After the Internet was created, April Fools’ Day became the worst holiday of them all. You can’t trust anything you read on that day and with some small exceptions, the jokes and pranks are pretty lame. Grimm Tales of Terror jumps into the “fun” with this special one-shot issue filled with gags. In reality, it’s just artwork from three previously published tales with new dialogue and one or two new images.

This is a fun idea, but not one that can carry an entire oversized issue. This is something you do when you have a few extra pages to fill and want to throw in a couple of jokes. It gets tired real fast, especially since a chunk of the gags are either outdated or just fall flat. This is especially true for the last story, retitled “Sexcalation”, where a bestiality joke is run into the ground and then pushed clear through to the other side of the planet. It wasn’t funny the first time and it still isn’t funny after a dozen more references.

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The other two tales imagine Donald Trump as a monster under the bed and Kim Kardashian as Bloody Mary out to steal people’s butts. They’re one-note jokes that might get a smile, but not much else.

Since the artwork comes from previous issues of Grimm Tales of Terror, the writers had to explain certain panels that are now taken completely out of context. It’s interesting – and a little unsettling – how easy it is to reframe a story of violence as pleasure or vice versa. Was she screaming in pain or ecstasy?

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Each tale ends with a new full-page spread that is supposed to serve as the punchline. This is the only new artwork in the book and it shows, as it doesn’t match up to the style of any of the previous stories. It’s out of place.

I wasn’t expecting a laugh riot from this April Fools’ Day comic, but I also wasn’t expecting a rehash of previous comics. It’s described as a Mystery Science Theater 3000 take on them, but that’s a poor comparison. It’s more like your old uncle making sad, outdated references while watching re-runs on TV.