Abiding Perdition: Volume 1    by Nick Schley & Pedro Delgado Order:  USA  Can Markosia, 2006 (2006) Softcover     Reviewed by Lance Victor Eaton It seems that Little Red Riding Hood has witnessed a mini-revival in the last year or so. First there was the CGI animated film, Hoodwinked and now, new graphic novels featuring the young cloaked lady. In Abiding Perdition, Little Red has blossomed into a beautiful and skilled young woman at the hands of Bjor, a Viking-like character who saved Red when her home was attacked years ago. But Red has grown up and needs answers, and revenge upon the wolves who ravaged her childhood home. She sets out with Bjor to return to her homeland, fighting numerous obstacles and creatures that stand in her way. En route, she will discover a great deal about herself and her family, including what happened to her grandmother. Though revealing the ability to be a colorful cornucopia to the eyes, the art sticks mainly to dark colors and grays which serve to bring stark contrast with Red's brilliant cloak and fair skin. The action and dialogue are evenly and effectively dispersed but hyper-masculinity and hyper-femininity are used throughout, so that rather than a realistic warrior woman, Red is constructed as an hour-glassed figure complete with bulging cleavage and curvaceous hips. The men also hint at wild sexuality. This isn't necessarily a bad thing but part of the reason the fantasy genre is forever held as less-than-mainstream is because there is such a strong tendency to slip into erotic fantasy by emphasizing such attributes. That's not to say that Schely and Delgado overdo it, but the presence of such excessive attributes are noticeable. Otherwise, they provide a pretty decent twist on the Red Riding Hood story, expanding it to epic proportion. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Fantasy books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews