Skip to Content
A three-page comic titled “Red Caps,” written by Maggie Watson, inspired by “Little Red Cap” recorded by the Brothers Grimm. The comic is drawn in black ink on white paper. Page one shows a close-up on a wolf’s eyes, with the words, “These woods were mine.” Figures are shown walking along a wooded path, as the wolf narrates, “Sometimes humans came to walk the path. But they did not bother me, and I did not bother them, until…” Page two continues with “They left the path.” Images of human feet in boots, a worker in a hard hat, and a bulldozer show the human encroachment into the woods. The wolf describes these images as, “They wore red caps; they brought machines with big eyes and big teeth; and came to make the woods their own.” The page ends on a fallen tree. Page three shows a sequence of images of human destruction—chainsaws and construction vehicles cutting through trees, leaving only stumps and piles of dirt behind. From the shadows of the remaining woods, the wolf watches, and says, “The humans think they have won. But they forget—these woods are mine.” The final panel is a dramatic image of the wolf’s snarling face, with the words, “And I have big teeth too.”

Red Caps

Maggie Watson

Comic, ink on paper

Undergraduate
This comic is an alternate telling of "Little Red Cap" as recorded by the Grimm Brothers, also known as "Little Red Riding Hood." I was curious how the story would change if the wolf became the protagonist. This led me to put a modern environmental twist on the character of Little Red Cap.