Panel 1: In
the title panel of this Sunday-style colour comic, we are in a
fairy-tale forest. Marie, wearing a poofy pink princess dress, is at
the pretty outskirts of the forest, surrounded by flowers, butterflies,
and tweeting birds. Barbara, dressed in rags and holding a bloody
sword, is farther in, in a more tangled bit. Casey, in his green
jacket, is standing surrounded by fire. He is smirking and holding what
looks like a contract signed in blood. The words "West of Bathurst by
Kari Maaren" start out in pink cursive and eventually turn red and
spiky.
Panel 2: Marie,
Barbara, and Casey are sitting on the floor in Barbara's apartment,
playing a board game. Casey has found some books on the floor.
Casey: Fairy tales?
Barbara: I'm teaching a class on them right now.
Marie: Bleah.
Panel 3:
Casey: "Bleah"?
Marie: Not a Disney fan.
Barbara: Who said anything about Disney?
Panel 4:
Barbara:
Real fairy tales are about murdering bastards who leave trails of
bodies behind them as they plunder their way through the countryside.
Panel 5:
Marie: Those are the villains?
Barbara: Those are the heroes.
Marie: But...good versus evil?
Barbara: In these stories? Nah. All the monsters double as otherworldly helper figures.
Panel 6:
Casey: You have no idea how much fun it is to be an otherworldly helper figure.
Panel 7:
Casey: ...In one's imagination.
Marie [to Barbara]: At least Disney doesn't creep me the hell out.
Alt-Text: Well,
come on...you DON'T have any idea how much fun it is to be an
otherworldly helper figure. And, you know, a monster. It's kind of
liberating.
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