The Disney princesses may be on all the merchendise, but with the advent of the anti-hero or anti-villain, Disney villains have been having their own rennisance where they get to tell their tragic backstories. Some mroe successfully than others. But who can blame people for wanting more as not only do they try to steal the heroes’ souls but they steal the movie with their comedic antics and showstopping solos.

Dynamite Comics gives more of what everyone wants by delivering prequels and sequels of some icon villains starting with the Mistress of Evil.

Maleficent’s five part arc takes place long before the events of Sleeping Beauty. Though there is no date, it’s clear that Maleficent has been a thorn in the sides of many kingdoms. Although, in this case, the prince kinda deserved it. Prince Hubert, the spare, and runaway of royal duties tries to find an adventure and gets a big one when he asks Maleficent for a gift only to try to double-back and take her scepter.

Like an idiot.

Predictably, when the prince’s older brother turns up to rescue him, Maleficent unleashes all her powers of hell. Honestly, if you’re looking for new insights or backstory of the fairy, you should stick to the movie as this was more of a filler tale that serves to highlight Soo Lee’s artistic work that add anything to Maleficent. Especially the final issue where she has a battle with a wizard/fairy/it was very unclear. The art was crisp with dark palette mimicking Maleficent’s aesthetic but not much in substance.

Scar may have gotten the short thrift as he only got 4 issues instead of the five like the other villains in the line-up but Brown handily explores how Scar amassed his hyena companions, earning their loyalty, and the resentments that coloured his life as being the second born to Mufasa and then lowered on the totem pole thanks to SImba’s birth.

Brown is clever in using flashbacks and dreamscapes (thanks to Rafiki’s work) that illustrate to Scar what could happen if he chooses the dark path but Scar so consumed with entitled greed, forges ahead anyway. Plus it has some excellent forshadowing of Scar’s backstabbing, shoving-off-a-cliff tendencies towards his enemies.

I particularly appreciate how focuses on Scar’s more cowardly traits. A big reason he is not the king of Pride Rock is beause he is not physically capable. Therefore, he plays it smart by getting others to do his dirty work. Which makes other lionesses view him with disdain but he sees his cunning as another reason he is superior. I particularly liked the angle explored in the third issue where several lionesses resent that they aren’t part of Mufasa’s main squad of huntresses which Scar is quick to try to capitalize.

He fails because he cannot concieve of the idea of loyalty and that not everyone is looking for power above all else like he does. But I wished they did lean into it more because Scar did have supporters when he took over Pride Rock, like I said he’s physically weak, he couldn’t rely on the hyenas to subdue all of them. Plus I’m a fan of Lion King 2, one of the few great Disney sequels, and I wished we got to see Zira.

But overall, it is a great comic not only in exploring Scar but also the Pride Lands and the circle of life as we get to meet the zebras, the vultures, the wildebeests, and thus get a better sense of how impactful Scar’s rule in throwing the cycle out of balance. It is not just that Scar is physically unfit to be king and has no moral conuptions, but because he has no understanding of balance. He revels in power and destruction, focusing on himself above others when Mufasa knows that everyone in the Circle of Life touches each other like the ecosystem it is.

Additionally, I enjoyed Fraley’s work with its bright palette, full color lines and his animal design. Animal anatomy is hard so it’s always impressive to see how Fraley makes them so dynamic.

5 hyena carcasses

It’s heist time baby!

After getting out of the river of souls, Hades is back on his plans for world domination. I mean c’mon, he’s a god with too much time on his hands and revenge in his heart. Unfortunately, the whole releasing the Titans thing has made him clearly a bad guy that won’t even be invited to brunch on Mount Olympus (even the sewer goddess was invited, the sewer goddess!) so he has to assemble a rag-tag group of gullible peons to do his bidding.

Get the Golden Fleece that has the power of transformation and wishes.

Well originally he just wanted Medusa but she’s just as sneaky and distrustful as he is and with her stony gaze, he didn’t want to get on her bad side.

So he recruits Arachne, a spider with a human head after a run-in with Athena. As one can imagine she’s desperate to get her human body back so she’s in.

Orpheus whose talent on the lyre is debatle and with lyrics is awful, but he misses his dead love Eurydice and is willing to help in exchange for Hades’ favor. Or to get with Arachne, whatever comes first, he isn’t too picky.

Icarus. he flew too close to the sun and now he’s desperate to prove to his father that he isn’t a clown. Also he’s a speed flyer rip-off of Vin Diesel because racing is “like family” and I find him hilarious whenever he’s on the page.

Actually they’re all hilarious because they are incompetent and Hades is hating every minute he has to be with them before he can double-cross them all.

But wait, there’s also the brawn of the team-the Minotaur! And their rival, the original frat bro-JASON OF ICOLOS WHO DOES ALL THE DARES in all caps ALL THE TIME.

This comic is just a rollicking good time. Elliot perfectly translates the vibe of the movie to the comics, sprinkling plenty of anachronistic references, and humor, satirizing the heist plot with the realities of Hades’ fast-talking salesmen schtick and hot temper. I can literally hear Hades’ voice the whole time. Plus all the characters are such. . . characters to say the least that you can’t help but roll along with the chaos. There is so much chaos I’m surprised Eris didn’t make an appearence.

But there is some surprise amount of character development. Or not so much character development but potential for romance only to quickly revert back to the status quo as Hades sums up that being good is not a long-term reward for him when he could have a real reward by being king of the gods. And so it begins again.

Also got to give a shout-out to Ranaldi whose designs echo the movie’s greco-roman inspiration that bounce off the page like lightning strikes, adding to the chaos.

Honestly, I’m tempted to show all of the out of context quotes but it’s best that you all discover it yourself.

5 golden fleeces.

Taking place after the events of the movie, Cruella is desperately trying to regain her former status on the fashion elite but after you’ve been outed as a puppy skinner, no one is buying her new donations to shelters. Not when there are reporters sneaking around to get pictures of her kicking a dog when she thinks she’s alone.

Basically she has to do community service to get attention again, and sell her precious wardrobe and she’s in hell.

You’re almost tempted to feel sorry for her but as the narrator reminds us, she’s deserves everything that’s coming to her because she may be miserable but she has no remorse and she hasn’t truly changed.

Only two issues have come out so who knows where this arc will be going as Cruella is being prepositioned by a supposed fan. I have a theory that the fan is secretly part of PETA (or whatever England had for PETA in the 1920s) trying to infiltrate her way into Cruella’s life to convict her of more crimes but we shall see.

Sweeny Boo’s art treads the line between symptious fashions and the dreary black and white gloom of foggy London, highlighting the disparity between who Cruella envisions herself to be and the shoddy illusion that peeks out from under her wilting fur coats.