Issue(s): Spider-Woman #3
Cover Date: Jun 78
Title: "The peril of-- Brother Grimm"
Credits:
Marv Wolfman - Writer
Carmine Infantino - Penciler
Tony DeZuniga - Inker

Review/plot:
A psychotic man in a skull mask named Brother Grimm attacks a theater performance of Hansel and Gretel.

He murders all the actors and a policeman, and then opts to not to take the audience's money and jewelry after all.

He then teleports off and shows up in the bedroom of Congresman James T. Wyatt. Except now he's talking like a common criminal, and not a lunatic. In fact, the Congressman comes off looking like a nut. He sleeps with a gun and keeps wads of counterfeit money in a bank vault.

Meanwhile, Jessica Drew and Magnus come to town (L.A., supposedly, although it looks much more rural).

They rent a pair of rooms from a Mrs. Dolly. Then Magnus drops the bomb on Jessica: he said he would help her find her father, but in fact her father is dead. Not exactly the start of a great relationship. He takes her to his grave.

It turns out that he worked at a company called Pyro-technics, and was murdered. One of Mrs. Dolly's two sons currently works at Pyro-technics. Drew also finds that Wyatt was somehow involved with Pyro-technics as well. She goes to his office...

...and Brother Grimm shows up as well. Spider-Woman attacks and defeats him, but the Congressman is still hostile to her. On her way home, while Grimm is still being held by the police, she is attacked by another Brother Grimm - the psychotic one - who warns her to leave them alone before running away.

I like Infantino's art on this issue. It's a little more suited to romance type comics than action adventure, but it's a nice style. It may be that DeZuniga is a good inker for him.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 2 - first Brothers Grimm

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References: N/A

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

The Brothers Grimm have an appealing visual, and the initial hook that there are two of them, but the hero doesn't know it is rather interesting. Their personalities are varied enough that the reader can distinguish them. They are also very appropriate for a heroine called "the dark angel of the night". When Gruenwald jettisoned much of Wolfman's work on Spiderwoman, getting rid of the Grimms was a mistake.

I wonder how many archive visitors will come along with the new costume design via the game and comics? Funny...a lot of us discovered Jessica via the cartoon... Sometimes an alternative media take can relaunch a character in a big way.

that lettering is weird for a Marvel comic. I'm serious, look closely it looks like a Charlton Comic

I'm with Chris. The original Brothers Grimm were pretty cool. I defend Gruenwald for a lot, but getting rid of them was a mistake. Well, actually, probably only heightened more by the subsequent Brothers Grimm being pretty flat-out bad - especially compared to the originals. They lack any of the intrigue and ingenuity of the originals and instead got given a claws-against-chalkboard rhyming speaking pattern. At least the design still looked good.