Final Recent Fairy Tale Reimagining Awesome

Previously: Rapunzel offended Mother Gothel and got locked away in a giant tree prison when she found her birth mother!

Also: Met a strange guy named Jack with a lucky bean and a goose he's waiting to lay an egg!

And then: She and Jack had wild adventures on their way to rescue Rapunzel's mommy, saving the day for several folks downtrodden due to Mother Gothel's stranglehold on growth magic!

Also, she fought a "sea" serpent in a lake, and got a pickaxe named Inga that got talked up as capable of breaking "the unbreakable." Yes, this is important.

So sit back, relax, and get ready for the last chapter of Rapunzel's Revenge, "The Shindig."

They are currently traveling through the "Devil's Armpit," an even more desolate place near Gothel's Reach than any we've seen so far. How do we know it's even more desolate?

Graves everywhere.

These other living souls are traveling actors, "Madame Minerva's Wandering Thespians." They're not really characters, merely a plot device. However, they do give a couple of amusing moments.

They're interrupted.

She's getting better at this. Quite enjoyable to see.

Of course, some people interpret things differently . . .

Oh, and there's a "shindig," as they say, at Mother Gothel's, where the rich potentates of the local villages show up and kiss up to Gothel, lying about how much they enjoy being crushed under her heel. Jack dismisses it as "typical rich-folk fanfare."

See?

Rapunzel figures, with the actor's help, they'll never have a better chance, so they get the actors to agree to help, and then head off to find Rapunzel's mother. Along the way, she and Jack chat.

As they're sneaking around, looking for her mom, she sees a familiar face.

However--

When Mason leaves, Jack and Rapunzel conspire a bit.

Jack in a dress wouldn't be all that distracting, Rapunzel. What if you wore the dress, though?

Yeah, I'd say distraction achieved.

They manage to get through Gothel's Villa's gate with ease.

They mingle, dance a little--Jack's danced before, but Rapunzel never has--and as Gothel is introduced to the gathered throng, decide that now would be a good time for that distraction.

But what could it be?

Oh come on, what else could it be. Fairy tales, special beans, growth magic--

Again, the art of this comic is truly something.

Eventually, Rapunzel finds her mother.

I love this comic, I love this comic. So. Much.

Rapunzel uses her long hair to lower her mother down to the courtyard below, where her friend Jack, she says, is waiting. Mother doesn't want Rapunzel to put herself in danger, she couldn't stand losing her again, but Rapunzel reassures her and heads off to confront Gothel.

She scoots down and uses her hair lariat to pull one of the columns down, widening the hole near Brute. When he falls down, she gets the drop on him and tries to use her hair as a garrote to knock him out. Brute's just too strong, through, and Rapunzel learns the hard way the disadvantage to having your main weapon attached to your head.

That could not have felt any kind of good.

Brute carries her to Gothel, who twists the knife.

Jack arrives just in time to see her hair get cut, and Brute grabs him, too. Not sure what he was hoping to accomplish, there . . .

Gothel tells Brute to take them to her study, she'll deal with them there. Classic supervillainy, really.

Gothel says she's glad, because Rapunzel is exactly as she'd hoped she'd be, strong and ready to take over Gothel's empire. Rapunzel tries to negotiate Jack's release, but it angers Gothel that she still cares "about the lives of peasants." Gothel orders Brute to kill Jack.

Jack, in desperation, tries to fast-talk. His Chutzpah is high, so he has a chance.

Gothel, angry at all this defiance everywhere, starts casting a spell. "Grew grow growl grot, spin spell spool spot."

Things look . . . Grimm (ouch, I'm sorry. I couldn't stop myself, somethings are unforgivable either way).

If you want to stop the water, plug up the spigot!

See? I told you it was important.

Just because her magicking days might be over doesn't mean she can't still be dangerous, though!

See?

Fortunately Jack's on the ball, and jumps up and pushes Gothel into the tree.

And when I say "into the tree" I mean it.

That . . . . is pretty definitive. Jack calls it appropriate, and I'll agree.

There's still several pages of clean-up. But first, more art.

Also, joke references to the original fairy tale. You see, for Jack and Rapunzel to view the above vista, this happens:

There's also Rapunzel reminiscing with her mother (and learning that her real name is Anne).

And then Rapunzel decides she's gotta go return all their stolen property--hopeful that she gets to keep her horse, though. She's gotten attached to him. She named him Roger.

And just as the comic is about to end, the fairy tale nature of the story asserts itself. You see, there's one last thing Jack has been dying to steal.

That's not the last panel I was expecting, comic, but I'll accept it.

Well, I went ahead and showed the ending. I didn't mean to when I started, but this comic is so good, I couldn't stop myself. Rapunzel's Revenge is available at Amazon or probably your own bookstore website. The comic also had a sequel, Calamity Jack, but I've never had a chance to read it (no job cramps my comic buying), so I don't know if it's good or not. It's by the same people, so if you enjoyed this, you should enjoy that, too.

Aaron "The Mad Whitaker" Bourque; if I had read it, I'd know what to do for next week's update.