Illustrator: M. Goodwin
Publisher: Action Lab
Source: Copy for Review
Audience: Ages 11 and older
Description from GoodReads:
Princeless is the story of Princess Adrienne, one princess who's tired of waiting to be rescued. Join Adrienne, her guardian dragon, Sparky, and their plucky friend Bedelia as they begin their own quest in this one of a kind, action packed, all-ages adventure!
Graphic Novel. Collects issues 1-4 of Princeless.
My thoughts on this:
Thanks to my friend Maria over at Maria's Mélange, I have discovered some really fun comics featuring strong women protagonists. As we were chatting on Twitter about Princeless, Jeremy Whitley (author of Princeless) asked if I would consider doing a review. Here are some of my thoughts...
Princeless begins with the young Adrienne being read a bedtime Fairy Tale about fair-haired maiden who is rescued from the dragon by Prince Charming. Quickly the reader discovers that our young Princess Adrienne thinks that these kind of stories are ridiculous and has her own opinions about princesses, dragons, and being rescued. However, at 16, Adrienne finds herself locked in a tower by her parents, and being guarded by a dragon. Upon finding a sword under her bed, Adrienne decides that she is going to set herself free and with the help of her dragon, Sparky (yes, she named the dragon Sparky), then together they set out to free her sisters who are also being held in towers in various parts of the kingdom.
This graphic novel basically is a parody of the typical fairy tale and princess stories. Instead of the fair maiden in need of rescuing, Adrienne is smart, quick thinking, and just snarky enough to be funny but not annoying. Additionally, Adrienne is not a fair-haired maiden. For those young girls out there looking for a smart, strong heroine of color, then Princeless is a story for you. In issue 3, we meet Bedelia who is the daughter of the blacksmith and is designing "armor" for women. Whitley uses this opportunity to challenge the idea of the type of costume vs. armor that women have worn (yes, Princeless aptly pokes fun at the costumes of Wonder Woman and Xena, etc.) and Bedelia finally creates the perfect armor for Adrienne.
Whitley's writing is spot on and fun. The artwork in the digital version is well done and compliments the text.
Princeless Volume 1 is a collection of the first four issues. These are available as individual issues via Comixology and Comics+ Princeless Volume 2 will be out in a few weeks. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for it.
Note: Regardless of whether I have received a review copy or have purchased a book, all reviews reflect my honest opinion of a book. If I don't like a book, I simply don't review it.
Check out this interview from Comic-Con with Jeremy Whitley:
Places to find out more about the author or series:
Twitter: @jrome58
Action Lab twitter: @actionlab
Tumblr: princelesscomic.tumblr.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/actionlabentertainment
