Princeless: Raven the Pirate Princess Book 2: Free Women

Raven: the Pirate Princess (Collected Editions) #2

by Jeremy Whitley, Rosy Higgins (Illustrations), Ted Brandt (Graphics)

Raven and her crew cast off to the high seas and the adventure of their lives! But before they can take on Raven's brothers they'll have to learn where they are and what's happened since Raven was locked away. So they're headed to Raven's ancestral home island, The Island of the Free Women. It's swamped with every kind of thief, assassin, and despot. Can Raven's crew face their first challenge? Can they even handle being cooped up in the same ship together?"

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Young Adult, LGBT, Pirates, Adventure

128 pages, Paperback

First published June 21, 2016

About the author

Jeremy Whitley is the son of two teachers and the husband of a third.

Born in La Mesa, CA, Jeremy went to high school in Lenoir, NC and college at The University of North Carolina. He graduated with a Bachelors in English, and a minor in Creative Writing.

Jeremy lives in Durham, North Carolina with his wife Alicia and his two daughters Zuri and Amara.

Jeremy is the writer/creator of the comic series Princeless, Raven the Pirate Princess, School for Extraterrestrial Girls, and The Dog Knight. He is also the writer of the acclaimed Marvel series "The Unstoppable Wasp". His other works include extensive work for Marvel, the "Sea of Thieves" comics, and over sixty issues of My Little Pony comics.

Awards and Nominations:
3 time Glyph Winner
5 time Glyph Nominee
2 time Eisner Nominee
2 time Cyblis Nominee
2 time Bloomer Nominee
1 time Most Likely to Succeed Winner

Reviews

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG I CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF THESE LADIES

[kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is very quickly becoming one of my all time favourite series. It has literally everything I could want from a story?!
My only qualm at the moment is that I’m having trouble remembering the large cast of characters but I’m sure the further I read on, the better I’ll get to know them, which is something I 100% intend to do.

[Danika at The Lesbrary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did prefer the art in the first volume, but I like the story even better in this one. The plot is progressing quickly, and I like that I'm getting to know a ton of the other crew mates, too, not just the main group on the cover. I'm definitely hooked!

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm picking up the Princeless series again after eight years and realizing I was silly to have gone so long without it.

Raven Xingtao leads a pirate ship with an all-woman crew. The only drawback of the book is trying to keep all sixteen (seventeen?) pirates straight. That's a lot of names to have to remember so suddenly. But they are colorful and fun to hang with, and one chapter is just spent with them goofing around on deck, so that was a good way to get back up to speed.

After the little idyll, it's time to find Raven's brothers, and, well, things don't go as planned, but hey . . . Fun! Excitement! Adventure!


FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Issue Five. On a Ship, Every Episode Is a Bottle Episode -- Issue Six. The Island of the Free Woman -- Issue Seven. No Damsels -- Issue Eight. Have Fun Storming the Castle

[Miri Gifford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, man. Volume one was so incredible. I still can't wait to read volume three, and I hope there will be more forever and ever. I don't know why everyone had to be such a dick in this one, though.

Why did Des-whatever her name is volunteer to join the crew if she didn't want to be there? Why the hell does Sunshine think it's okay to demonstrate her pickpocketing skills by stealing someone's bikini top? Why can't anyone accept that Ximena doesn't fight? Surely some people—like the cartographer—don't have to be trained fighters? Why does Raven think she could "make" the others take a vote that would somehow force Ximena to fight? Who takes a vote that they won't allow name-calling or meanness? It's a pirate ship, not an online forum. I appreciate the idea, it was just done in such an unnatural-feeling way. And what is the deal with Melody, who just wants to timidly hug everyone? How did she end up on a pirate crew?

Anyway. Other notes: Katie is still a favorite, possibly the favorite based on how crappy everyone else was in this volume. The steampunk outfits are a teensy bit annoying. And Ximena reminds me of Topanga (which I kinda love).

I also just have to say, though I am not trying to start an argument about whether or not hijabs are oppressive: the fact that no men are present is in no way proof that something is not oppressive.



Because patriarchy is internalized, and women grow up in it too. It's the same as the question of women wearing makeup. You've seen those memes or Tumblr posts that say "I don't wear makeup for a guy who can't tell the difference between seventeen shades of gold" or something like that? But that's kind of a distraction from the point. The fact is, regardless of any woman's personal reasons for wearing makeup, society expects them to wear it, and penalizes them if they don't. Makeup itself is not a bad thing. But you don't choose to wear it in a vacuum. Any woman may have their own reasons for choosing to wear a hijab. But the fact that no man is currently present to enforce their wearing it proves nothing.

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loooooved the first volume, but really kind of struggled with this one. I feel like the attempts at cultural commentary aren't as clever as the writers think and just get in the way of actual character development, and I didn't much like the art in this volume. Also, I hate the ads between each issue in the Princeless trades, and they're doing the same thing here and it's obnoxious.

That said, Katie! And I like that the plot finally starts to move along towards the end.

[BadassCmd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is so much fun!
A diverse and beautiful set of pirate ladies talking about shaking the booty and kicking ass? YES.

And my favorite sentence: "Ugh, I did not run away from home and become a pirate to have a cute little cartographer tell me dad jokes."

[Newly Wardell · Rating 4 out of 5]

And now we got some action! I am so here for it. This rag tag crew of feminine awesome is getting better as it goes along. Ahoy mates and all aboard

[E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5🌟

Now, that's what I call a crazy shopping trip!!!

So, here we've got:
❇️Team Bonding
❇️Katie, AKA Muscles in a tank top
❇️some neat capitaning
❇️hidden talents of new recruits
❇️even more diversity
❇️a field trip to a pirate island
❇️some bad decisions
❇️some quick thinking
❇️some surprisingly good outcomes
❇️Raven's two girlfriends teaming up on an important task
❇️I like how they work together and bicker still
❇️I sincerely hope the next volume gives us polyamory because I so can't choose which team am I on jesbfhesbf
❇️explosions *KABOOM*
❇️and much much more!!!

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[laura (bbliophile) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really liking this!

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This second installment is still nicely kick ass. We have a wide range of women in the crew - from Katie the mate to Pirate to Jayla, to Cid. I love them all. It's a great series.

[eveonne ୨୧ ˚⟡˖ ࣪ - ia · Rating 5 out of 5]

i can’t wait to get the next ones

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading the series this spun off of, and it didn't really catch my attention. Was a little bit young and dealing with feminist issues I'd kinda moved past, like a girl's right not to be held captive in her own house, or not forced to wear clothing designed for men to oogle. Valid stuff, but not what I'm currently wrestling with. And then I read THIS series, and ah-hah, here we have the issues that apply more to me. Fair sharing of labour when you can't fall back on gender roles to distribute jobs! Is being a pacifist ethical when it forces people to protect you!? Is it oppression when you wear clothing designed to hide (or show off) the female body? Even if there are no men around?

Also, what do you do when your evil pirate brothers tie you up and throw you in a crocodile pit? (The feminist issue of our time.)

Anyways, this review is so rambly you can really see why I've been putting off reviewing, but this book has good jokes! Interesting ideas! Great art! AHHHH PLOT.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guys, Princeless has a spin-off! With my favorite character Raven the pirate princess, no less!

Jeremy Whitley and Rosy Higgins have taken Raven, a major character from the third volume of Princeless, and given her a series following her attempts to get revenge on her brothers for stealing all of her shit. Raven the Pirate Princess is aimed a bit older than Princeless: it's darker, and there's more explicit references to sex and sexuality than in Princeless. It still continues Princeless's theme of women being strong in all sorts of ways, taking their lives and their worlds into their own hands and forging bonds with each other that stand the test of dumping fresh blood over your head and your very nice dress.

ALSO Raven is queer and engaged in a very well-done love triangle that consists of entirely women. I am actually happy about a love triangle, guys.

Book two, Free Women, follows our newly formed crew as they make their way to the Island of Free Women, Raven's ancestral home and wretched hive of scum and villainy. This one's mostly plot, as Raven's brothers take central stage as the series' villains, and even construct a Bond-esque death trap complete with alligators. As much as I love it, and I do, I think I liked the first volume a scootch better? But I did really enjoy the one young lady who was told to take out as many pirates as she could, ran out, and decided to catch up on her reading, and let's be real, I will read all of this series forever.

I love this, guys. Maybe even better than Princeless, because QUEER WOMEN FUCK YEAH.

[Greyson | Use Your Words · Rating 5 out of 5]

Series Ratings:
Vol 1: ★★★★★
Vol 2: ★★★★★
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I love this series!
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I read this book as part of my 2018 Library Love binge, where I read as many library books as possible to take advantage of my great local library network before I move interstate!
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[Sas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why can't I rate it higher!! Seriously in love with this series! It has everything I want! A 99% female cast, characters of all colours, a deaf pirate, an emo pirate, a pirate wearing a hijab! And there is so much gay! I honestly couldn't be any happier with this poem!! Also Katie would so be played by Gwendoline Christie! So much love!!

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad that we're seeing more of the crew's personality in this one, but some of the characters still aren't distinct. I'm hoping to see even more development as the series progresses, but I know it's hard within the action-packed plots.

[Dreximgirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume wasn't quite as strong as the previous one but it did move the story on and developed some of the characters a little more. One thing that does annoy me in the collected graphic novels is the amount of adds that take up space. If they removed the adds I am sure they could get another volume in.

3 and a half stars.

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Qué joyita de cómics. Las chicas son fantásticas * _ *

[Abbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as exciting as the last. Women of all types and abilities working together and supporting each other. Refreshing and fun

[Wren · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best thing about this comic series is the feminism. I adore all these strong females and this world that doesn't take any sexist crap. It's empowering and should honestly be in more media. The art is also really great and I love the cast of characters.

[Xanthe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although somewhat talky at the beginning, this second installment of the delightful Pirate Princess is still fun and witty, as we get to know the rag-tag lady pirate crew that signed up for a voyage of revenge and adventure in the previous book. We do get to the action as the story progresses, with in some ambushes, a fortress siege, and alligators before ending on a bit of a mean cliff-hanger. I was definitely going to read volume three, so there was no need for that!!! Yikes!

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A flip from Vol 1; this is nearly all plot-driven with very little character development. And there are a lot of characters here (and a different artist) so I will admit to mixing them up from time to time. Even Raven sometimes looks a little too much like the other lovely ladies in her merry band. I did enjoy the plotting though so I look forward to a perfect blend of character arcs and plot in Vol 3 (right!?). Overall a highly recommended series (this and the original) that I need to go spend my money on.

[Jaie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying this series. Diverse cast of women. Pirate ship setting. The minor characters are getting their own personalities.

I don't love everything in it, some of the characters are demonstrating or making decisions I don't agree with. But's it's good conversation topics with my daughter.
- Is a skirt the best thing to wear on a pirate ship?
- Who should be trained to fight (or defend)?
- How are group decisions decided?

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still good. This volume really worked on emphasizing the diversity of Raven's ragtag crew. It's a little obvious sometimes, but for a teen comic, I'd rather diversity statements be obvious than missing. Certainly ever girl can find someone on this crew with whom to identify, and YA lit desperately needs that.

[Kiwie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This continues the series in the same witty tone of the first volume and we get to tag along as the crew establishes itself, and it is an enjoyable ride, with conflicts and solutions. Nobody will accuse this of subtlety, but that doesn't subtract from the fun. Because, like the first volume, this gives me joy. I need more of these lady pirates in my life.

[Shay Vande · Rating 5 out of 5]

I should review this book by praising the diversity of the characters, applauding the important lessons about race/gender/ability/sterotypes/etc., and admiring the overall fun and action to this story.

While that's all true, really, I can't find the words because I'm honestly too infatuated having a crush on every lady on the pirate ship right now, to be honest.

[Alex Jay Lore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how this volume really introduces us to ask the different personalities of the members of Raven's crew of badass lady pirates. There are a lot of them (17!) and yet each character is unique and brings so much to this found family of awesome women. I breezed through this one and am going to pick up book 3 right away because I need to know what happens next!

[Debbie is on Storygraph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blew through most of this in one sitting. This was fun, though I did enjoy the first volume better. There were still meta jokes, and women kicking ass with both brains and brawn.

Excellent.

Also, we finally meet the dastardly brothers of Raven, and they are as loathsome as advertised.

[Fatii · Rating 4 out of 5]

JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER