you this was a grim story right?) The kingdom eventually falls to ruin, and Briar Rose still lies asleep. It has now been 100 years, when someone comes along that can wake her up. Who is this mystery person? Briar Rose doesn’t see anyone when she wakes up, but she soon realizes that this world is not the world she remembers.
Without her kingdom, family, and godmothers, where will she go? No one cares that she’s the princess of what used to be Thistlehaven. The only person who seems to care about Briar is a man terrified of what it means that she is awake. He seems to think that she is now capable of destroying the world. This person or creature kills himself after confronting Briar. Briar leaves with her new companion, but now what?
I’ve been a fan of retellings of fairy tales, and Briar so far is a wild adventure that I can’t wait to continue. This comic series is sure to be dark and full of unexpected turns. But I’m still wondering who it was that woke Briar from her hundred year slumber. If you want to get your hands on this book, check your local comic shops now. Briar #1 was released on September 28th, with a second printing of the first issue slated for October 5th.
That sounds like an interesting take on the Sleeping Beauty story. I’m definitely interested in reading it now.