Posted in: Comics, Preview, Review | Tagged:

More Princeless

Published Sun, 23 Dec 2012 09:00:14 -0600

Cameron Hatheway writes for Bleeding Cool

While 2012 whittles down to the end of the world, it certainly was a fantastic year for Jeremy Whitley and Princeless; It won Glyph Awards for "Best Heroine," "Best Writer," and "Best Story," as well as being nominated for two Eisners in the "Best Single Issue" and "Best Publication for Kids (ages 8-12)" categories. Not too shabby for a fantasy miniseries that promotes strong female characters! Where does one go from there? Only up, up, and away on dragonback.

Starting in February, Princeless returns with its second volume, continuing the adventures of Princess Adrienne and Bedelia as they attempt to rescue the most beautiful girl in the whole kingdom, Princess Angelica (Adrienne's sister). Not all is well however, as Adrienne's father (the King) has assembled the greatest knights in all the land to hunt down and kill Adrienne and her dragon Sparky. Well, not Adrienne the princess, but the knight she was dressed as when she stormed the castle in search of her youngest sister (Appalonia) back in the first volume. The greatest knights in the entire kingdom are a diverse group of individuals, and it will be interesting to see how each man tries to bring Adrienne to justice in their own special way. While the tone of the comic starts out a little darker than usual, things return to what made it a gem of a series in the first place when we reunite with Adrienne, Bedelia, and Sparky.

Writer Jeremy Whitley does a great job easing the reader back into this world after being absent from it for several months. While the last volume had beautiful art from M. Goodwin, this volume has Emily C. Martin on art duties. I have to admit, the change of art styles did initially throw me, but after the first few pages of getting reacquainted with the core characters, it all flowed together smoothly from then on out. Still rich with both fantasy and humor, Princeless is well on its way to another Eisner nod in 2014, and every time another miniseries comes out. The story is fun, the art is fantastic, and the characters are the kind you won't find anywhere else in comics right now. And this is just the first issue of volume 2! I have the feeling that we've ain't seen nothing yet. You could be a longtime reader, a younger reader, or a new reader; I can't recommend Princeless enough.

This book is the first of a four-issue miniseries and is listed in this month's issue of Previews (Diamond Order Code DEC120771), and is currently available for pre-order at your favorite comic retailer.

Princeless Volume 2, Issue 1
Written by Jeremy Whitley
Art by Emily C. Martin
Action Lab Entertainment

Cameron Hatheway is the host of Cammy's Comic Corner, an audio podcast. You can design for him a sexy suit of armor on Twitter @CamComicCorner.