Writer: Jeremy Whitley
Artists: Rosy Higgins and Ted Brandt
Publisher: Action Lab
This installment in the ongoing Princeless series is everything you could want from a title like Princeless: The Pirate Princess #1. A tough and self-assured lead, whose Father trained her from childhood to be a quiet, efficient warrior of the high-seas as opposed to a princess waiting in a tower for rescue. Yet in the latter situation is exactly where Raven Xingtao, the pirate princess, finds herself in the opening pages of the book. Yet it’s two other princesses on a large pink dragon that end up breaking into Raven’s tower. Adrienne is clearly not “wearing her husbands armor” as a Knight loitering beneath the tower discovers to his peril, and Bedelia formidably wields a large Harley-Quinn style mallet. Raven easily falls in with the trio leading to several action packed scenes.
Admittedly, this is was my first brush with the Princeless series, but the story was easy enough to follow. I would have liked to learn just a little bit more about Raven and her brothers before the issue ended, though. We’re fed some tantalizing bits–such as the fact that her brothers put her in the very tower she escaped from, apparently with the blessing of Raven’s Pirate King father. This is quite a reversal from the flashback scene that opened the issue, which found the King grooming a young Raven to follow in her great-grandmother Ming’s fierce, legendary pirate-of-the-Rim-Sea footsteps.
Rosy Higgins Ted Brandt are a lovely art team on this book, giving the story and action the look and feel of an animated series that would have fit right into the Disney’s afternoon programming block. Sadly, in those days princesses did not get to save themselves. Writer Jeremy Whitley seems more than aware of this fact, and the whole package makes Princeless: The Pirate Princess #1 incredibly appealing to anyone who wants a little less damsel-in-distress and a little more Kick-Ass in their fairy tales.
Heidi’s off at Congress, as per usual, meaning there’s just me here at Stately Beat Mansion right now. It would be very bad luck indeed to not have a roundup piece on a Friday the 13th, so here’s a selection of news, opinion pieces, artwork, and all kinds of other stuff. Here’s some of the things which’ve caught my eye over the last few days.
The last page of Paul Harrison-Davies webcomic Astrodog is up today, making this a perfect chance for you to jump in from the start.
Sarah McIntyre’s taking over the UK right now. Look! She’s been on the radio with Katie Melua, and everything!
Top Shelf are running their annual $3 sale, with a number of notable comics available at a deeply reduced price. Go take a look round, see if there’s anything you fancy!
Mark Kardwell interviews Milligan and McCarthy about… The Best of Milligan and McCarthy!
The Outhousers suggest 5.2 reasons why DC shouldn’t fire Dan DiDio.
On the other hand, retailer OK Comics pen an open letter to DC Comics regarding their Villains Month initiative, or rather DC’s messing up of said initiative.
Jason Sacks has a brilliant interview with Elaine Will, about a graphic novel I’d not heard of before – but which sounds utterly fascinating.
Ant Man, directed by Edgar Wright and written by Wright and Joe Cornish, has been placed for release in 2015.
Not comics, but you can sponsor David Brothers on a charity 5K run he’s doing on behalf of Prevention International. If you sponsor, you are guaranteed not to be cursed for the rest of this Friday 13th. Guaranteed!
Jeremy Whitley’s been on the promotional trail for the return of his series Princeless.
Marvel have released an app for iPhones and iPads and all those other fancy iThings which brings JARVIS onto your screen. Voiced by Paul Bettany, the app allows you to find secrets unlocked in the Iron Man 3 DVD, which is out sometime soon.
Self-promotion is all the rage nowadays, so here’s my pitch for the Perfect Wonder Woman Movie.
If you’ve never read Andy Oliver’s Small Press Column over at Broken Frontier, I’d recommend it!
Brian Cronin takes a look at the universally-agreed worst Avenger of all time Wonder Man, and specifically the awful outfits the character has worn over the years.
Princeless was a runaway hit for new-ish indie publisher, Action Lab Comics, this year. The sassy fairy tale comic about a disgruntled princess who chooses running away with the aid of a sympathetic dragon over an endless line of boring suitors forced on her by her royal pain in the a*s parents nabbed two 2012 Eisner nominations for “Best Single Issue” and “Best Publication for Kids.”
Below is a preview from the first issue of the four-issue mini-series, which marks the next installment of the series (written by Jeremy Whitely with art by Emily Martin). If you’re interested in picking up the first volume, Princeless: Save Yourself, (and, frankly, you totally should be), it’s currently available as a trade paperback, on Comixology, and through iBookstore, Kindle, and the Nook. The upcoming issue is currently available for pre-order (via Diamond Order Code is DEC120771) from your local comics retailer and will be available through Comixology as well. Enjoy!
@shannonsplanet
Writer: Jeremy Whitley
I’m on issue #3 of The Pirate Princess (digital comics are a boon to the impatient), and I think this is the best Princeless series yet. Strong build from the previous installments and a lot of fun.