Princeless Volume 1: Save Yourself by Jeremy Whitley

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publication Date: May 23rd 2012
Publisher: Action Lab
Point of View: 1st Person Feminine
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Comics, Fairy Tales, Feminism, Princesses, Princes and Knights.

BLURB:

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.

REVIEW:

Hell yeah, no need for a prince to rescue a princess; they can very much save themselves! Adrienne here (with the physical features of Tiana from The Princess and the Frog) is bored. She’s tired of waiting for the bravest of princes to come and rescue her from the humongous pink dragon keeping her prisoner (although it feels more like Sparky is guarding her).

Our intrepid, brave and reckless heroine decides to escape her secluded and unfrequented tower on the back of her very own supposedly hair-raising dragon (he’s actually really sweet to her) and save her sisters from the same situation she was in. Her father, thinking she was killed and not anticipating his daughter’s convoluted plan, sends soldiers to kill whoever killed his chances at having an heir. The King does have a son… but he long ago stamped him as brittle in character. He wants suitors for his daughters, so he can have many to choose from! Can you believe that?

All this sounded pretty interesting to me, and I think I even make it sound like it might be enjoyable… but sadly so, although it very much is humorous, light, different and just fun to read, I was let down by it when I got to the end and no sister had been saved. I mean, that’s what the whole plot was supposed to be about, and Adrienne has six sisters she wants to save, and she doesn’t even save a single one in the first issue? That doesn’t sound right to me.

But that’s really the only thing I was irked about (even though it’s a ‘big’ thing). The characters are all considerably developed for a first issue and they’re beautifully illustrated. Actually, this whole comic is aesthetic, which I appreciated. I like art a lot, and this book doesn’t disappoint in that department. Furthermore, I may be getting ahead of myself on this, but I thought I glimpsed some LGBT stuff going on… maybe the development of what is to be an f/f romance, but then again it’s extremely subtle. Still, I have hope.

Comic readers and fans of quirky fairy tales, this one’s for you!