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Shades of Magic comics (Single Issues) #9-12

Shades of Magic Vol. 3: The Rebel Army

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Written by #1 New York Times bestselling author V.E. Schwab and torn from the universe of the Shades of Magic sequence, this third volume in the all-original comic book adventure series sees the saga of the the story begun in The Steel Prince - perfect for fans of bloody, swashbuckling adventure and gritty fantasy!

Once just a single ship, now the pirate fleet of the Rebel Army numbers in its thousands. Made up of traitors from each of the three empires, the fleet, who once made the open waters of the Blood Coast their home, have set their sights on establishing their own land based empire with London as their capital.

The Rebel Army is a battalion made up of traitors to each of the three empires, who've claimed the open waters of the Blood Coast as their territory. Led by a Faroan, a Veskan, and an Arnesian (Rowan, the Antari from the Night of Knives), the RA started as a rag-tag gang, a single ship, but in the last few months, they've gained momentum. Once content to claim the open water as their empire, they've grown in ambition, and scope, and now they're claiming ports, creeping toward a full-on land assault. Their goal? London. But first, they'll have to cross Verose, where Maxim, Isra, and the royal guard are waiting.

112 pages, Paperback

First published April 21, 2020

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5455 people want to read

About the author

V.E. Schwab

69 books77.3k followers
This author also writes under the name of Victoria Schwab.

VICTORIA “V. E.” SCHWAB is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty books, including the acclaimed Shades universe, the Villains series, the City of Ghosts series, Gallant, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and The Fragile Threads of Power. When not haunting Paris streets or trudging up English hillsides, she can usually be found in Edinburgh, Scotland, tucked in the corner of a coffee shop, dreaming up monsters.

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5 stars
443 (18%)
4 stars
1,037 (43%)
3 stars
780 (32%)
2 stars
106 (4%)
1 star
11 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 323 reviews
Profile Image for Prabhjot Kaur.
1,133 reviews217 followers
July 27, 2021
Nothing but ash and blood.

The Rebel Army is the final issue in the series. At the end of the Night of Knives, Rowan escaped to White London and now he has gathered the rebel army. Back in Verose, Maxim is training the soldiers and they get a message saying that the rebel army draws near.

The rebel army is burning all the ports on its way to Verose. Maxim is trying to gather allies and also he is trying to understand how the rebel army has become so powerful. He learns that Rowan is still alive.

The future is built one stone at a time.

Maxim sends a word to his father that the rebel army is approaching. Maxim is staying in Verose to fight against the rebel army and he's gathered some allies with his speech. The rebel army arrives in Verose and the fight starts.

A weapon is only as strong as its wielder.

Maxim follows a plan he came up with along with his allies/soldiers and he faces Rowan all by himself. Rowan does something completely unexpected. Maxim wins the fight and he heads back to London as ordered back by his father, King Nakil Maresh.

I know it's a short read but everything happened way too fast in this final issue. I liked some things about this whilst not others like why did Rowan just kill himself? It made no sense. He was quite powerful and he could have gone over to a different London for sure. Anyway!

This was a mess in terms of art. I liked the art better in the Night of Knives but this felt like a completely different style. Also, I have an ebook of this and the print was so hard to read. I just wish that the writers would consider people with ebooks because this isn't the first graphic novel where the print is quite hard to read. Action sequences are very haphazard. I had to re-read some of the parts and match the artwork with it and it was confusing to say the least.

The story was also quite messy. I had high hopes after liking the Night of Knives but this fell short on my expectations. As for magic in this entire series, nothing has yet been explained and I'd really like to know something, anything really. That ending has left me curious though.

2.75 stars
Profile Image for Mery ✨.
674 reviews40 followers
September 15, 2020
4.5/5

I am loving this graphic series! There has to be another one, right? Because THE END was not really an end and I need more.
Profile Image for destiny ♡ howling libraries.
2,002 reviews6,195 followers
February 20, 2022
Vol. 1: The Steel Prince ★★★★★
Vol. 2: Night of Knives ★★★★★
Vol. 3: The Rebel Army ★★★★★

I'm so glad I waited to read these graphic novels until they were all out so that I could binge them back-to-back like I just did, because I was totally hooked on this trilogy of volumes and couldn't put them down! This was my least favorite of the graphic novels in one sense, because as I mentioned in my review of the first volume, the art style made fight scenes hard to follow at times, and that problem was more noticeable to me in this volume than the previous two. On the other hand, though, I enjoyed Maxim's character the most in this volume as we got to see how much he had progressed away from an arrogant, cocky princeling, into this disciplined, brave man who knows what he has to lose and what he needs to prove. Well done yet again, Schwab!

Representation: the members of the Maresh family are Black; multiple BIPOC side characters; one on-page sapphic side character

Content warnings for: violence, death,

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Profile Image for Vicky Again.
645 reviews827 followers
Read
July 5, 2020
I liked how it played into the motif that was established in Vol. 1 and Vol. 2--that although Maxim is rumored to have accomplished all these feats, there's an element to them all that is a little false. (No spoilers!) This was a really interesting dynamic that made the graphic novels a lot more raw and honest than one would expect, and it worked well with the fact that these are a backstory prequel series.

Profile Image for The Escapist Reader.
193 reviews13 followers
May 6, 2020
3 out of 5 stars

Though enjoyable, this last volume of Maxim's adventures was not my favourite. In my opinion, the pacing was kind of off and the ending a little anticlamactic. The overall story, however, is still cool and a great treat for the fans of the Shades of Magic trilogy.

Happy reading
Profile Image for anne larouche.
371 reviews1,586 followers
October 2, 2021
J’avais trouvé que le 2e tome s’améliorait grandement car l’histoire suivait une ligne directrice beaucoup plus claire, mais avec le 3e, on retrouve la confusion du 1er et je suis franchement déçue. L’univers est cool mais… pas le meilleur moment lecture de l’année.
Profile Image for Sam.
723 reviews132 followers
June 27, 2020
“A jagged blade against a decorative sword. Let’s see which breaks first.”

The Rebel Army is an enjoyable conclusion to the Steel Prince series! It’s action packed and intense the whole way through. Honestly, V.E. Schwab can do no wrong in my eyes. I really hope we get more graphic novels from the Shades of Magic world, and it looks quite possible! Fingers crossed!
Profile Image for Lashaan Balasingam.
1,475 reviews4,623 followers
July 5, 2020


You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.

It's nice to see an author attempt to explore a different medium to tell stories set in the same universe as some of their best series. Comic books offer a very unique style of story-telling where the visual elements help guide the reader into further appreciating the writer's ideas by being quickly immersed into the familiar lands established in books and watching their characters being drawn to life. At what cost though? While the spin-offs, prequels, tie-ins, and whatnot are all exciting ideas, the execution isn't guaranteed. After all, if there is no reward, there is only disappointment. In what should be the final story-arc in the adventures of prince Maxim Maresh, author V.E. Schwab sends her character up against a pirate fleet that will stop at nothing to take down anyone who stands in their way.

What is Shades of Magic: The Steel Prince: The Rebel Army about? The Rebel Army was nothing more than a lowly group of pirates roaming the seas aimlessly with no manpower or leadership to make something of their lives. It is the arrival of certain traitors from each of the three empires (a Faroan, a Veskan, and the Arnesian known as Rowan) who look to build their own empire with London as their capital that the Rebel Army is rebuilt into a destructive fleet. However, before establishing their new kingdom, they will have to pass by Verose where Maxim and his newly-trusting comrades will have to face them and put an end to their rampage before more lives fall to their hands.

It was interesting to watch Prince Maxim Maresh try to learn to become a leader instead of rotting away as a privileged member of royalty. However, with the adventures presented in the previous story-arcs being far from original, there was no surprise with this final event as it follows down the same path and offers a generic journey of preparation to face an upcoming naval threat. On top of that, with these heroes being outnumbered, the solutions and the stakes were far too obvious and made this adventure too contrived and stale. The linearity of the narrative coupled with the generic writing to embellish the action-packed story thus offers very little reward. It doesn't help when there's little room to invest in the characters and their motivations as they are all mostly poorly-developed (and drawn) characters. Leave it to a banal ending where Prince Maxim Maresh learns nothing about loyalty and leadership to wrap things up and let this series set sail into oblivion.

If the lackluster story-telling wasn't enough, the artwork should highlight this spin-off prequel's irrelevance on top of the poor contribution of this comic book series to the original book trilogy's universe. There's an absence of attention to detail that is ludicrous for these short four-issue story-arcs that truly stuns me as rough penciling continues to pervade this chapter in Prince Maxim Maresh's life. Often, there's also a poor grasp on how to capture movement that is quickly observable and truly strips this comic book's ability to tell a dynamic tale. The action sequences are also often difficult to understand with rarely any sense of excitement. The colouring at least establishes a gloomier tone to the overall tale and allows all the magical elements to pop off the pages as you swiftly breeze through this finale with overall disappointment.

Shades of Magic: The Steel Prince: The Rebel Army is an unimpressive finale that sends Prince Maxim Maresh into a trial of leadership that juggles life and death.

Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/
Profile Image for Kobi.
434 reviews21 followers
May 22, 2021
Maybe it's because I waited so long between reading the first two instalments and this one that I had trouble reading this? It felt rushed and I (once again) had trouble with the art style and how the scenes were formatted. But I can't deny that I enjoy the story, because it really is a captivating plot. As a lover of the Shades of Magic series, these comics hold a special place in my heart and I'll continue to read anything Schwab releases that takes place in this universe.

Now... what's all this about a cliffhanger?
Profile Image for Leyre.
197 reviews3 followers
February 13, 2022
Me ha dado pena terminar estos cómics, pero creo que este tomo ha sido un final perfecto. Empieza directamente donde termina el anterior, con el enemigo real revelado y sus planes de venganza y de ataque desarrollándose en las páginas de esta obra, y aunque no lo desarrollan, no le hace falta: este enemigo es el más carismático de los que ha tenido Maxim Maresh hasta ahora.

Este tomo destaca, sobre todo, por su acción: los personajes ya están definidos, sus cambios y evoluciones ya se ven en sus comportamientos, y se puede por fin centrar en la historia, en la amenaza del ejército rebelde y en la persona que está detrás de todo. Las escenas, violentas, son impresionantes, y una cosa que me ha gustado mucho es algo que se hereda también del tono anterior: aunque algo suceda de una forma, lo real no tiene por qué coincidir con su leyenda, y en este final pasa exactamente eso.

El antagonista recibe el final que merece, y Maxim también. Me gusta que, aunque en ningún momento se nieguen a mostrar que Maxim es fuerte, en el enfrentamiento final no se pasen y siga estando a un nivel razonable para él; me gusta que la historia encaje bien con los libros gracias a esos paneles finales; me gusta que recuerden quién es Isra en los libros, y también que la historia continúe. Quizá echo en falta, al igual que en el primero, alguna página más para desarrollar las cosas con más calma, pero en general el ritmo es muy bueno para una obra de batalla, y me ha gustado.

Bueno, y el dibujo sigue estando a otro nivel, es impresionante y un auténtico placer visual. Muy recomendados, con todo.
Profile Image for soph (rhy kinnie).
121 reviews33 followers
April 27, 2022
IM JUST SO HAPPY TO FINALLY SEE WHAT LONDON AND ANTARI MAGIC ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE. I gotta say, everything looks a little more sci-fi inspired than fantasy which I love cause it basically adds on to the world-building of Arnes being an entirely different world and therefore have an entirely different aesthetic even if it's period
Profile Image for melhara.
1,845 reviews90 followers
January 14, 2024
3.5/5

I quite enjoyed this final volume of The Steel Prince comics. While I was a bit underwhelmed with the ending and how Maxim defeated Rowan and the Rebel Army, I think I enjoyed the artwork in this volume more so than in the previous two. I think the way the artists depicted the magical powers and the burning cities were very well done.


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Average rating for the entire comic series: 3/5
My reviews for the rest of the comics:
Volume 1: The Steel Prince (2.5/5) | Volume 2: Night of Knives (3/5) | Volume 3: The Rebel Army (3.5/5)

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Check out my reviews for the other books set in the Shades of Magic universe:
Prequel Comic (SoM Vol. 1): The Steel Prince (2.5/5)
Prequel Comic (SoM Vol. 2): Night of Knives (3/5)
Prequel Comic (SoM Vol. 3): The Rebel Army (3.5/5)
Book 1 (SoM Book 1): A Darker Shade of Magic (3.5/5)
Book 2 (SoM Book 1): A Gathering of Shadows (5/5)
Book 3 (SoM Book 1): A Conjuring of Light (3/5)
Book 4 (Sequel Trilogy, ToP Book 1): The Fragile Threads of Power (5/5)
Profile Image for Kelly.
620 reviews19 followers
March 7, 2022
4/5

Wow, what an ending! I’m so curious to read A Darker Shade of Magic with how this volume ended….!

I have very little info on the DSoM trilogy, but these comics didn’t spoil anything for me; if anything it made me want to get to the books sooner than planned. Very cool!
Profile Image for bailey elizabeth smith.
446 reviews226 followers
August 13, 2024
4 ⭐️

It’s wild how a whole battle can be started and finished and told in such a succinct yet gripping way! I bow at your feet!!!

Loved watching maxim come into himself and earn his name as the steel prince!
Profile Image for Jenn.
2,050 reviews328 followers
April 30, 2021
I still love these little extra glimpses into this world that Schwab continues to give us. I'm still not a super fan of Max but I do enjoy getting to know him better and see how his past shaped him.
Profile Image for Alba Christopher.
173 reviews4 followers
April 30, 2025
Demasiado Maxim y muy poco Isra, y siento que Rowan tiene un muy buen punto, en especial si vemos la forma en la que el hijuemadre de Maxim trataba a Kell en ADSOM

La cuarta estrella es por la aparición estelar de mi abuelo Tieren best character
Profile Image for Jahi.
433 reviews70 followers
May 11, 2022
Solo voy a decir que...

• Me acaban de dar unas ganas terribles de releerme una de las mejores trilogías que me he topado Shades of Magic y es muy probable que caiga este año... o el que viene.
Profile Image for Jazmin Castro.
510 reviews200 followers
July 21, 2021
No voy a mentir, esperaba un poco más de estos comics, pero también entiendo que al estar en este formato es mucho más complicado profundizar en la historia. Por ello, quiero resaltar la importancia de las ilustraciones en estas historias. La imagen describe todo lo que los diálogos no logran abarcar, lo que está genial porque eso hace que se entienda muchísimo mejor lo que va ocurriendo durante una pelea (que a veces me pierdo cuando lo leo en un libro).

Ahora, la historia. Se nota de que Maxim tuvo mucha diversión cuando era joven, pero me preocupa un poco su deseo de conocer a un Antari y hacer que trabaje con él (y no es spoiler, literalmente lo dicen en el primer libro de Sombras de Magia). Pero de hecho conocerlo más a profundidad explica muchas cosas, aunque en serio me hubiera gustado que pongan un poquito de Emira también aquí. ¿Isra? Increíble. De hecho que ahora le quiero reclamar a Victoria Schwab por poner tan poco de ella en los libros.

En fin, estos comics son muy buena opción si, como yo, aún no puedes superar el mundo de Sombras de Magia. No siento que sean esenciales, pero si los lees, no te vas a arrepentir de descubrir una nueva parte de este mundo increíble.
Profile Image for Ray Flores.
1,689 reviews255 followers
March 4, 2021
So, I’m a bit disappointed.

Whilst the first two volumes were exciting, filled with action scenes and character development and a couple of interesting villians, I don’t feel like this was the proper conclusion to the prequel, telling the story of prince Maxim.

Once again we have Olimpieri’s art and while it did work in the first volume, I think the coloring was far too dark in this one. Some scenes really made me squeeze my eyes so I could see what was going on.

The pacing felt too rushed too (even for a graphic novel/comic) and the ending was anticlimactic to say the least. I don’t know if this was Schwab’s intention but I really felt disappointed. I’m not sure if there will be another volume because it ended with a cliff-hanger and we still have questions left unanswered, but if this was the actual ending, then it’s a bummer.

Would I recommend it? Yes, despite this volume, the prequel gives us a better understanding of how Red London looks like.

PREVIOUS REVIEWS:
Shades of Magic Vol. 1: The Steel Prince | Shades of Magic Vol 2: Night of Knives
Profile Image for Bandit.
4,944 reviews578 followers
July 21, 2021
Completing the trilogy with this volume. The Antari magician is back and ready to take on the steel prince. And the prince goes “Oh yeah, you and what army?” and the magician goes “The Rebel Army”. Those are a really kickass gang of traitor pirates, or pirate traitors. And so they fight. Guess who wins?
That’s pretty much the entire book. Trilogy concluded. The legend of The Steel Prince is born.
Overall, having read all three books, the general opinion is…fine. They are fine. The story’s fine. Entertaining enough, very quick read, can work as random standalone or an invite to the greater Schwab’s universe or just tasty morsels for the existing fans of it.
The art didn’t do much for me at all, it had the video game blandness to, nothing special. In fact, nothing special pretty much covers the entire trilogy, diverting, but nothing special. The Shades of Magic fanatics would probably get the most out of these books. And fantasy fans.

This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
Profile Image for Alhice.
99 reviews2 followers
June 5, 2020
I received an arc of this book from Edelweiss in exchange for and honest opinion

While I am very greatful to Edelweiss for giving me the opportunity to read this graphic novel in advance I must say that the copy I received was not great. Words were out of the drawings and mixed, also there were some letter missing, which made it quite hard for me to follow along with the story.

However, based on what I could read, this is another great story from V.E. Schwab. This in particular was very action packed. It is always a pleasure to go back to the ADSOM world.
Plus, I love the idea of the graphic novel series to give us an insight into the live of Maresh before he became king.

Also, the drawings are absolutely amazing.

I will buy the physical copy once it’s out to complete my collection.
Profile Image for Marina Vidal.
Author 71 books155 followers
November 8, 2020
4.5/5

Mi tomo favorito de los tres. Los personajes están totalmente perfilados y se explora muy bien su carisma en especial el de Maxim. La trama es la que más me ha gustado, aunque el final es un poquito flojo. De todas formas siempre da mucho gusto volver al mundo de A Dark Shade of Magic.
Profile Image for Ashley Lewis.
225 reviews123 followers
December 6, 2020
Graphic novels are perfect for when you want a nice, quick read😌

It's been almost a year since I've been in the ADSOM world so it took me a minute to remember what's happening 😂 But, it was an enjoyable read nonetheless

RTC
Profile Image for Megan Tosti.
244 reviews9 followers
July 31, 2020
I didn’t like this one as much as the two previous volumes but I’m über excited an Antari made an appearance 😍😍😍
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