An intriguing premise hampered by underwhelming execution.
Courtly love is queered in this Arthurian graphic novel.
All is not well in Camelot. Merlin is missing, and people suspect foul play; and the fae have begun attacking Camelot, despite Uther long since banishing them. At a loss, King Arthur and Queen Guinevere summon Morgan, Arthur’s half sister. They persuade Morgan, a traveling mage who studied under Merlin, to embark on a rescue mission accompanied by young knights Lancelot and Tristan. They make a reluctant trio, but cheerful, generous Lancelot is determined to get to know brusque, impatient Morgan and taciturn Tristan, whom he’s long had a crush on. As the three outsiders reckon with their origins, burdensome pasts, and possible futures, they become a team; Morgan finds friendship with the knights, who begin to fall for each other in a well-crafted budding romance. The book equally centers Morgan’s journey toward self-acceptance and community. Some of the revisions to Arthuriana work well: Guinevere has a place at the Round Table, and Lancelot’s and Tristan’s platonic relationships with their traditional lady loves are thoughtfully portrayed. Other elements, such as the portrayals of Queen Mab and primary antagonist Nimue (clad in a notably anachronistic outfit), are clunky. Queen Mab’s brief arc as a power-hungry, vengeful villain leads to a heavy-handed, underdeveloped message about human greed and environmental destruction that feels forced. The art sometimes feels flat, with a visual narrative style that’s akin to superhero comics. The main cast present white.
An intriguing premise hampered by underwhelming execution. (Graphic fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: June 4, 2024
ISBN: 9780358541240
Page Count: 336
Publisher: HarperAlley
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
An action-packed tale for those thirsty for more superhero stories.
Grammy Award–winning artist Keys co-authors a YA superhero graphic novel bearing the title of her hit song.
Smart, quiet 14-year-old Loretta “Lolo” Wright struggles to stand up for herself until, on what should be a routine trip to a convenience store, her 16-year-old brother, James, is mistakenly accused of stealing by the police. When the officer slams her brother to the ground, Lolo’s powers manifest for the first time. Meanwhile, Michael Warner, who lives in the same Brooklyn housing projects as the Wrights, is rejected from the football team for being too small. He develops exceptional fighting abilities and shortly afterward gets involved in working for a drug dealer named Skin. When Skin sees a video of Lolo levitating the cop who assaulted James, he wants to recruit her as well, and he tries to extort protection money from Lolo’s dad, who owns a moving business. Lolo must convince Michael to choose a different path; it’s only by working together that they can defeat Skin. Featuring dizzying shifts among multiple perspectives, this full-color graphic novel presents vibrant, expressive characters set against mostly simple, bright backgrounds, with extreme violence depicted in gory detail. The narrative briefly explores class issues and racial stereotypes, but while the setup is intriguing, the momentum fizzles and the pieces never quite come together. Most main characters are Black; Skin reads as White, and secondary characters appear racially diverse.
An action-packed tale for those thirsty for more superhero stories. (Graphic fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-302956-9
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HarperAlley
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A triumphant queer coming-of-age story that will make your heart ache and soar.
A 17-year-old struggles to navigate friendship and finding herself while navigating a toxic relationship.
Biracial (East Asian and white) high schooler Freddy is in love with white Laura Dean. She can’t help it—Laura oozes cool. But while Freddy’s friends are always supportive of her, they can’t understand why she stays with Laura. Laura cheats on Freddy, gaslights and emotionally manipulates her, and fetishizes her. After Laura breaks up with her for a third time, Freddy writes to an advice columnist and, at the recommendation of her best friend Doodle, (reluctantly) sees a psychic who advises her that in order to break out of the cycle of her “non-monogamous swing-your-partner wormhole,” Freddy needs to do the breaking up herself. As she struggles to fall out of love and figure out how to “break up with someone who’s broken up with me,” Freddy slowly begins to be drawn back into Laura’s orbit, challenging her relationships with her friends as she searches for happiness. Tamaki (Supergirl, 2018, etc.) explores the nuances of both romantic and platonic relationships with raw tenderness and honesty. Valero-O’Connell’s (Lumberjanes: Bonus Tracks, 2018, etc.) art is realistic and expressive, bringing the characters to life through dynamic grayscale illustrations featuring highlights of millennial pink. Freddy and her friends live in Berkeley, California, and have a diversity of body shapes, gender expressions, sexualities, and skin tones.
A triumphant queer coming-of-age story that will make your heart ache and soar. (Graphic novel. 14-adult)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-62672-259-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: March 6, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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