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Valor is a comic anthology of re-imagined fairy tales showcasing the talent of some of the top creators in digital comics. It pays homage to the strength, resourcefulness, and cunning of female heroines in fairy tales through recreations of time-honored tales and brand new stories designed to be passed to future generations.
Funded via Kickstarter in 2014, this young adult-friendly anthology features 19 comics and five illustrated prose stories from 24 creators. This anthology contain LBGTQ-friendly stories.
Funded via Kickstarter in 2014, this young adult-friendly anthology features 19 comics and five illustrated prose stories from 24 creators. This anthology contain LBGTQ-friendly stories.
312 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2015
12 people are currently reading
940 people want to read
About the author
Megan Lavey-Heaton
15 books80 followersWhen she was a child, Megan commandeered scrap paper and markers to create family “newspapers.” She learned to read at age 3 by reading out loud from the T.V. Guide. When a relative wasn’t convinced, she was handed pages from the New York Times to read. Her family is still trying to figure out where she gets her writing ability from.
Megan is a 2002 graduate of the University of Alabama, where she was a member of the Million Dollar Band and served on staff at the Crimson White. Upon graduation, she embarked on a newspaper career that took her from Alabama to the border of Tennessee and Virginia, up to Maine, across the country to Arizona and back east to Pennsylvania. To date, Megan has received a number of journalism honors including six Awards of Excellence from the Society of News Design.
Megan is a designer for The Patriot-News and freelance blogger who currently lives just outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with her three cats and many books. She is married to a Scouser who she stole away from England and isn't giving him back.
She is constantly plagued by plotbunnies.
Megan is a 2002 graduate of the University of Alabama, where she was a member of the Million Dollar Band and served on staff at the Crimson White. Upon graduation, she embarked on a newspaper career that took her from Alabama to the border of Tennessee and Virginia, up to Maine, across the country to Arizona and back east to Pennsylvania. To date, Megan has received a number of journalism honors including six Awards of Excellence from the Society of News Design.
Megan is a designer for The Patriot-News and freelance blogger who currently lives just outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with her three cats and many books. She is married to a Scouser who she stole away from England and isn't giving him back.
She is constantly plagued by plotbunnies.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
December 30, 2016
Okay NEW FAVOURITE ALERT!!! This anthology has literally everything I could ask for out of a book and graphic novel. We have got lesbians (So. Many. Lesbians. They were not even close to a minority.), a trans character, feminism, fairy tales, people of colour and different ethnicity, Canadian authors, indie authors, happy endings, a few poignant endings to keep you guessing, sarcasm, a plethora of animals and just all the good, happy feels. And did I mention yet? The art... is stunning. This is an amalgamation of some of the best, most imaginative and inclusive work I've seen this year - if not ever. It just takes every single stereotype in fairy tales - and shatters it to bits and pieces. These stories are entirely featuring female heroes, and knights, and princesses marrying princesses, and being just general badasses. It is witty, heartfelt, and just had so much variety that somehow flowed seamlessly.
This book was a rare find in the way that it was a combination of both prose and graphic design. It was mostly in comic form, but there were maybe 4 stories that were text with a few illustrations. Some are re-tellings (we have The Little Mermaid with a trans character - BYE I'm out dancing) but most are original stories that I can just see being instantly melded in my head as classics.
Also, can I just say that in the beginning of the book there's a page with little illustration of every contributor (artist, writer, editor, letterer) and a mini bio and they are absolutely adorable and hilarious. It was such a nice touch, and I found myself flipping back to it with each new story to see the creators.
Something I appreciated was how some stories managed to give off a wonderful family vibe and other stories were more dark - both of which still made me hold my breath at the suspense and smile at the characters' victories. But just returning to the family vibe for a second: I'm almost 20. As of right now, I plan on having dogs for children. But, if I ever did change my mind and decide I want to look after someone/thing that doesn't have fur and clean up everything I spill on the floor, I can almost see myself reading a few of these to them. Now don't let that put you off. This is not an anthology that should've been placed in the children's section. There is death, and blood, and tragedy galore scattered throughout; but they are fairytales. It's very hard to describe, it's really just something you have to read and discover for yourself (Have I made it clear I want you to drop everything and check this out yet?? No? Alright, I'll continue.)
It was also very impressed with how quickly you became attached to so many new characters. Most stories only last maybe 6 or 7 pages, and with each one I found myself being protective of each new character within a page or two. I genuinely cared about their well being, and more importantly, many of whom I will remember for a long time after I return this to the library.
This will be the last thing I say before I stop rambling and gushing its praises (I swear) but it's such an important component that I did not touch upon long enough. The art. Guys, it is indescribably beautiful. There was just so much variety in design, and I genuinely found it refreshing to see it change into a new style every time (although there are some artists whom I wish to contact and request they paint my bedroom walls. I'm serious.) Art is one of those things where it is such a subjective thing, but I think that when you flip through this, you will not be disappointed. There is something for everyone.
Okay, so I'm gonna wrap this up so you can go click the 'Want to Read' button and explore the beauty and wonder that is this book. I was honestly sad to finish this. I wanted to turn the page and find another story friendship and love and ladies kicking ass. Luckily, almost all of these wonderful artists and writers have websites that are found on the final pages. A lot of them are "little guys" on tumblr, and reading this felt like such a personal gift. Every page felt like it was created with care, and it looks like everyone (even the editor!) had so much fun creating this anthology. This feels a little like I've stumbled upon a secret, but after reading it, I have to share it. This is just too good for one person to treasure for themselves.
This book was a rare find in the way that it was a combination of both prose and graphic design. It was mostly in comic form, but there were maybe 4 stories that were text with a few illustrations. Some are re-tellings (we have The Little Mermaid with a trans character - BYE I'm out dancing) but most are original stories that I can just see being instantly melded in my head as classics.
Also, can I just say that in the beginning of the book there's a page with little illustration of every contributor (artist, writer, editor, letterer) and a mini bio and they are absolutely adorable and hilarious. It was such a nice touch, and I found myself flipping back to it with each new story to see the creators.
Something I appreciated was how some stories managed to give off a wonderful family vibe and other stories were more dark - both of which still made me hold my breath at the suspense and smile at the characters' victories. But just returning to the family vibe for a second: I'm almost 20. As of right now, I plan on having dogs for children. But, if I ever did change my mind and decide I want to look after someone/thing that doesn't have fur and clean up everything I spill on the floor, I can almost see myself reading a few of these to them. Now don't let that put you off. This is not an anthology that should've been placed in the children's section. There is death, and blood, and tragedy galore scattered throughout; but they are fairytales. It's very hard to describe, it's really just something you have to read and discover for yourself (Have I made it clear I want you to drop everything and check this out yet?? No? Alright, I'll continue.)
It was also very impressed with how quickly you became attached to so many new characters. Most stories only last maybe 6 or 7 pages, and with each one I found myself being protective of each new character within a page or two. I genuinely cared about their well being, and more importantly, many of whom I will remember for a long time after I return this to the library.
This will be the last thing I say before I stop rambling and gushing its praises (I swear) but it's such an important component that I did not touch upon long enough. The art. Guys, it is indescribably beautiful. There was just so much variety in design, and I genuinely found it refreshing to see it change into a new style every time (although there are some artists whom I wish to contact and request they paint my bedroom walls. I'm serious.) Art is one of those things where it is such a subjective thing, but I think that when you flip through this, you will not be disappointed. There is something for everyone.
Okay, so I'm gonna wrap this up so you can go click the 'Want to Read' button and explore the beauty and wonder that is this book. I was honestly sad to finish this. I wanted to turn the page and find another story friendship and love and ladies kicking ass. Luckily, almost all of these wonderful artists and writers have websites that are found on the final pages. A lot of them are "little guys" on tumblr, and reading this felt like such a personal gift. Every page felt like it was created with care, and it looks like everyone (even the editor!) had so much fun creating this anthology. This feels a little like I've stumbled upon a secret, but after reading it, I have to share it. This is just too good for one person to treasure for themselves.
March 13, 2015
Valor is a comic anthology of re-imaged fairy tales showcasing the talent of some of the top creators in the field of digital comics. The purpose of this book is to pay homage to the strength, resourcefulness, and cunning of female heroines in fairy tales. Some of these are recreations of time-honored tales. Others are brand new stories, designed to be passed to future generations.
Valor is fun, adventurous, different, wonderful. All the positive adjectives I can think of. Bright, colourful, expressive artwork combined with rich storytelling. Each story is anchored by a heroine who fights monsters, stands up for herself in dangerous times, or rescues loved ones. Because there are 23 stories, comic and prose, it's a bit hard for me to review each one. All are anchored by heroines going off on quests, taking matters into their own hands. There are white, black, Asian, and even metal heroines. There are straight and gay heroines. They can and do rely on others for support, but these are their stories. Their adventures. Their time to kick butt and take names, if the situation calls for it. As always with anthologies, there are some stories I liked more than others.
There's Prunella by Isabella Melançon and Megan Lavey-Heaton, where Prunella's scowl is captured perfectly, where she toils away for a witch that cursed her, where she keeps on working for the witch because she pays well. Prunella is grouchy and stubborn but fiercely loyal.
There's Bride of the Rose Beast by Michelle Krivanek, the story of Kari, forced to marry a monster made from a queen's greediness, and the plan to keep the monster from devouring her on their wedding night.
There's Crane Wife by Alex Singer and Jayd Aït-Kaci (text by Ariana Maher), with soft, gorgeous artwork accompanying a heartbreaking story about an injured crane lost in a snow storm and the gift she gave to the hunter who saved her.
There's The Flower in the Gravel by Angelica Maria Lopez, bright with colour, about an abandoned tower of treasure guarded by a dragon and a young girl who doesn't believe in any of that foolish talk. Instead, she races headfirst into a tower filled with dangerous traps to find the greatest treasure of all.
There's Lady Tilda and the Dragon by Sara Goetter, a wordless, emotional tale of Lady Tilda and the dragon she meets in a dark, creepy cave. The artwork is sweet and expressive. I loved how the characters and the setting told the story, making words useless. The ending always leaves me teary-eyed.
And there's Winter's Gift by Joanne Webster and Isabelle Melançon (letters by Megan Lavey-Heaton), about a rabbit travelling through the seasons, using her clever mind and clever wit to outsmart three of them on her journey to the fourth to ask for the rabbits' gift. Bunny never says no, just talks her way around and out of traps, showing that those who look weak aren't necessarily weak.
If you ever get a chance to read this, read it. It's fun and smart, filled with strong and clever female characters who take matters into their own hands.
(I received an e-book copy of this anthology after backing the project on Kickstarter.)
Valor is fun, adventurous, different, wonderful. All the positive adjectives I can think of. Bright, colourful, expressive artwork combined with rich storytelling. Each story is anchored by a heroine who fights monsters, stands up for herself in dangerous times, or rescues loved ones. Because there are 23 stories, comic and prose, it's a bit hard for me to review each one. All are anchored by heroines going off on quests, taking matters into their own hands. There are white, black, Asian, and even metal heroines. There are straight and gay heroines. They can and do rely on others for support, but these are their stories. Their adventures. Their time to kick butt and take names, if the situation calls for it. As always with anthologies, there are some stories I liked more than others.
There's Prunella by Isabella Melançon and Megan Lavey-Heaton, where Prunella's scowl is captured perfectly, where she toils away for a witch that cursed her, where she keeps on working for the witch because she pays well. Prunella is grouchy and stubborn but fiercely loyal.
There's Bride of the Rose Beast by Michelle Krivanek, the story of Kari, forced to marry a monster made from a queen's greediness, and the plan to keep the monster from devouring her on their wedding night.
There's Crane Wife by Alex Singer and Jayd Aït-Kaci (text by Ariana Maher), with soft, gorgeous artwork accompanying a heartbreaking story about an injured crane lost in a snow storm and the gift she gave to the hunter who saved her.
There's The Flower in the Gravel by Angelica Maria Lopez, bright with colour, about an abandoned tower of treasure guarded by a dragon and a young girl who doesn't believe in any of that foolish talk. Instead, she races headfirst into a tower filled with dangerous traps to find the greatest treasure of all.
There's Lady Tilda and the Dragon by Sara Goetter, a wordless, emotional tale of Lady Tilda and the dragon she meets in a dark, creepy cave. The artwork is sweet and expressive. I loved how the characters and the setting told the story, making words useless. The ending always leaves me teary-eyed.
And there's Winter's Gift by Joanne Webster and Isabelle Melançon (letters by Megan Lavey-Heaton), about a rabbit travelling through the seasons, using her clever mind and clever wit to outsmart three of them on her journey to the fourth to ask for the rabbits' gift. Bunny never says no, just talks her way around and out of traps, showing that those who look weak aren't necessarily weak.
If you ever get a chance to read this, read it. It's fun and smart, filled with strong and clever female characters who take matters into their own hands.
(I received an e-book copy of this anthology after backing the project on Kickstarter.)
September 10, 2016
Favorites for stories: (with stars by very favorites)
Little Fish, *Bride of the Rose Beast, Masks, *Crane Wife, Eggchild
Favorites for art (with stars by very favorites):
The Black Bull, *Nettle-Witch, *Please, Finette
Favorite overall: "Please". The art was SO GORGEOUS.
These were so short each! Some cute, some clever, some sweet. None were extremely profound-a good number of them were kind of just too light in general. Still it was a nice mix altogether, and it was really nice to see so many different types of woman highlighted as heroes (on everything to looks, sexual orientation, heritage, gender orientation, etc) and so many different acceptable types of romantic relationships as well. I especially loved that in one story where a princess's parents were holding balls for her to pick a mate it was completely normal that the princess was expected to be able to choose from princes and princesses, and that there was no negative reaction what-so-ever to the princess choosing a princess for herself. It was just a total non-issue for everyone.
It makes me really happy that I got this book from the library and that young teens will be able to have access to seeing such a wide variety of female heroes.
Little Fish, *Bride of the Rose Beast, Masks, *Crane Wife, Eggchild
Favorites for art (with stars by very favorites):
The Black Bull, *Nettle-Witch, *Please, Finette
Favorite overall: "Please". The art was SO GORGEOUS.
These were so short each! Some cute, some clever, some sweet. None were extremely profound-a good number of them were kind of just too light in general. Still it was a nice mix altogether, and it was really nice to see so many different types of woman highlighted as heroes (on everything to looks, sexual orientation, heritage, gender orientation, etc) and so many different acceptable types of romantic relationships as well. I especially loved that in one story where a princess's parents were holding balls for her to pick a mate it was completely normal that the princess was expected to be able to choose from princes and princesses, and that there was no negative reaction what-so-ever to the princess choosing a princess for herself. It was just a total non-issue for everyone.
It makes me really happy that I got this book from the library and that young teens will be able to have access to seeing such a wide variety of female heroes.
February 13, 2020
some of these were really cool!!! only 4 stars because the quality varied a lot per story and i only really cared about some of them, but overall it was a good read! some of those short stories were 🥰🥰 and some of them were SAD
March 13, 2016
4.5/5 stars
June 14, 2023
Valor is a mix of short stored graphic novels and short stores. So Valor is a bunch of different short stories in one book.
One thing that stood out to me and that I thought was unique is the fact that this book featured queer and heterosexual stories. And I really liked that. I find most books are either one or the other and to see a mix of both was really refreshing.
I loved all the stories in this book! They are all amazing. And I enjoyed that before the stories started that it introduced each creator that had a part in this book and that at the end of the book it named all the supporters who helped make this book what it is today.
It was enjoyable to see the different drawing and illustration types in each story.
And I really liked this book!!
October 12, 2017
A beautiful book marred by poor proofreading and copyediting and some really questionable design choices. For example, the table of contents does not include author/illustrator info, which is irksome if you're trying to give credit where it's due. The table of contents does provide page numbers, but the majority of pages aren't numbered, so that's nigh useless.
Most plots are very thin and predictable but the art is generally good. Standout pieces for me were The Steadfast Tin Automaton (short story by Alex Singer w/illos by Jayd Ait-Kaci); Eggchild (short story by Ash Barnes, illos by Elena "Yamino" Barbarich); Red Riding Hood (comic by Meaghan Carter); East of the Sun, West of the Moon (comic by Morgan Beem); and Nautilus (wordless comic with story by Ash Barnes, art by Elena "Yamino" Barbarich).
My absolute favorite was Beem's "East of the Sun...", which told a satisfying, if abbreviated story with moody watercolors(?). I also loved "Nautilus" for the incredible colors and well-told story that needed no words.
Most plots are very thin and predictable but the art is generally good. Standout pieces for me were The Steadfast Tin Automaton (short story by Alex Singer w/illos by Jayd Ait-Kaci); Eggchild (short story by Ash Barnes, illos by Elena "Yamino" Barbarich); Red Riding Hood (comic by Meaghan Carter); East of the Sun, West of the Moon (comic by Morgan Beem); and Nautilus (wordless comic with story by Ash Barnes, art by Elena "Yamino" Barbarich).
My absolute favorite was Beem's "East of the Sun...", which told a satisfying, if abbreviated story with moody watercolors(?). I also loved "Nautilus" for the incredible colors and well-told story that needed no words.
May 22, 2019
This collection was very spotty for me, a lot of the stories felt underdeveloped either in concept or execution. A few standouts I really enjoyed included Godfather Death, which tells the story of a woman who can predict when someone will die; Black Bull, about a woman who seeks her fortune with a bull as her companion; and Nautilus, which depicts a young girl who is saved by some sort of water spirit and their resulting friendship. Five of the stories in this collection were actually prose stories with minor illustrations, rather than comics, so that was unexpected and I didn’t like it. Overall, not awful but I like the concept of this book a lot more than the actual resulting book.
November 4, 2021
A really nice anthology with super cute fairytale retellings
April 3, 2018
A wonderfully compiled anthology, Valor showcases fantastic talent from some of the best digital comic makers out there. Each of the 24 fairy tales has its own unique flair, whether conceptually or visually, which makes this a joy to read. There's something in it for everyone to love, and all of them host such loveable characters (both old and new), it's a no-brainer suggestion to any and all comic collectors and fable fanatics.
If you're a fan of fantasy, a fan of fairy tales, or a fan of heroines doing what they do best, Valor is a nessessary addition to your bookshelf.
If you're a fan of fantasy, a fan of fairy tales, or a fan of heroines doing what they do best, Valor is a nessessary addition to your bookshelf.
August 31, 2016
This whole anthology was just lovely and nice. The art was great and a number of the stories were very well done. I especially loved Bride of the Rose Beast, Crane Wife, Lady Tilda, and Nautilus. They were all creative and interesting with a really solid story. But "What Fear Said" was absolutely my favorite, with the perfect touch of humor, a solid story... it was great and I loved it.
The queer content in this is STELLAR. All positive, charming portrayals of girls who are into girls. Not every story has a queer girl in it, but a good chunk of them do, and they are all delightful. (The queer content in this anthology is very much what I had hoped would be in the Beyond anthology).
My early exposure to comic anthologies were the Flight anthologies where every single piece is not only visually compelling, but has a story that hits you in the gut with how powerful it is. I feel like that is the gold standard. You have to have great art *and* great story, and I think a lot of anthologies skew more towards the art and miss telling a powerful story? The stories in Valor were pretty good overall, but besides "What Fear Said" there's nothing in here that really sticks with me after closing the book. In a few weeks, I won't be able to tell you any of the stories in here. So.... I'm unsure how to rate this. I'm going with 4 stars because while reading it, I did enjoy it.
Last note - I didn't read any of the prose. Or rather, I tried to read the prose, but it's all so poorly edited my head hurt and I couldn't really handle reading it. I think they needed a solid prose editor who could work specifically on the short stories if they were going to include them.
The queer content in this is STELLAR. All positive, charming portrayals of girls who are into girls. Not every story has a queer girl in it, but a good chunk of them do, and they are all delightful. (The queer content in this anthology is very much what I had hoped would be in the Beyond anthology).
My early exposure to comic anthologies were the Flight anthologies where every single piece is not only visually compelling, but has a story that hits you in the gut with how powerful it is. I feel like that is the gold standard. You have to have great art *and* great story, and I think a lot of anthologies skew more towards the art and miss telling a powerful story? The stories in Valor were pretty good overall, but besides "What Fear Said" there's nothing in here that really sticks with me after closing the book. In a few weeks, I won't be able to tell you any of the stories in here. So.... I'm unsure how to rate this. I'm going with 4 stars because while reading it, I did enjoy it.
Last note - I didn't read any of the prose. Or rather, I tried to read the prose, but it's all so poorly edited my head hurt and I couldn't really handle reading it. I think they needed a solid prose editor who could work specifically on the short stories if they were going to include them.
July 1, 2015
Valor is an anthology of fairy tales, illustrated or in comic format, about women and girls who need approximately 0 rescuing. I Kickstarted this ages ago and was thrilled to finally get my copy in the mail last week.
As with any anthology that's crowdfunded and put together as a side project (and labor of love), the writing in Valor is such a mixed bag that I would have been much harsher with my review had this been put together by a publishing house. The three or four short stories were especially difficult to slog through. However, the variety of art and storytelling styles plus the incredible diversity of characters and source material made reading and looking at this collection a genuine pleasure and I will likely return to many of the stories ("What Fear Said," "Nautilus," "Little Fish," "Lady Tilda") multiple times.
Overall, four stars because there is a lot of raw talent in this book that could have benefited from access to a story editor and a copy editor. I have found several new artists and writers to watch for, and I hope to read other similar collections in the future.
As with any anthology that's crowdfunded and put together as a side project (and labor of love), the writing in Valor is such a mixed bag that I would have been much harsher with my review had this been put together by a publishing house. The three or four short stories were especially difficult to slog through. However, the variety of art and storytelling styles plus the incredible diversity of characters and source material made reading and looking at this collection a genuine pleasure and I will likely return to many of the stories ("What Fear Said," "Nautilus," "Little Fish," "Lady Tilda") multiple times.
Overall, four stars because there is a lot of raw talent in this book that could have benefited from access to a story editor and a copy editor. I have found several new artists and writers to watch for, and I hope to read other similar collections in the future.
May 11, 2016
An anthology of fairy tale retellings, focusing on strong female lead characters. Most of the stories are told in comic format, though there are a few prose stories as well. As usual in anthologies with a multitude of creators, the quality does vary a bit. But I'm pleased to report that I at least liked every story. The weak links just aren't that weak, and the strongest stories are really wonderful. There's some truly spectacular art in here, too. I just really wish that the original story for each retelling was noted somewhere. I was able to spot the majority of them, but I've read a lot of fairy and folk tales. This might be hard to find now, since it was a Kickstarter book originally, but if you come across it, it's definitely worth a read.
July 9, 2016
I think my expectations for this anthology were too high. While I thoroughly enjoyed a few stories (including 'What Fear Said', 'Lady Tilda and the Dragon', and 'Godfather Death), I found majority of the written content/ dialogue in the collection was lacking. I think the anthology as a whole could have benefitted from more detailed and constructive editing. Perhaps allowing fewer stories in the collection would have given authors a chance to write more conclusive stories. Majority of the stories spent most of their pages explaining the tales but only one page or so concluding the tale which made for a rushed ending.
I will note that almost every single illustrator surpassed my expectations by far! The artwork is so beautiful and it's the main reason I kept on reading until the end.
I will note that almost every single illustrator surpassed my expectations by far! The artwork is so beautiful and it's the main reason I kept on reading until the end.
August 13, 2022
This book is extremely hit-or-miss. None of the stories are outright bad, many of them are excellent. Many of them are beautiful and original and adorable and lovely. But the rest of them are forgettable or painfully predictable or a cool concept with poor execution.
Let's start with the good!
The queer representation. Oh my god. It makes my heart so happy. This book is chock full of lesbians and I wouldn't have it any other way. There's a little trans rep, too, which is always nice.
I love fairy tales so it was so cool to recognize some of the stories I've seen before, like Snow White and Rose Red (Please) or Allerleirauh (All Furs) and the new ones were very cool concepts as well. It inspired me to crack open my Grimm Fairytales again. Here are some of my favorite stories and why:
Crane Wife: All time favorite. I love a many-layered story. I had to read it a couple times to get it, which may be a writing flaw but the fact that I liked that about it shows it's a compelling story. I love the character designs, too, and this one had my favorite art style. The faces are so expressive and work so well in the more realistic style.
Finette: The only prose story I loved. So funny and cleverly written.
Red Riding Hood: Short and sweet, simple but effective. The art is really effective and compelling on top of being visually lovely and tells a wonderfully simple story.
Nautilus: The art is just gorgeous and it's really really good at telling a story using only images and no text. I think the no-text format was perfect for this story, there's nothing superfluous and everything is boiled down to its essentials.
Winter's Gift: Really cute art style and good character designs. A simple story executed very well.
The Nettle Witch: Gorgeous art. The way they drew all the brothers to be similar, but distinct? Artistic chef's kiss. I also really love this Grimm fairy tale!
Lady tilda: So cute. So freaking cute. Another one that works really well without dialogue and just an adorable story.
Eggchild: This writer really mastered the way kids talk and think. A really lovely story about a growing connection over shared sadness between two creatures.
And a few that are Just Generally Really Good and So Pretty: Godfather Death, Black Bull, East of the Sun West of the Moon, What Fear Said.
There are other really good ones for sure! So many really good ones I feel bad not naming them. There's lots of really great stories and really beautiful art but the problem is there's many more that fall short. I don't have the heart to name them because I feel bad critiquing a generally good book so much, but lots of them have great premises and poor execution. Let's talk about it.
The quality of the art is good, but your enjoyment of it is going to vary based on your own taste. Personally? Not all of it was for me. The art styles themselves vary, but I would say some skew more amateurish than others. Don't get me wrong, lots of comics are absolutely lovely, and none of the art is bad per se, but much of it reads "online webcomic" instead of "trained traditionally published illustrator." And that's totally fine! That's to be expected! It says on the tin that these are online artists! I just wish I was more aware of it going into it, because I don't care for those styles. But that is a personal thing and it doesn't mean not everyone will! On top of taste, I think some artists are just better than others at using their own unique style to create visually pleasing, memorable, beautiful cartoons.
Here's my personal bias: I didn't know going into it that this contains short stories, so I was pretty unpleasantly surprised to find a short story when I went into this looking for a graphic novel to read. That said, some of the stories were still pretty good. Some of them.
I'll say it. Some of the short stories are badly written. The concepts are cool, and could make for cool stories, but the prose is just weak. Not all of them! But some of them were definitely written by someone who only writes for webcomics and has little experience with prose. And it's good for that! But it's not good on its own. It's clunky and amateurish and not fun to read.
One of the most glaring issues is the poor editing. I caught several typos reading this, which is a bold move for a book that contains the phrase "If anything is wrong, it is entirely [Sarah Stern's] fault" in the editor's bio. Also, the table of contents doesn't list the authors'/artists' names and does list page numbers even though there are no page numbers in the actual book. It also seems as though the weaker stories are put first and there are stronger stories towards the end? It's very possible that's just my perception, but I was more compelled by the stories towards the end. The first short story is one of the weakest, and I don't think Prunella is a super strong opener. It could indicate this book doesn't really know which of its stories are better than others. Or the editors didn't put much thought into the organization of stories. Or this is a meaningless nitpick that bothered me and no one else. That's also possible.
I was surprised to find out this was a Kickstarter book, but not that surprised. Very happy it found its way into my local library! Regardless of how I felt about the book that's pretty exciting for internet-spawned media.
All in all, if I backed this on Kickstarter and this arrived in my mail, I would be very happy. It didn't, though, so I'm going to hold it to the standard I would any book. And by that standard...meh
TLDR: a good book with some excellent stories and a couple stinkers. Definitely worth the read, but lower your standards if you want to enjoy it.
Let's start with the good!
The queer representation. Oh my god. It makes my heart so happy. This book is chock full of lesbians and I wouldn't have it any other way. There's a little trans rep, too, which is always nice.
I love fairy tales so it was so cool to recognize some of the stories I've seen before, like Snow White and Rose Red (Please) or Allerleirauh (All Furs) and the new ones were very cool concepts as well. It inspired me to crack open my Grimm Fairytales again. Here are some of my favorite stories and why:
Crane Wife: All time favorite. I love a many-layered story. I had to read it a couple times to get it, which may be a writing flaw but the fact that I liked that about it shows it's a compelling story. I love the character designs, too, and this one had my favorite art style. The faces are so expressive and work so well in the more realistic style.
Finette: The only prose story I loved. So funny and cleverly written.
Red Riding Hood: Short and sweet, simple but effective. The art is really effective and compelling on top of being visually lovely and tells a wonderfully simple story.
Nautilus: The art is just gorgeous and it's really really good at telling a story using only images and no text. I think the no-text format was perfect for this story, there's nothing superfluous and everything is boiled down to its essentials.
Winter's Gift: Really cute art style and good character designs. A simple story executed very well.
The Nettle Witch: Gorgeous art. The way they drew all the brothers to be similar, but distinct? Artistic chef's kiss. I also really love this Grimm fairy tale!
Lady tilda: So cute. So freaking cute. Another one that works really well without dialogue and just an adorable story.
Eggchild: This writer really mastered the way kids talk and think. A really lovely story about a growing connection over shared sadness between two creatures.
And a few that are Just Generally Really Good and So Pretty: Godfather Death, Black Bull, East of the Sun West of the Moon, What Fear Said.
There are other really good ones for sure! So many really good ones I feel bad not naming them. There's lots of really great stories and really beautiful art but the problem is there's many more that fall short. I don't have the heart to name them because I feel bad critiquing a generally good book so much, but lots of them have great premises and poor execution. Let's talk about it.
The quality of the art is good, but your enjoyment of it is going to vary based on your own taste. Personally? Not all of it was for me. The art styles themselves vary, but I would say some skew more amateurish than others. Don't get me wrong, lots of comics are absolutely lovely, and none of the art is bad per se, but much of it reads "online webcomic" instead of "trained traditionally published illustrator." And that's totally fine! That's to be expected! It says on the tin that these are online artists! I just wish I was more aware of it going into it, because I don't care for those styles. But that is a personal thing and it doesn't mean not everyone will! On top of taste, I think some artists are just better than others at using their own unique style to create visually pleasing, memorable, beautiful cartoons.
Here's my personal bias: I didn't know going into it that this contains short stories, so I was pretty unpleasantly surprised to find a short story when I went into this looking for a graphic novel to read. That said, some of the stories were still pretty good. Some of them.
I'll say it. Some of the short stories are badly written. The concepts are cool, and could make for cool stories, but the prose is just weak. Not all of them! But some of them were definitely written by someone who only writes for webcomics and has little experience with prose. And it's good for that! But it's not good on its own. It's clunky and amateurish and not fun to read.
One of the most glaring issues is the poor editing. I caught several typos reading this, which is a bold move for a book that contains the phrase "If anything is wrong, it is entirely [Sarah Stern's] fault" in the editor's bio. Also, the table of contents doesn't list the authors'/artists' names and does list page numbers even though there are no page numbers in the actual book. It also seems as though the weaker stories are put first and there are stronger stories towards the end? It's very possible that's just my perception, but I was more compelled by the stories towards the end. The first short story is one of the weakest, and I don't think Prunella is a super strong opener. It could indicate this book doesn't really know which of its stories are better than others. Or the editors didn't put much thought into the organization of stories. Or this is a meaningless nitpick that bothered me and no one else. That's also possible.
I was surprised to find out this was a Kickstarter book, but not that surprised. Very happy it found its way into my local library! Regardless of how I felt about the book that's pretty exciting for internet-spawned media.
All in all, if I backed this on Kickstarter and this arrived in my mail, I would be very happy. It didn't, though, so I'm going to hold it to the standard I would any book. And by that standard...meh
TLDR: a good book with some excellent stories and a couple stinkers. Definitely worth the read, but lower your standards if you want to enjoy it.
February 4, 2017
A comics anthology that transcends my hard-earned prejudice against anthologies! A collection of 23 short stories - most comics, a few prose - that "pays homage to the strength, resourcefulness, and cunning of female heroines in fairy tales." Some of the stories are re-creations of existing fairy tales, while some are new. It's an extremely diverse collection that includes women and girls of color, queer and trans characters, and stories rooted in a variety of cultures. The editors did a great job including a mix of atmospheres as well, from cute to scary to sad. I'd recommend this to anyone who loves fantasy, strong female characters, illustration, or just plain good comics.
November 20, 2015
Excellent anthology of stories by mostly (entirely?) webcomic authors and artists. The creators reference an array of cultures, folktales and myths. Delightfully high in diversity, including some same-sex romances, and with a variety of stories from mostly humorous to rather dark. The art is varied and excellent; the stories are creative with well-rounded characters and unexpected plot twists. Appropriate for most teens and will delight graphic novel fans in that age range as well as adults.
January 19, 2016
The art is stunning, the quality of the publication is nice, and most of the stories are top-notch. I was confused by the Crane Wife's -- not sure what the ending is we're supposed to understand. Other great stories stop mid-page left you wanting to know what happened. I don't say that as in, "Oh, this would be a great longer story." No, it just STOPS mid-action.
My favorite story is probably Prunella though the India-inspired The Little Mermaid is also a wonderful read.
My favorite story is probably Prunella though the India-inspired The Little Mermaid is also a wonderful read.
June 25, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It was a collection of comics and short stories of fairy tales with women as the main characters. There was a lot of diversity and LGBT representation was well. My only quibble is that some of the short stories could have benefited from an additional edit for grammar.
March 9, 2015
A fantastic set of stories that I will be acquiring in print form for my nieces. Great retellings of many classic fairytales with a mind on making girls the center of their own stories. Art and action combine to make great stories!
July 9, 2016
Loooooooooooove. So much love. Great stories. Love the representation! Love the art. So much love. Everyone should read these :)
January 22, 2025
Before I get started with the stories, I'd like to point out that, despite being a comic anthology, there's a surprising number of prose stories in the collection. A 'surprising number' being any at all. As in, "What the hell? What happened to the comics?". They're fine for the most part, and Goldie Locks was very good and may have worked better in prose, but there was an distinct divide between the two formats. The comic stories were fast-paced and quick to get through, but the prose stories suddenly brought the experience to a crawl.
Right off the bat was the delightful Prunella by Megan Lavey-Heaton and Isabelle Melançon, which went spinning in a direction I definitely wasn't expecting by the end of the second page. A child is cursed when she steals fruit from a witch to be feared by everyone from that day forward. Now a young woman and unable to find work thanks to the curse, she goes back to the witch and demands a job since it was her fault she couldn't find one. Not exactly where you were expecting that to go, right? In these kinds of stories, the witch usually isn't heard of after the initial incident. Well, the rest of the story is the girl and the witch's son completing the tasks the witch sets her, but despite sounding familiar in that the son asks for a kiss in return for his help (I recognize that from one of Italo Calvino's Italian folktales but I can't place which one), it's the girl who does the work and figures out most of the workarounds (how to carry water in a wicker basket, for example). And it all wraps up in a sweet romantic ending that involves a bit off asskicking. Top marks; a very enjoyable start with beautiful artwork.
Little Fish by Emily Hann is a Little Mermaid retelling that stays fairly faithful but adds a happy ending as well. It's cute, and I'm happy for the couple and that the author chose to put a trans character in an important role (a story about changing shapes being a uniquely ideal one to use for paralleling purposes), but it's not one of the best. I feel like this version is one of those unfortunate short stories that would have been more satisfying as a novella.
Bride of the Rose Beast by Michelle "Misha" Krivanek is a straightforward retelling of the story of a monster who demands a bride before the monarch can wed, and of the girl who defeats the beast after it had eaten all the brides before her. It was never one of my favorite stories, being far too similar in tasks to Tam Lin (which I've never liked much and its popularity only sours my mood for it further), and this version only changes the gender of the Rose Beast and nothing else.
Goldie Locks by Joanne Webster was the first story of the collection that dealt what would become an annoyingly repetitive surprise. As mentioned above, several of the stories in this 'comic' anthology are actually prose stories, and this is the first despite saying it has art by Isabelle Melançon. The only artwork is the cover piece and a small drawing midway through. Despite this drawback, it's one of the better stories and it probably works better in prose, anyway. In it, a royal spy named Goldie infiltrates a ball thrown by King Bear to retrieve a magic book stolen from her Queen. There's potential for a future love story in it, and it's a sweet and clever retelling.
Megan Kearney has a beautiful story with Masks, taking place on an island where a girl arrives looking for someone and is the only person not wearing a mask. Possibly a metaphor, possibly a love story, it was lovely and exhilarating.
Another retelling, Laura Neubert has done justice to the story of Godfather Death. Death is named as godfather to a young girl, and he grants her the ability to know when a person's life is coming to an end and when they can still be saved. The ending of this version is much more tragic than the original, and I can honestly say that I enjoyed Neubert's retelling far more than its source.
I have barely any idea of what's going on in Alex Singer's Crane Wife. A detective investigates the presence of a mysterious woman at the home of a recently deceased man. Jayd Aït-Kaci's art makes it worth reading, and I've always been terribly fond of shape-changer stories, but after several rereads I still can't quite figure out the ending. I feel like it's just at the tip of my fingers, though, so maybe a few more rereads will do the trick.
In a retelling of The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Alex Singer’s and Jayd Aït-Kaci’s The Steadfast Tin Automation tells the famous story using life-sized mechanical dolls. One such robot is a model used in combat that’d been bought and stored at a theatre after wearing out its usefulness. When the theatre reopens to grand acclaim with the performance of a new genesis of dancing automatons, the soldier spies on the newest troupe member and accidently starts a friendship with the lovely creation, only to be faced with the troubling realities of a world where progress lumbers forward on tank treads. The story was cute but, as most of the prose stories do, it felt like it dragged on since it takes so much longer to tell its story.
A treasure hunter takes on a dungeon everyone else has dismissed as too dangerous to be worth the payout, and finds a Flower in the Gravel. The story is cute and the artwork is nice, and the ending is hopeful and charming. Angelica Maria Lopez's story might have started a little slow for me, but it has a strong finish and an adorable pair of lead characters.
A young woman follows a Black Bull to her future, as foretold by helpful old woman, until her friend is lost forever in a battle against a threat to them both. But the woman has no intention of accepting the death as read without a corpse, and intends to find her black bull once and for all. Justin Lanjil's story is pretty, but I wish it were much longer. The pair have a montage of all the exciting things they do and places they travel to, then the bull suddenly wanders off to fight an ice demon. It was all well and good, but it felt like a retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon might if the author montaged their way through the entire middle of the story and jumped right to the main character's quest to get back the white bear. The couple here has time to fall in love but I didn't feel the chemistry with left the ending a little up-in-the-air.
Lady Tilda is a silent comic of a knight intending to fight a dragon, but who ends up taking a different route to defeat the monster. Sara Goetter’s touching story of a mother’s love has a follow-up in next week’s Valor: Wands .
A little family is starving until the girl’s mother finds some giant eggs. In spite of the child’s worries, the mother returns to the nest the next day for more, and ties together the lives of her child and the mother whose unhatched children she’d stolen. Eggchild by Ash Barnes with art by Elena "Yamino" Barbarich is a prose story that, I think, is one of the few of the book that might have worked better as a comic. The story is so full of interesting visuals, and the artwork supplied is so flowy and lovely, that it could have only improved it.
Red Riding Hood by Meaghan Carter is terribly pretty, and turns the story we all know into a poem about (I think) enjoying life and greeting death like an old friend. I could be wrong about the meaning; it's all metaphor. But the art and poem are both lovely.
This modern retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon by Morgan Beem was a bit of a let-down. It started out strong, with a girl travelling to an unknown place and the opening of the story (bear comes to fetch the girl, girl’s sisters convince her to disobey the bear’s orders, bear gets kidnapped by troll queen) told in flashbacks. But then the girl arrives at the troll castle and the retelling is over. That’s all we get. It was such a strong set-up (of one of my favorite stories) that I was really looking forward to how Beem would tell the rest, but instead it abruptly ends. ...Oh my God, you guys, he montaged his way through the middle part and jumped right to the quest for the white bear!
In a retelling of The Wild Swans,The Nettle-Witch by Nicole Chartrand is a beautifully rendered comic of a young woman whose brothers have been turned into swans. In this version the romantic interest gets to know her as she works, and love develops through their friendship, which is a refreshing difference from the original being strong-armed into marriage and all the sexual assault modern retellings tend to heap on via her inability to give consent. Why is that even a thing with so many ‘realistic’ modern retellings? Sexual assault doesn’t make your story any better than one without it, it just makes it less palatable. Not only is the story interesting and romantic, not only is the main character remarkably determined and loving, but it was nice to see a story involving a male heroic figure so closely involved with the heroine yet who had nothing whatsoever to do with her success. This is a story where familial love triumphs over romantic love and one girl triumphs over everything that’s thrown at her. Also, a special shout-out for the amazing final splash page of the girl standing on a ledge overlooking her brothers like an army general, with the brothers buff and pissed and looking down their sister’s attackers like they would happily break them apart like Kit-Kats if they made one move toward her.
Ran & Cory Brown's Please is a badass retelling of Snow White and Rose Red with the girls older and able to take care of themselves and their ursine visitor, as opposed to being small children who wander around playing while their mother does everything. And while the original has the highly questionable decision to marry off the two children at the end, Please avoids this entirely even though it would have had a much easier job of it. The changes made to the plot are exactly what makes a good retelling, and the characters have much stronger motivations and dilemmas.
In yet another of my many favorite fairy tales, All Furs by Joanne Webster is a prose story with art by Emily Hann retelling the tale of a young woman dressed in a coat made of furs from all the animals of the forest. She is taken in by a prince to work in the castle kitchens, and takes this opportunity to slip away for three nights of fun at a royal gala. The retelling was true to point, but had the bonus of making the prince(ss) and All Furs friends before they meet again at the balls. I've always loved it when that bit gets added to retellings; their romance is so 'love at first sight' otherwise. And the prince(ss) gets much more characterization this time, actually commanding more of the narrative than the title character. Normally I'd be annoyed about that but this time I think it might make the story work better.
We've got a beautiful, nearly wordless love story in Nautilus by Ash Barnes (with art by Elena "Yamino" Barbarich). A young girl is rescued from peril by the ghost/naiad sprit of a young woman, whom she takes home with her in a nautilus shell. Together they experience the girl's life as she grows into a young woman, but danger lurks in the reactions of others to their deep friendship. This one was one of the highlights of the book, easily. And I loved this choice to make the characters Muslim, because the big attack on the young woman is made so much more upsetting by her assaulters ripping off her hijab. I swear, it was a real 'oh shit!' moment. The ending is so sweet and loving, and I hope this comic is published elsewhere, too, because more people need to see this romantic bit of happiness.
I was under the impression Katie & Steven Shanahan’s comic retelling of Tatterhood was in this anthology, but while I was disappointed to see I was mistaken (I later tracked it down in Cautionary Fables & Fairy Tales: Europe Edition ) I was also blessed with their original work, What Fear Said. A lone knight approaches the cave of an unknown monster and stops. Her companion, a winged skull, starts talking with her about why she doesn’t continue. It’s deep and encouraging, and an interesting take on the action of facing your fears.
Isabelle Melançon's artwork is probably was takes Winter's Gift to a level above every other story in this collection. While Joanne Webster's origin tale of why rabbits turn white in the winter is cute, adventurous, and a little romantic, the artwork is so teeth-meltingly adorable that I keep going back to it to coo over the bunnies and the pretty seasonal magic.
A witch and a gargoyle learn you can’t get Blood From a Stone, in Tim Ferrara and Annie Stoll’s tale of a creature who desires to be more than he is, when he’s already all he needs to be. This was a cute one with an interesting art style (charcoal and watercolor), that teaches a good message in an entertaining way.
Finette by Megan Lavey-Heaton (art by Ran Brown) is another prose story, but is memorable for its unique tone. A young woman is one of many children named Finette stuck under the dubious care of an ogress. Tired being one of many and desiring a bit of adventure, Finette no.1 leaves in the company of one of the newest Finettes (a baby boy, no.17). The two are trying to get all the birth certificates filled with new names, but there’s an enchantment on them that’s making this simple process needlessly difficult. The situation is undeniably serious, but Finette no.1 gets so aggravated and frustrated by the barriers that you can’t help but giggle at the comedy of it all.
In one of my many favorite fairy tales, Vasilisa is sent by her stepmother to borrow a flame from the witch Baba Yaga, expecting her to be killed in the attempt, but the girl has a secret protector to put matters right. Kadi Fedoruk's artwork is amazing and there's an abundance of the story's Russian origins influencing it. And the retelling adds a poignant bittersweetness to the ending that's softened by a hint at the girl's future that sweeps me off into a daydream with every reread. It's a feast for the eyes and the heart.
THE VERDICT?
Alright, that's over, now on to the next book. Goodness, I must have read and reread this book a dozen times during the writing of this review, and I'm just as impressed with it as I was the first time.
Right off the bat was the delightful Prunella by Megan Lavey-Heaton and Isabelle Melançon, which went spinning in a direction I definitely wasn't expecting by the end of the second page. A child is cursed when she steals fruit from a witch to be feared by everyone from that day forward. Now a young woman and unable to find work thanks to the curse, she goes back to the witch and demands a job since it was her fault she couldn't find one. Not exactly where you were expecting that to go, right? In these kinds of stories, the witch usually isn't heard of after the initial incident. Well, the rest of the story is the girl and the witch's son completing the tasks the witch sets her, but despite sounding familiar in that the son asks for a kiss in return for his help (I recognize that from one of Italo Calvino's Italian folktales but I can't place which one), it's the girl who does the work and figures out most of the workarounds (how to carry water in a wicker basket, for example). And it all wraps up in a sweet romantic ending that involves a bit off asskicking. Top marks; a very enjoyable start with beautiful artwork.
Little Fish by Emily Hann is a Little Mermaid retelling that stays fairly faithful but adds a happy ending as well. It's cute, and I'm happy for the couple and that the author chose to put a trans character in an important role (a story about changing shapes being a uniquely ideal one to use for paralleling purposes), but it's not one of the best. I feel like this version is one of those unfortunate short stories that would have been more satisfying as a novella.
Bride of the Rose Beast by Michelle "Misha" Krivanek is a straightforward retelling of the story of a monster who demands a bride before the monarch can wed, and of the girl who defeats the beast after it had eaten all the brides before her. It was never one of my favorite stories, being far too similar in tasks to Tam Lin (which I've never liked much and its popularity only sours my mood for it further), and this version only changes the gender of the Rose Beast and nothing else.
Goldie Locks by Joanne Webster was the first story of the collection that dealt what would become an annoyingly repetitive surprise. As mentioned above, several of the stories in this 'comic' anthology are actually prose stories, and this is the first despite saying it has art by Isabelle Melançon. The only artwork is the cover piece and a small drawing midway through. Despite this drawback, it's one of the better stories and it probably works better in prose, anyway. In it, a royal spy named Goldie infiltrates a ball thrown by King Bear to retrieve a magic book stolen from her Queen. There's potential for a future love story in it, and it's a sweet and clever retelling.
Megan Kearney has a beautiful story with Masks, taking place on an island where a girl arrives looking for someone and is the only person not wearing a mask. Possibly a metaphor, possibly a love story, it was lovely and exhilarating.
Another retelling, Laura Neubert has done justice to the story of Godfather Death. Death is named as godfather to a young girl, and he grants her the ability to know when a person's life is coming to an end and when they can still be saved. The ending of this version is much more tragic than the original, and I can honestly say that I enjoyed Neubert's retelling far more than its source.
I have barely any idea of what's going on in Alex Singer's Crane Wife. A detective investigates the presence of a mysterious woman at the home of a recently deceased man. Jayd Aït-Kaci's art makes it worth reading, and I've always been terribly fond of shape-changer stories, but after several rereads I still can't quite figure out the ending. I feel like it's just at the tip of my fingers, though, so maybe a few more rereads will do the trick.
In a retelling of The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Alex Singer’s and Jayd Aït-Kaci’s The Steadfast Tin Automation tells the famous story using life-sized mechanical dolls. One such robot is a model used in combat that’d been bought and stored at a theatre after wearing out its usefulness. When the theatre reopens to grand acclaim with the performance of a new genesis of dancing automatons, the soldier spies on the newest troupe member and accidently starts a friendship with the lovely creation, only to be faced with the troubling realities of a world where progress lumbers forward on tank treads. The story was cute but, as most of the prose stories do, it felt like it dragged on since it takes so much longer to tell its story.
A treasure hunter takes on a dungeon everyone else has dismissed as too dangerous to be worth the payout, and finds a Flower in the Gravel. The story is cute and the artwork is nice, and the ending is hopeful and charming. Angelica Maria Lopez's story might have started a little slow for me, but it has a strong finish and an adorable pair of lead characters.
A young woman follows a Black Bull to her future, as foretold by helpful old woman, until her friend is lost forever in a battle against a threat to them both. But the woman has no intention of accepting the death as read without a corpse, and intends to find her black bull once and for all. Justin Lanjil's story is pretty, but I wish it were much longer. The pair have a montage of all the exciting things they do and places they travel to, then the bull suddenly wanders off to fight an ice demon. It was all well and good, but it felt like a retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon might if the author montaged their way through the entire middle of the story and jumped right to the main character's quest to get back the white bear. The couple here has time to fall in love but I didn't feel the chemistry with left the ending a little up-in-the-air.
Lady Tilda is a silent comic of a knight intending to fight a dragon, but who ends up taking a different route to defeat the monster. Sara Goetter’s touching story of a mother’s love has a follow-up in next week’s Valor: Wands .
A little family is starving until the girl’s mother finds some giant eggs. In spite of the child’s worries, the mother returns to the nest the next day for more, and ties together the lives of her child and the mother whose unhatched children she’d stolen. Eggchild by Ash Barnes with art by Elena "Yamino" Barbarich is a prose story that, I think, is one of the few of the book that might have worked better as a comic. The story is so full of interesting visuals, and the artwork supplied is so flowy and lovely, that it could have only improved it.
Red Riding Hood by Meaghan Carter is terribly pretty, and turns the story we all know into a poem about (I think) enjoying life and greeting death like an old friend. I could be wrong about the meaning; it's all metaphor. But the art and poem are both lovely.
This modern retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon by Morgan Beem was a bit of a let-down. It started out strong, with a girl travelling to an unknown place and the opening of the story (bear comes to fetch the girl, girl’s sisters convince her to disobey the bear’s orders, bear gets kidnapped by troll queen) told in flashbacks. But then the girl arrives at the troll castle and the retelling is over. That’s all we get. It was such a strong set-up (of one of my favorite stories) that I was really looking forward to how Beem would tell the rest, but instead it abruptly ends. ...Oh my God, you guys, he montaged his way through the middle part and jumped right to the quest for the white bear!
In a retelling of The Wild Swans,The Nettle-Witch by Nicole Chartrand is a beautifully rendered comic of a young woman whose brothers have been turned into swans. In this version the romantic interest gets to know her as she works, and love develops through their friendship, which is a refreshing difference from the original being strong-armed into marriage and all the sexual assault modern retellings tend to heap on via her inability to give consent. Why is that even a thing with so many ‘realistic’ modern retellings? Sexual assault doesn’t make your story any better than one without it, it just makes it less palatable. Not only is the story interesting and romantic, not only is the main character remarkably determined and loving, but it was nice to see a story involving a male heroic figure so closely involved with the heroine yet who had nothing whatsoever to do with her success. This is a story where familial love triumphs over romantic love and one girl triumphs over everything that’s thrown at her. Also, a special shout-out for the amazing final splash page of the girl standing on a ledge overlooking her brothers like an army general, with the brothers buff and pissed and looking down their sister’s attackers like they would happily break them apart like Kit-Kats if they made one move toward her.
Ran & Cory Brown's Please is a badass retelling of Snow White and Rose Red with the girls older and able to take care of themselves and their ursine visitor, as opposed to being small children who wander around playing while their mother does everything. And while the original has the highly questionable decision to marry off the two children at the end, Please avoids this entirely even though it would have had a much easier job of it. The changes made to the plot are exactly what makes a good retelling, and the characters have much stronger motivations and dilemmas.
In yet another of my many favorite fairy tales, All Furs by Joanne Webster is a prose story with art by Emily Hann retelling the tale of a young woman dressed in a coat made of furs from all the animals of the forest. She is taken in by a prince to work in the castle kitchens, and takes this opportunity to slip away for three nights of fun at a royal gala. The retelling was true to point, but had the bonus of making the prince(ss) and All Furs friends before they meet again at the balls. I've always loved it when that bit gets added to retellings; their romance is so 'love at first sight' otherwise. And the prince(ss) gets much more characterization this time, actually commanding more of the narrative than the title character. Normally I'd be annoyed about that but this time I think it might make the story work better.
We've got a beautiful, nearly wordless love story in Nautilus by Ash Barnes (with art by Elena "Yamino" Barbarich). A young girl is rescued from peril by the ghost/naiad sprit of a young woman, whom she takes home with her in a nautilus shell. Together they experience the girl's life as she grows into a young woman, but danger lurks in the reactions of others to their deep friendship. This one was one of the highlights of the book, easily. And I loved this choice to make the characters Muslim, because the big attack on the young woman is made so much more upsetting by her assaulters ripping off her hijab. I swear, it was a real 'oh shit!' moment. The ending is so sweet and loving, and I hope this comic is published elsewhere, too, because more people need to see this romantic bit of happiness.
I was under the impression Katie & Steven Shanahan’s comic retelling of Tatterhood was in this anthology, but while I was disappointed to see I was mistaken (I later tracked it down in Cautionary Fables & Fairy Tales: Europe Edition ) I was also blessed with their original work, What Fear Said. A lone knight approaches the cave of an unknown monster and stops. Her companion, a winged skull, starts talking with her about why she doesn’t continue. It’s deep and encouraging, and an interesting take on the action of facing your fears.
Isabelle Melançon's artwork is probably was takes Winter's Gift to a level above every other story in this collection. While Joanne Webster's origin tale of why rabbits turn white in the winter is cute, adventurous, and a little romantic, the artwork is so teeth-meltingly adorable that I keep going back to it to coo over the bunnies and the pretty seasonal magic.
A witch and a gargoyle learn you can’t get Blood From a Stone, in Tim Ferrara and Annie Stoll’s tale of a creature who desires to be more than he is, when he’s already all he needs to be. This was a cute one with an interesting art style (charcoal and watercolor), that teaches a good message in an entertaining way.
Finette by Megan Lavey-Heaton (art by Ran Brown) is another prose story, but is memorable for its unique tone. A young woman is one of many children named Finette stuck under the dubious care of an ogress. Tired being one of many and desiring a bit of adventure, Finette no.1 leaves in the company of one of the newest Finettes (a baby boy, no.17). The two are trying to get all the birth certificates filled with new names, but there’s an enchantment on them that’s making this simple process needlessly difficult. The situation is undeniably serious, but Finette no.1 gets so aggravated and frustrated by the barriers that you can’t help but giggle at the comedy of it all.
In one of my many favorite fairy tales, Vasilisa is sent by her stepmother to borrow a flame from the witch Baba Yaga, expecting her to be killed in the attempt, but the girl has a secret protector to put matters right. Kadi Fedoruk's artwork is amazing and there's an abundance of the story's Russian origins influencing it. And the retelling adds a poignant bittersweetness to the ending that's softened by a hint at the girl's future that sweeps me off into a daydream with every reread. It's a feast for the eyes and the heart.
THE VERDICT?
Alright, that's over, now on to the next book. Goodness, I must have read and reread this book a dozen times during the writing of this review, and I'm just as impressed with it as I was the first time.
November 30, 2020
This is a graphic novel anthology of retold folk and fairy tales, where the princess (or serving girl or daughter) gets to save herself.
This is written for older kids / younger teens but I (who adore folk and fairy tales) found it absolutely delightful and will definitely read it again.
These retellings feature POC and LGBT characters, so any child should be able to see themselves represented in at least on of the stories, and anyone with a passing knowledge of folk tales will recognize the kernel of many of these stories, although I admit that the ones I loved the best leaned on some of the less well-known tales (Vasalisa, Godfather Death).
It's a lovely collection and I will pick it up again--and look for the second volume.
“Prunella” By Isabelle Melançon And Megan Lavey-Heaton
“Little Fish” By Emily Hann
“Bride Of The Rose Beast” By Michelle “Misha” Krivanek
“Goldie Locks” By Joanne Webster And Isabelle Melançon
“Masks” By Megan Kearney
“Godfather Death” By Laura Neubert
“Crane Wife” By Alex Singer And Jayd Ait-Kaci
“The Steadfast Tin Automation” By Alex Singer And Jayd Ait-Kaci
“Flower In The Gravel” By Angelica Maria Lopez
“Black Bull” By Justin Lanjil
“Lady Tilda And The Dragon” By Sara Goetter
“Eggchild” By Ash Barnes And Elena “Yamino” Barbarich
“Red Riding Hood” By Meaghan Carter
“East Of The Sun, West Of The Moon” By Morgan Beem
“The Nettle Witch” By Nicole Chartrand
“Please” By August And Cory Brown
“All Furs” By Joanne Webster And Emily Hann
“Nautilus” By Ash Barnes And Elena “Yamino” Barbarich
“What Fear Said” By Katie And Steven Shanahan
“Winter’s Gift” By Joanne Webster And Isabelle Melançon
“Blood From A Stone” By Annie Stoll And Tim Ferrara
“Finette” By Megan Lavey-Heaton And August Brown
“Vasilisa” By Kadi Fedoruk
This is written for older kids / younger teens but I (who adore folk and fairy tales) found it absolutely delightful and will definitely read it again.
These retellings feature POC and LGBT characters, so any child should be able to see themselves represented in at least on of the stories, and anyone with a passing knowledge of folk tales will recognize the kernel of many of these stories, although I admit that the ones I loved the best leaned on some of the less well-known tales (Vasalisa, Godfather Death).
It's a lovely collection and I will pick it up again--and look for the second volume.
“Prunella” By Isabelle Melançon And Megan Lavey-Heaton
“Little Fish” By Emily Hann
“Bride Of The Rose Beast” By Michelle “Misha” Krivanek
“Goldie Locks” By Joanne Webster And Isabelle Melançon
“Masks” By Megan Kearney
“Godfather Death” By Laura Neubert
“Crane Wife” By Alex Singer And Jayd Ait-Kaci
“The Steadfast Tin Automation” By Alex Singer And Jayd Ait-Kaci
“Flower In The Gravel” By Angelica Maria Lopez
“Black Bull” By Justin Lanjil
“Lady Tilda And The Dragon” By Sara Goetter
“Eggchild” By Ash Barnes And Elena “Yamino” Barbarich
“Red Riding Hood” By Meaghan Carter
“East Of The Sun, West Of The Moon” By Morgan Beem
“The Nettle Witch” By Nicole Chartrand
“Please” By August And Cory Brown
“All Furs” By Joanne Webster And Emily Hann
“Nautilus” By Ash Barnes And Elena “Yamino” Barbarich
“What Fear Said” By Katie And Steven Shanahan
“Winter’s Gift” By Joanne Webster And Isabelle Melançon
“Blood From A Stone” By Annie Stoll And Tim Ferrara
“Finette” By Megan Lavey-Heaton And August Brown
“Vasilisa” By Kadi Fedoruk
May 9, 2019
Fairy tales in both the traditional and reimagined ways appear in this first volume. Heroines that are not necessarily the maidenly or the Mary Jane type. These ladies can carry their own swords. Here Goldilocks is a master thief, Little Red befriends the wolf (or is it a dream in the flowers?), a rabbit searches for Winter, the Black Bull is more than it seems, a lady must evade a city of masqueraders, and many others must face conflict to complete their quest. Great start in this volume, and can't wait to see the other volume "suits" they seem named after (Swords, Wands, Pentacles, Cups). I wonder if they will follow that pattern or turn to fantasy weaponry names (like shields, daggers, axes, etc.)?
July 8, 2017
It's so, so rare to see a collection of fairy tales, written in English, that not only focuses on women but women of diverse ethnicity and orientations. This book does all that in ~300 pages of gorgeous, full colored pages. It features works by many of the well-known online artists and writers. I usually hate anthologies because usually I only like one or two of the stories in each collection-- I initially got the pdf for this in order to support my favorite artists / discover other artists. After my 3rd re-read of the pdf, however, I went and bought the physical book because it's THAT good.
December 29, 2018
3.5 stars. Valor is an anthology of fairy tales whose main characters are predominantly women. Some of the stories were unusually innovative, most not. The art is consistently fantastic. The book is delightful in its inclusive representation of people of color and people across the LGBTQ+ spectrum. I also do appreciate that most of the writers are indie authors. Do I wish there were a couple more original takes on these fairy tales? Yes. But overall, it's an entertaining read.
June 17, 2020
Read for the Witcher-a-thon June 2020 reading challenge.
Prompt: Yennefer of Vengerberg (read a book with a strong female character)
A few of the comics and stories were a little weak but over all this was great! A very diverse collection of fairytales, sticking quite close to most of the original plots but changing up gender, sexual orientation, and race in a way that more well known collections, authors and companies should take note of.
Prompt: Yennefer of Vengerberg (read a book with a strong female character)
A few of the comics and stories were a little weak but over all this was great! A very diverse collection of fairytales, sticking quite close to most of the original plots but changing up gender, sexual orientation, and race in a way that more well known collections, authors and companies should take note of.
October 31, 2018
If you're looking for a comics anthology that portrays women in a positive light, check out "Valor." It is wonderfully illustrated and the stories, some new and some reworking of classics, show their protagonists overcoming difficulties and obstacles. Each protagonist emerges stronger and wiser, more capable of facing the world. This is a comics anthology that readers should find worthwhile.
January 5, 2019
I backed the Kickstarter for this collection and have never regretted it. Every time I re-read it I'm struck by the depth of the stories, the unique perspectives, the gorgeous art. There's one or two weaker stories in here but I don't mind--the rest more than makes up for it. Definitely looking forward to having this for my children to read and enjoy as much as I have.
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