With Damsels #2 the plot for the first story arc begins to become apparent. Apparently, it’s conceived as a cross between Memento and the first Shrek movie. Incidentally, what’s with the literary trend of prejudice against magical and fairytale creatures? Not only was it the plot in Shrek, it is also the basis of an ABC show. (And perhaps of Fables? I still haven’t read it although it is on my ComoXology wishlist) Still, that’s not an automatic demerit against Damsels, after all an archetypal story told well is still a story told well.
Our main character has memory issues and, therefore, has tattooed herself in an attempt to remember some important facts a la Memento’s main character. As The Little Mermaid attempts to jog her memory, we see that Rapunzel’s husband declares that all the non-humans are to be rounded up.
On the one hand the book, or at least this arc, could serve as an allegory about the crowd vs the other. You could see the proclamation as similar to The Holocaust and other ethnic cleansing episodes in human history. It all depends on how the author handles it and whether they focus on the plight of the fantastical creatures or just use it as a backdrop of how evil the villain is and why they're after the main character. It's too early to tell, but it could end up being a pretty awesome book if they do decide to focus on that as it would provide a nice, unique perspective on something we've seen before.
I think that by the end of this issue it’s pretty clear who the villain is (or villains are). So unless the book has a surprise up its sleeve, it appears that the focus of the book is going to be how the main character and the mermaid fight these forces of evil. It could be interesting if they end up teaming up with some more fables/fairy tales.
Right now I'm pretty on the fence about the this book. It could go either way. The story has a lot of promise, but I'm hoping it will start paying off in the next issue.
