Thursday, August 27, 2015

My Storybook Favorites: Past Projects

The first project that I looked at was Tragically Ever After.  I always love the idea of the twists that happen in or after the Disney fairy tales that we were told growing up, so this storybook is perfect.  In a way, it reminds me of Into the Woods, although I’ll admit that I fast-forwarded through most of that movie. (I don’t really like musicals. I think it’s really annoying when people are singing something that they could just say).  I love the dark and dismal design of the webpage itself, as it fits so well with the topics of the stories. I think that it is great that the author didn’t just make the couples grow to hate each other, but also made them lose their loves to sickness and disease, which was very common in the time that the fairy tales were originally set. 

The next project that I found was Queen of the Underworld: Tales of Persephone.  I am drawn to this storybook by my fascination with Greek mythology.  With this storybook in particular, I love the idea of the myth being told in a different light.  Personally, I like the variations where Persephone loves the Underworld and Hades and resents her mother for forcing her away from her love for half the year.  It’s what I thought this project would be about based on by the introduction, but I was pleasantly surprised.  I like the diary style of the first post, and the way that it evolves from how she came to be in the Underworld to how she became part of the Underworld in many ways, relishing in her power and abilities. 

The final project that I found was When Brothers Cross Paths.  I love Supernatural, so this idea is absolutely amazing.  I love the idea of combining the Winchesters with the Brothers Grimm.  I like the way the storybook is presented, with each post being a continuation of the story that the author was creating.  I also love the idea that the Winchesters know even more about monsters than the Grimm brothers, even though the Grimms are kind of the original hunters.  Bringing the Grimms to the modern times so that they could meet the Winchesters is brilliant, although I wish that more background would have been given about them and how or why they are in modern times.  Beyond that, I think everything about this storybook was brilliant, from the layout to the topic to the design.  Absolutely brilliant!

Each of these storybooks are uniquely fascinating, but they all have a common idea: taking a past tale or myth and giving it a new twist: the Grimms in modern times; Persephone not hating the Underworld; and the princes and princesses not living happily ever after.  I applaud the authors for their ingenuity and artistic talent!!!

This picture from Tragically Ever After seems appropriate for all of the Storybooks, as they all have a bit of a dark theme to them.  Even the tale of Persephone has a dark cast, due to her life in Hades.  

Gloomy Forest (Wikimedia Commons)

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