I bet most of us grew up watching the classic animated fairy tales. Movies like The Little Mermaid and Snow White were staples of my childhood, but I definitely didn’t imagine the characters looking quite like this. At least, not until I was a bit older.
If you’re a fan of comic book art, you already know the legendary J. Scott Campbell. He’s the artist who took those classic characters and gave them a stunning, grown-up makeover in his “Fairy Tale Fantasies” series.
The 2012 calendar was a standout piece from this collection. It brought together Campbell’s dynamic art with the brilliant colors of Nei Ruffino to create something truly unforgettable. Let’s just say they either ruined or enhanced my childhood memories, and I’m leaning toward enhanced. Damn you, Scott!
Key Takeaways
J. Scott Campbell’s Rise: Comic legend known for co-creating Gen¹³, Danger Girl, and iconic Marvel covers like Spider-Man with Mary Jane and Black Cat, blending American animation and manga styles.
Fairy Tale Fantasies Series: Reimagines classic fairy tale heroines (e.g., Ariel, Cinderella, Alice) in a stunning, grown-up style.
2012 Calendar Highlight: Second installment featuring monthly illustrations colored vibrantly by Nei Ruffino; now a rare collector’s item.
Artistic Collaboration: Ruffino’s lush colors from DC/Marvel/Aspen elevated Campbell’s dynamic lines for unforgettable visuals.
Ongoing Legacy: Continues with 2025 Marvel “Just Spectacular” covers, Sideshow statues; prints available on his site, calendars on resale markets.
Table of Contents
First, Who is J. Scott Campbell?
For the uninitiated, J. Scott Campbell is an absolute giant in the comic book world. He burst onto the scene in the mid-90s with his work for Wildstorm Comics, which was founded by the iconic Jim Lee. It was here that he co-created the superpowered teen group in the series Gen¹³.
His style is instantly recognizable. It’s a fantastic blend of American animation and Japanese manga influences, with dynamic poses and clean, sharp lines. He really made a name for himself with his creator-owned series, Danger Girl, which followed a team of female secret agents and perfectly showcased his talent for drawing dramatic action sequences.
Since then, he has become one of the most sought-after cover artists, especially for Marvel Comics. His work on titles like The Amazing Spider-Man, particularly his depictions of Mary Jane and Black Cat, are fan favorites and highly collectible.
The 2012 Fairy Tale Fantasies Calendar: A Closer Look
The 2012 “Fairy Tale Fantasies” calendar wasn’t just a collection of pictures; it was an event for fans. Each month featured a brand-new illustration of an iconic character, reimagined in Campbell’s signature style. This was actually his second calendar in the series, and its popularity solidified it as a fan-favorite project.
A huge part of the calendar’s appeal was the coloring by Nei Ruffino. An incredible artist in her own right, Ruffino has worked with major publishers like DC, Marvel, and Aspen. Her lush and vibrant color work brought Campbell’s lines to life, making each piece pop off the page.
The lineup for the 2012 calendar was a perfect mix of classic and beloved characters. If you ever wondered who made the cut, here are some of the heroines featured:
- Ariel from The Little Mermaid
- Cinderella
- Alice in Wonderland (and the Queen of Hearts)
- Wendy from Peter Pan
- Thumbelina
The Legacy of Fairy Tale Fantasies and Campbell’s Current Work
While the 2012 calendar is now a sought-after collector’s item, Campbell’s work is more accessible than ever. He continues to be a dominant force in the world of variant covers. In fact, Marvel Comics recently commissioned him for a massive “Just Spectacular Collection” in August 2025, featuring 28 different covers across their titles.
His “Fairy Tale Fantasies” theme has also lived on. Campbell has collaborated with high-end collectible companies like Sideshow Inc. to turn his iconic designs into exquisite statues, bringing characters like Alice in Wonderland and Tinkerbell to life in three dimensions.
And there you have it. Whether you were there for the original calendar or are just discovering his art now, J. Scott Campbell’s work remains as awesome as ever.
You can find more of J. Scott Campbell’s amazing work and purchase signed prints at his official website. While the original 2012 calendar is long sold out, you can sometimes find a copy on Amazon or eBay, but be prepared to pay a collector’s price. It’s a small price to pay to have these fine ladies gracing your home.
what no sexy ursula?
I know, right? Maybe he’ll illustrate that for the next calendar.
I’m guessing he figured Ursula was sexy enough as-is :p
Hello,Chad! Thanks a lot for sharing so eye-catching fanciful Digital Handicrafts.
You’re very welcome, glad I could… help?
it’s fun, and not to be critical, but it would be more fun if it was’t essentially the same woman with almost the same expression in every picture. Horray costume changes! But seriously, I can’t even paint…
I fail to see where this makes them “all grown up”.. Kinda seems like they just got sluttier.
You know, you’re right. Perhaps “Fantasy Characters That Lost Their Innocence” would have been better.
Right. Grown up.
All “porned-up”, not grown up. Sad…
Irvs neglecting to mention that he scrolled ever sp slowly to the comment section to get really REALLY sad. Nice work Chad, you’ve got some serious skills don’t listen to the haters.
mind blowing and sexy art 😛
They all have the exact same face and body, just the outfits and poses are different…doesn’t seem all that creative to me.
i’d tap that….
Speaking as a straight guy… These sort of gross me out more than turn me on. Their ribcages stick out and their organs seem to have shifted from their torsos into their hips. They look like they’re going to snap at the waist if they turn too much!
I think they would probably tear in half given the medium
That was probably the single greatest reply on the internet.
look at any realistic royalty in the 17th and 18th century. a 16 inch diameter waist (much like empress sissi of austria) was considered beautiful.
but… its a cartoon. give it a break.
Though we know they would have had extremely skinny waist lines, portraits were done to please the recipient, so there no really sound way to know. . .
excuse me but where are the prince in all this can i want to see prince Eric, prince charming, prince Philip and so on ya know how about for the women? and these are cool by the way 🙂
You’ll need to go to a different kind of website to pictures of the princes.
really what website?
I think these are all great. yes, they aren’t realistically in proportion, but then the style obviously isn’t realism, so nobody should complain. the faces and positions are all similar, but I think the outfits and backgrounds make up for it by being original. I reminds me a lot the style seen in a lot of comic books, which by the way also aren’t realistic. it also reminds me a lot of the old pinup style, but done with fairy tale characters.
I would say they are all thinking the same thing “Brrrr…I could use a coat, I did not pick the right outfit for these conditions!”
sweet, this is what all women should look like…how they grown up indeed
Is… Tiana not black? o.O
I noticed this too. Looks like the artist is not only sexist but racist as well :/
I see you guys have only heard of and/or seen the Disney version…
as a female i think these are great keep it up and i might bye a calender of my own
I agree, as a female, these don’t gross me out at all, I think they are beautiful and just what you would want from your fairy tale fantasy women 🙂
Don’t listen to the haters, they look great! Nice job drawing the feet too!
Cinderella is the hottest because she is cleaning something
There is something horrible going on with beauty’s legs
Well drawn, but not innovative in any way. All he did was substitute all female characters with transparently clothed soft porn models. That is HARDLY an act of creativity. To each his own, but apparently good taste is as scarce as ever.
More like “Fairy Tale Characters All Slutted up.”
Wtf is this? So stupid.
To everyone whining about these characters not looking realistic, check out some realistic ones here: http://www.unfinishedman.com/disney-princesses-from-fantasy-to-reality/
I think u should do 1 of Pocahontas, but hell love ur art man
They should make mulan and pocahontas too. Aside from that, I loved rapunzel the most.
One thing that annoys me is the repunzle picture. In the mirror it shows her sides and her hair is only covering her back but not in the mirror its covering her sides. Other than that. Beautiful! I love disney so much and even though this is risque its amazing and I love it. :3
These are so cool. I love the artwork!
Not only is the artistry fantastic, it’s also great for reasons I won’t mention. I know there’s been many versions of Jessica Rabbit, but it would be interesting to see his rendition of her. Also, maybe a few more alternatives of Alice…
im so happy :’)
i love it, as an artist, a young woman and a total pervert, i would give you a 9.5, the -.5 being in the proportions and faces of some of your pictures. other then that this is totally hot!
i love that so many of these feminist men on here would never complain about catwoman or harley quinn’s costumes being too risque, or their proportions being overly idealized…
i like the work a great deal, particularly for the colors and backgrounds. i like the girls too, but i have to agree – all the faces do kind of look similar. other than that, i really liked the pics. the little mermaid is my all-time favorite fairy tale, and i was happy to see more than one illustration of her! she’s usually so neglected.
Obviously made by a man. Why do they all have big tits? I dont remember seeing that in the shows. How about some fantasy’s about all the princes? I doubt it.
There are probably plenty of prince fantasy paintings, you just won’t find them here. 😛
Try the cover of any romance novel ever written.
Meh. Really, that’s all I got to say. Better art on Deviantart. Yes, Deviantart, that’s how much this isn’t original or awe-inspiring.
This feels less like “Fairy tales all grown up” and more “Rob Liefeld does Disney”. All the people like “Oh but it’s stylized!”, uh nope, it’s just shitty anatomy. There’s plenty of well made cheesecake fairy tale/Disney princess art out there, because there’s a big difference between actually sexy stylization vs. “learned to draw the female form from comic books”.
I think it’s funny that so many dumb people take the time to write something rude, or complain. The artist has talent, and if you don’t like it then don’t view the website. You people just like starting drama. You want disney prince’s? Search google for prince, not princess. There is so much of it on google, that it makes finding this awesome art a bit hard.
These drawings are amazing. People can nit pick all that they want about being too similar, or he’s racist, but until you can produce something better SHUT UP!!!
It’s a shame the artist doesn’t know how sexy actual naked women’s bodies are. 🙁
Scoliosis can be corrected with back braces but not corsets. J. Scott Campbell is trying to be helpful but he may not be aware of this. Won’t somebody please give him a call? Josh Foley (Elixir) is standing by.
Can you imagine, a version of these characters with back braces instead? That would be amazing. 😛
A few Frazetta rip-offs in the bunch and not really all grown up as much a sexed up. But the compositions, line work and coloring are top notch.
These are all very pretty. But Where is Snow White?!
I think the art is great. And lets not forget that most of these storys are grimms brothers fairytales and legends in thier time children stories way before Disney was ever thought of. It is open for interpretation. So stop hating i love it… You really used your imagination and brought it up for the big princesses to look at these characters more in to hot vixens. All of a sudden. Art is to be appreciated not judged. Love it for what it is… It so happens that this came from his mind. Smh… Stop leaving rude comment especially if dont know what you are talking about. I love your work…
It is supposed to be funny? Art can be judged all we want and I can say that
a) the proportions are horribly fucked up
b) The woman portrait are sexualized to the extreme
c) are the exact opposite of original
So you can appreciate the art and I can say that it sucks.
If you had to choose one, which would you say your favorite is?
For everyone complaining that these are “slutted up” no, no they are not, you see cleavage, not actual boobs, or anything extreme, if you’re not happy with them then shhh, this is amazing work, the shading, line work, colouring is fantastic. Of course the bodies arent in perfect proportion to actual women, and of course they’re not realistic, they’re cartoon style made to look appealing and hot damn do they! That’s why they all have similar faces, because that’s the face shape and features which are generally seen as most attractive, people who complain about how they look just sound incredibly petty, end of the day everyone’s entitled to their own opinion but if you’ve not got anything nice to say then don’t bother, constructive criticism is okay i guess but don’t shoot the guy down and as far as I’m concerned, this is overall brilliant art, keep up the great work! 🙂
Got a boner
Is that supposed to be Tiana? Because that woman is straight-up white…
If you had to choose one, which would you say your favorite is?
it is great content. Love it fantasy characters.
amazing art but its a cartoon
The Fairy tail is Grown now. I remembered when I used to see them when I was young. That was an awesome experience.
Keep sharing!!
Great article. Love this style of art and well the ‘content’. Gonna have some fun tonight boys 😉 Where’s my jelly? 😀
Very nice artwork, definitely all gown up characters I see, nice stuff.
I like ’em. I liked the Cinderella best and it made me think of a film I’ve never seen, I think a soft core Cinderella starring the late Cheryll Rainbeux Smith. My least fave was Rapunzel… she reminded me of a character in the novel Geek Love. That said, appreciate them all, fun stuff.