The aspect of anti-heroes struggling against their powers is nothing new but the aspect of approaches to redemption can always different according to states of being. Like the upcoming “Dark Phoenix”, Jasmine in “Jasmine: Crown Of Kings” [Howard Mackie/Xenoscope/146pgs] doesn’t seem to have a full conception of her powers. However she is wracked by a sense of memory loss. She sees past pieces of her life as an immortal “jinn”, a form of genie who casts death and destruction in ancient times at the bidding of their masters. They were former slaves who now are free of those chains and want to find power on their own. The journey from slave to jinn is actually the more interesting story. The story in this volume of events is all about struggle for power but not necessarily the reason to shy away from it. The story does play on the popularity of “Game Of Thrones” while mixing in the coming of “Aladdin”. The issue is that the actual progression of the story is not deep enough with stakes to connect to make it feel meaningful. The dialogue is alright but sometimes overwrought with too much attention placed on story details in the words and not as much in simple imagery which in this form tends to work better. Also the establishment on Arcane Acre is not formed enough to give a true perception of its purpose (like say with “X-Men”). The cornerstone of the story is a battle between two would be sisters who were brought together out of threat instead of by need. The disconnection is ultimately what undoes the story because even with her betrayer Ali. Jasmine’s truth just doesn’t seem as inspired as it could be. D

By Tim Wassberg

The cute use of famous quotes from the Disney movie do nothing to enhance this revitalization of Jasmine and Ali of the Forty Thieves. All they did for me was remind me that the story I was reading was not much better than Disney’s interpretation.
I really don’t understand why it is so difficult to actually take Arabian lore/myth and twist it into something less ridiculous. The original stories themselves are very good. Sadly Zenescope concentrated too much on Jasmine being a ‘kickass heroine’ (which is their trademark) and less on her having actual feelings and personality.
It’s clear there is a larger story to be told here; but I doubt Zenescope will be able to capture the success they had with Wonderland on this Arabian Nights take.

Thank you, Zenescope, for providing me a free copy of this comic via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ali is after an artifact of power. Jasmine knows where to find the pieces. Can they work together, and more, what secrets are each of them hiding?

I really, really like Zenescope comics. I was really happy to see that this particular tale first, actually had a storyline that made sense from start to finish and second, didn’t have characters that were overly sexualized or murderous. Somehow, I didn’t realize it was a Jasmine/Aladdin story for a bit – yeah, not sure how I missed that one, given they re-do fairy tales! – but they handle the basics of the story well and have a few neat easter eggs for readers along the way. Overall, I really liked the story. The art is, as is usual for Zenescope, fantastic. I love the bright colors and the detail put into every page. The twists on the story, Jasmine is a jinn in this particular tale, among other changes, are well done. It was a nice surprise also that there wasn’t a romantic plot to the story, though if I’d gone into the book expecting one I probably would have felt let down. The story is set in contemporary times, but honestly, I had to remind myself of that along the way, as the various elements that Jasmine and Ali were searching for and the foes they battled were more ancient and timeless. In the end, I really liked the story. I’d definitely recommend it for Zenescope fans, and for those who like (non-romantic) twists on fairy tales. I really hope to see more of Jasmine’s adventures in the future!

This was neither good nor bad just alright. I enjoy the illustrations but the story itself just wasn’t for me. It had a good premise but the execution didn’t stick the landing. It's possibly my own hopes and expectations are to blame.

Thanks to Diamond Book Distributors for an advanced copy

I was interested in reading this book, since there has been a renewal in interest in Aladdin with the new movie. However, this graphic novel didn’t work for me.

Jasmine is a tough character in this story. She used to have magic, but now she is trying to stop Aladdin from stealing pieces of a crown. She ends up helping him when he can’t figure out what to do. She was a more powerful character than in the original story, because she has her own magic and fighting skills.

I didn’t like the illustrations in this book. The colors were dark, but that may have been just the e-ARC I was reading. The costumes could have been better. Jasmine was wearing revealing outfits, which didn’t match with her new active role. The book could have been much better if the illustrations were better.

Thank you Diamond Book Distributors for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A superhero treatment of the Arabic myths of Aladdin and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves ala the Grimm Universe. Jasmine used to be djinn and now must stop some crown from being assembled or a Scorpion King knockoff will return. Ali Baba and an endless supply of forty thieves cannon fodder also appear. After reading this, I can't believe how much I enjoyed Mackie's Ghost Rider run in the 90's. This is some terrible writing.

This was a very entertaining book and I very much enjoyed it. I loved the art style and I was very happy that Jasmine wasn't wearing a glorified bikini or some other nonsense. She was a fantastic, badass lady who kicked butt throughout the book. I really liked this take on the classic Arabian Nights story. Having Jasmine be a jinn instead of the princess was a nice change of pace from other adaptations of that story. I'm excited to see more of this and I hope there will be more volumes to check out soon. Overall, I would highly recommend this to fans of fantasy comics and if you're a fan of Arabian Nights or the Aladdin movie definitely try it out!

This book has good art and cool ideas. Unfortunately, the execution strongly lacks. I just don't understand why they explain and explicitly tell EVERYTHING on-panel. Jasmine tells about her past as a jinn, villains spend most of the time on internal monologues. Timelines don't gel. Things remain unclear.

In short - solid art, poor storytelling.

ARC through NetGalley.

Great artwork with bright colouring! This is an exciting story with well developed characters. This is definitely a series to follow.

2.5 stars rounded up. Jasmine Crown of Kings features a new twist on the story of Princess Jasmine. Jasmine stole the wrong thing and was cursed to be a Jinn. Finally human once again, Jasmine seeks redemption for the many atrocities she committed. A short team up with Ali Baba and the forty thieves prove there is no honor among thieves as Jasmin must battle the thieves and her former Jinn sister to stop a great evil from returning to the world. The story falls flat in some places and is definitely nothing to write home about but the art plays out pretty nicely. The story is just okay but I would not read more along the same lines. My voluntary unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

Hello, I'm Jasmine. I'm a C-list – at best – warrior woman and I'm going to talk at you and talk at you until you begin to think I'm an important character, and then I'm going to go on a stupid adventure for bits of a crown that have elemental connections, along with Ali Baba, who will talk at you and talk at you instead of proving he's a master thief, and oh god this is shite. The artwork is actually quite good, as far as people whooshing coloured magic nonsense from their outstretched palms goes, but the writing is primary school. And when the editor told me to wait for issue three for more on the bloody woman's past, that was it for me. You've given me a prelude to pretend this is a Woman of Importance, she's yacked to herself and made reference to herself yacking to herself because that would be ooh, clever and meta, and I still don't give a flying carpet's crap about her past. I fail to remember a Grimm Universe comic that was any good, but this is the worst. Surely.