Created on September 3, 2012 and written by MQuannBoyd
Category: Comic Book Reviews

Rating: 5/5

Publisher Name: Action Lab

Publisher Website: www.actionlabcomics.com

Writer: Jeremy Whitley

Artist/Colorist: M. Goodwin

Number of Pages: 28

Price: 3.99

Safety Content Label: All Ages

 

Publisher Blurb:

Still waiting for your prince to come? Tired of spending night after night locked in a secluded tower? Ready for your own adventure? So are we.

Reviewers Comments:

Like many people, I too, grew up with my fair share of the Disney version of fairy-tales. From Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Sleeping Beauty despite the different story titles and princess’ hair color, these stories are essentially the same damsel in distress tale. With that in mind, Princeless is a breath of fresh air as it takes the idea of a damsel in distress and turns it on it’s ear.

Jeremy Whitley and M. Goodwin do a tremendous job of introducing the character of Adrienne, an intelligent, strong-willed sixteen year-old princess that’s more than inclined to fight oppression. The seed of Adrienne’s resistance is planted early in the comic as a young Adrienne rips apart a fairy tale involving a “beautiful blonde-haired, blue-eyed princess” locked away in the “tallest of tall towers.” From this early conversation between mother and daughter about what’s wrong in these fairy-tales it’s clear that Princeless is going to go out of it’s way to buck the trend of talking woodland creatures, accidental curses, and musical numbers.

Although Adrienne is the protagonist of the comic and thus the bulk of page and panel space is allotted towards her character development, this first issue regardless is well-paced. By the end of the issue the central plot, theme and potential antagonist are all established. Princeless does what any great piece of fiction does, it introduces a world and situation full of conflict that is equal parts memorable and inventive. Through the lens of Adrienne, the world of Princeless takes shape in a meaningful way that begs for further investigation.

Princeless is a story that borrows elements of the tried and true fairy-tale and adds a much needed modern spin. Where fairy-tales of the past relied on an out dated formula of “sitting and waiting,” the team of Jeremy Whitley and M. Goodwin instead embark on a tale that asks, ‘why wait for someone else to come rescue you when you can save yourself?’ Issue one of Princeless is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of answering that question, but if future issues are of this quality tn Adrienne and readers can expect the unexpected.

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About the Writer: MQuannBoyd (35 Posts) M. Quann Boyd has published two fiction short stories, “The Love Movement” and “Hate... Reasons to be Happy,” and a non-fiction research article, “Hip-Hop of the Gods: the Five Percent Nation's Influence on Rap Music.” Recently, M. Quann Boyd has been a contributor to XboxExclusive.com with reviews including: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Spider-Man: Edge of Time and LA Noire. Currently he writes the blog, 3hree's Man Cave and the soon to be released Blossoming Bushido.

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