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Sea Serpent's Heir #1
Sea Serpent's Heir Book One: The Pirate's Daughter
For teenage Aella, growing up is hard. Even harder when you find out that you're the reincarnation of an ancient sea serpent that's destined to destroy the world, in a graphic novel trilogy from acclaimed creators Mairghread Scott and Pablo Tunica.
THE END OF THE WORLD IS COMING.
For Aella, life on Kinamen Isle is one of boredom. Spending her days fishing and minding her aunts, she dreams of life beyond the horizon.
Everything changes, however, when she awakens an ancient evil within herself as it's revealed that she's the reincarnation of Xir, the serpent that almost destroyed the world. Worse yet, a fanatical religious organization has arrived on Kinamen Isle in search of Xir.
As Aella is forced to fight for her life, she'll discover that her entire world is not what it seems. Her aunts know more than they let on and what exactly does the infamous Pirate Queen want with Aella?
From the team of Mairghread Scott (Star Wars: Resistance, Guardians of the Galaxy) and Pablo Tunica (TMNT Universe) comes an extraordinary tale of growing up and changing your fate.
THE END OF THE WORLD IS COMING.
For Aella, life on Kinamen Isle is one of boredom. Spending her days fishing and minding her aunts, she dreams of life beyond the horizon.
Everything changes, however, when she awakens an ancient evil within herself as it's revealed that she's the reincarnation of Xir, the serpent that almost destroyed the world. Worse yet, a fanatical religious organization has arrived on Kinamen Isle in search of Xir.
As Aella is forced to fight for her life, she'll discover that her entire world is not what it seems. Her aunts know more than they let on and what exactly does the infamous Pirate Queen want with Aella?
From the team of Mairghread Scott (Star Wars: Resistance, Guardians of the Galaxy) and Pablo Tunica (TMNT Universe) comes an extraordinary tale of growing up and changing your fate.
173 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 18, 2021
7 people are currently reading
464 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
November 25, 2021
A girl with a sea demon inside of her is hunted by religious zealots while her pirate mother and her crew try to keep her safe. This was really good. I really liked the art and character designs. Tunica's art reminded me of Gabriel Rodriguez crossed with some Dark Crystal era Brian Froud.
Received a review copy from Image and Edelweiss.
Received a review copy from Image and Edelweiss.
August 3, 2022
This is a beautifully illustrated and compelling story. The plot is a fantastical coming of age story. I went into the book blind, which I think really boosted my appreciation of the book - because those plot twists had me reeling. If you’re looking to get lost in a gorgeous graphic novel that isn’t too dark, then check this one out!
*I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and the author at the ALA Annual conference 2022*
*I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and the author at the ALA Annual conference 2022*
September 26, 2022
Lots of fabulous artwork but I was confused by the story.
August 1, 2024
Hm, gemischte Gefühle. Einerseits finde ich Godpunk-Elemente immer interessant, andererseits war es hier einfach nur verwirrend. Die Panels waren sich recht ähnlich, sodass Szenenwechsel verwirrt haben, die Charakterentwicklung war wirklich so rasant schnell, dass ich sie nicht ganz nachvollziehen konnte - alles in allem, nicht wirklich was für mich. Könnte aber auch sein, dass dieses Buch die vorbereitende Geschichte für das ist, was jetzt noch kommt.
September 10, 2025
This is a solid dark-chosen-one fantasy TPB. That is instantly immersive and presents us with quick and The surprisingly complex relationships between characters that are intense and well done. It's nice to find a book where the story and the art work very nicely together, each is very balanced and you can see the writer and artist actually working as a team as opposed to two ships in the night. I enjoyed the idea that there are villains all around, and even inside of you, so what are you to do?
The story is fast paced, and the end comes ripping and is a bit heartbreaking, but there is still a lot of story wiggle room to either bring things around, or tell a compelling tragedy. I will definitely continue this series.
I loved the art, which is lush and full of detailed scenery and beautifully stylistic objects, but I did feel that the close face and character studies to be weaker, or inconsistent.
The story is fast paced, and the end comes ripping and is a bit heartbreaking, but there is still a lot of story wiggle room to either bring things around, or tell a compelling tragedy. I will definitely continue this series.
I loved the art, which is lush and full of detailed scenery and beautifully stylistic objects, but I did feel that the close face and character studies to be weaker, or inconsistent.
June 23, 2023
3.8
This is an interesting take on chosen (anti-chosen?) one stories and Godpunk lore. I really like the designs, particularly in the ways the demon corruption is shown. I'm out off a bit by the cliche romantic plot and I was hoping to care more about Aella herself, but this is a series opener and the aesthetic remains great, so we'll see!
This is an interesting take on chosen (anti-chosen?) one stories and Godpunk lore. I really like the designs, particularly in the ways the demon corruption is shown. I'm out off a bit by the cliche romantic plot and I was hoping to care more about Aella herself, but this is a series opener and the aesthetic remains great, so we'll see!
August 10, 2024
Oh this sh*t was goooooood
November 21, 2021
Great art, great story. Loved it.
December 8, 2022
I ended up liking this one more than I was expecting to. The illustrations are great, and the fact that this one turned expectations of how a story like this is "supposed" to go was refreshing.
March 3, 2024
Reading 2024
Book 39: Sea Serpents Heir Vol. 1: The Pirate's Daughter by Mairghread Scott
A graphic novel on the Texas Maverick list for grades 6-8.
Synopsis: For teenage Aella, growing up is hard. Even harder when you find out that you're the reincarnation of an ancient sea serpent that's destined to destroy the world, in a graphic novel trilogy.
Review: I did not really enjoy this book as much as I bet some kids who are into sea creatures might. The pages were jam packed with too much, the story was okay. Did not hit the mark for me. My rating 3⭐️.
Book 39: Sea Serpents Heir Vol. 1: The Pirate's Daughter by Mairghread Scott
A graphic novel on the Texas Maverick list for grades 6-8.
Synopsis: For teenage Aella, growing up is hard. Even harder when you find out that you're the reincarnation of an ancient sea serpent that's destined to destroy the world, in a graphic novel trilogy.
Review: I did not really enjoy this book as much as I bet some kids who are into sea creatures might. The pages were jam packed with too much, the story was okay. Did not hit the mark for me. My rating 3⭐️.
August 31, 2023
Okay Read
I received an advance review copy for free from Edelweiss, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Thank you, Mairghread Scott, for the opportunity to read your book. This was an alright read. This is the first volume of the Sea Serpents Heir and is about growing up and changing your fate. In this volume, we meet Aella, a teenager who finds out she is the reincarnation of an ancient sea serpent destined to destroy the world. I thought the story was confusing and really fast-paced. I thought that the characters were good as well. If the story was longer, there could have been more development in the characters. However, the illustrations were beautifully drawn. I think the illustrations were the highlight for me, because of how they conveyed the story. I am looking forward to seeing what book 2 is like. However, the events that occurred in this volume alone could have been told in different volumes as well. Overall, an okay read.
I received an advance review copy for free from Edelweiss, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Thank you, Mairghread Scott, for the opportunity to read your book. This was an alright read. This is the first volume of the Sea Serpents Heir and is about growing up and changing your fate. In this volume, we meet Aella, a teenager who finds out she is the reincarnation of an ancient sea serpent destined to destroy the world. I thought the story was confusing and really fast-paced. I thought that the characters were good as well. If the story was longer, there could have been more development in the characters. However, the illustrations were beautifully drawn. I think the illustrations were the highlight for me, because of how they conveyed the story. I am looking forward to seeing what book 2 is like. However, the events that occurred in this volume alone could have been told in different volumes as well. Overall, an okay read.
October 25, 2022
10/22/2022 A grudging 3 stars. Full review tk at TheFrumiousConsortium.net.
10/25/2022 Siiiiigh. I'm sure lots of people will love this book but it is not, unfortunately, for me.
Premise: young Aella hates living on her remote fishing island, and longs to run away and have real adventures. Her mother Ryanna is constantly away at sea herself, leaving Aella to be raised by a coterie of friends and neighbors. Ryanna keeps promising that she'll take Aella with her on one of these journeys, but the years pass and she never does.
Then a ship of knights from the Church of Thenas show up. The knights are demon hunters, and they've come to the island of Kinamen in order to find and kill the greatest demon of all. The sea serpent Xir is the daughter of the moon and sea, and is prophesied to destroy the world. The knights are here to ensure that that doesn't happen, and to behave as boorishly as possible in the process. The townsfolk put up with their behavior, as there is no other choice really. The youngest and still most idealistic of the knights, Bashir, is apologetic, so is set to double guard duty by his more cynical superiors while the others rest.
Aella comes in from fishing and instantly falls in love with what she sees as a literal knight in shining armor. The innsfolk try to shoo her off home, but she decides to sneak back in and see if she can meet Bashir and set off on the adventure she's always craved. Bashir listens to her story of dreaming about demons and tries to introduce her to his superiors. They, however, see the scales on her arms and immediately assume she's the demon they've been looking for.
Naturally, all hell breaks loose. The innsfolk and islanders immediately come to Aella's defense as all the knights except Bashir try to kill her. Aella reacts like a total infant, blubbering that her friends are all murderers when, idk, they're trying to prevent her from getting killed by armed knights actively trying to murder them first? Anyway, the story is all downhill from there, as Aella slingshots between being ridiculously naive to being completely heartbroken and vengeful, mainly because of a boy. There are going to be readers who deeply relate or otherwise think this makes for awesome reading, but I am not one of those people.
Which is too bad, because I do like a good novel of the sea. Pablo Túnica's art is nicely kinetic, with a touch of the gruesome (lots of bulgy flesh and strange marine adaptations) to go with the breakneck pace of the action. I just didn't feel like Aella's character progression made any sense, or at least not the kind I could empathize with. It's weird that she was never taught to distrust the church or how not to take strangers at face value, and weird that she was basically given a fairy tale long-lost princess upbringing when the people around her knew what she was at least potentially capable of doing. While I can be okay with a marshmallow pacifist heroine, her character progression just demands too much sympathy for her poor choices.
Sea Serpent's Heir, Book 1: Pirate's Daughter by Mairghread Scott & Pablo Túnica was published October 18 2022 by Image Comics and is available from all good booksellers, including Bookshop!
10/25/2022 Siiiiigh. I'm sure lots of people will love this book but it is not, unfortunately, for me.
Premise: young Aella hates living on her remote fishing island, and longs to run away and have real adventures. Her mother Ryanna is constantly away at sea herself, leaving Aella to be raised by a coterie of friends and neighbors. Ryanna keeps promising that she'll take Aella with her on one of these journeys, but the years pass and she never does.
Then a ship of knights from the Church of Thenas show up. The knights are demon hunters, and they've come to the island of Kinamen in order to find and kill the greatest demon of all. The sea serpent Xir is the daughter of the moon and sea, and is prophesied to destroy the world. The knights are here to ensure that that doesn't happen, and to behave as boorishly as possible in the process. The townsfolk put up with their behavior, as there is no other choice really. The youngest and still most idealistic of the knights, Bashir, is apologetic, so is set to double guard duty by his more cynical superiors while the others rest.
Aella comes in from fishing and instantly falls in love with what she sees as a literal knight in shining armor. The innsfolk try to shoo her off home, but she decides to sneak back in and see if she can meet Bashir and set off on the adventure she's always craved. Bashir listens to her story of dreaming about demons and tries to introduce her to his superiors. They, however, see the scales on her arms and immediately assume she's the demon they've been looking for.
Naturally, all hell breaks loose. The innsfolk and islanders immediately come to Aella's defense as all the knights except Bashir try to kill her. Aella reacts like a total infant, blubbering that her friends are all murderers when, idk, they're trying to prevent her from getting killed by armed knights actively trying to murder them first? Anyway, the story is all downhill from there, as Aella slingshots between being ridiculously naive to being completely heartbroken and vengeful, mainly because of a boy. There are going to be readers who deeply relate or otherwise think this makes for awesome reading, but I am not one of those people.
Which is too bad, because I do like a good novel of the sea. Pablo Túnica's art is nicely kinetic, with a touch of the gruesome (lots of bulgy flesh and strange marine adaptations) to go with the breakneck pace of the action. I just didn't feel like Aella's character progression made any sense, or at least not the kind I could empathize with. It's weird that she was never taught to distrust the church or how not to take strangers at face value, and weird that she was basically given a fairy tale long-lost princess upbringing when the people around her knew what she was at least potentially capable of doing. While I can be okay with a marshmallow pacifist heroine, her character progression just demands too much sympathy for her poor choices.
Sea Serpent's Heir, Book 1: Pirate's Daughter by Mairghread Scott & Pablo Túnica was published October 18 2022 by Image Comics and is available from all good booksellers, including Bookshop!
January 28, 2023
Това е реално най-впечатляващият комикс от книжката ми с примери. Хареса ми най-много и като стил, и като поставяне на историята, пък дори и пак да има доста класически вид. Трябва да запомня да разгледам книжката по-обстойно, ако някога ми попадне.
November 21, 2022
Certainly not great storytelling or color, but the characters and themes work. The inking and style are wonderful. Take it or leave it. Thought I'd love it.
August 30, 2024
Interesting start with beautiful art, I’m intrigued as to how this will pan out!
September 3, 2024
3.5
Sea serpent demons, pirate queens and religious nights all fight to the death.
Sea serpent demons, pirate queens and religious nights all fight to the death.
November 23, 2023
I didn't know much about this going in, and I think it was better that way. The truth about Aella and Kinamen Isle were great surprises that way. I liked the artwork, for the most part. Sometimes it was hard to see what was happening in the battle scenes. I like this action-packed story, and I'm eager to read the next.
March 16, 2023
2.5 stars, rounded down. An all right fantasy story, but I found it rushed (ESPECIALLY when they got to the kissy part - what the hell?!?).
Art: 2.5 /5 The design of the main character, Aella, reminded me very much of Kamala Khan, which was distracting, and the faces could get rather messy: lots of rubber-lips, and faces often looking a bit squished, sometimes making a character look suddenly very aged for about 3 panels (it was hard to figure how old her mother is supposed to be). Aella and Bashir seem to swing between being babyfaced kids and being teens. And for the longest time I thought Captain Oren was an old woman, from the drawing, but it turns out he's a man (cis - they weren't doing it on purpose).
Plot: should have taken its time more to make the emotional arcs more sympathetic and believable. Bashir's loyalties swing back and forth way too easily, and I never got a good feel of the depth (or not) of Aella's mother's feelings for her daughter (it relies on telling with not enough showing to back it up). The final action sequence in particular wraps up way too fast to have the desired impact.
Verdict: younger-teen readers or readers with short enough attention spans not to mind the rush might enjoy this seafaring fantasy adventure, but readers who need more time with characters to get to really care about them might want to give this a pass.
Art: 2.5 /5 The design of the main character, Aella, reminded me very much of Kamala Khan, which was distracting, and the faces could get rather messy: lots of rubber-lips, and faces often looking a bit squished, sometimes making a character look suddenly very aged for about 3 panels (it was hard to figure how old her mother is supposed to be). Aella and Bashir seem to swing between being babyfaced kids and being teens. And for the longest time I thought Captain Oren was an old woman, from the drawing, but it turns out he's a man (cis - they weren't doing it on purpose).
Plot: should have taken its time more to make the emotional arcs more sympathetic and believable. Bashir's loyalties swing back and forth way too easily, and I never got a good feel of the depth (or not) of Aella's mother's feelings for her daughter (it relies on telling with not enough showing to back it up). The final action sequence in particular wraps up way too fast to have the desired impact.
Verdict: younger-teen readers or readers with short enough attention spans not to mind the rush might enjoy this seafaring fantasy adventure, but readers who need more time with characters to get to really care about them might want to give this a pass.
July 4, 2023
Aella is an adventure-loving girl stuck on a tiny island where nothing interesting ever happens. Her mother often leaves her behind to go on grand voyages, and Aella dreams of the day she can join her mother on one of her adventures. When a band of Knights comes to the island claiming to be seeking the destruction of demons, Aella's inner monster is awoken. She has the spirit of a fierce demon, Xir, inside of her, which has the destructive capabilities to wipe out life as they know it. Aella and a young knight steal away to find the seer who first told of Xir's rebirth, hoping there might be a way to expel the demon from Aella. But Aella isn't the only member of the family harboring a big secret - her mother turns out to be one of the most fearsome pirates on the known seas, and she's not giving up her powerful daughter so easily.
Read the full review, and find more graphic novel reviews, at The Graphic Library.
This review was made possible with an advanced reader copy from the publisher.
Read the full review, and find more graphic novel reviews, at The Graphic Library.
This review was made possible with an advanced reader copy from the publisher.
September 9, 2023
My biggest hurdle here is that the characterization of heroine Aella doesn't really make sense. She was raised the daughter of a pirate queen, on an island apparently filled with pirates and assassins and witches, but she's bizarrely naive. It's baffling that she was never taught to distrust... anyone, much less the Spanish Inquisition expy church. And throughout most of this book, she mindlessly trusts whoever she last spoke to, even when she has very good reasons not to. Under her circumstances, you'd expect her to have been raised to be tough, self sufficient, and wary, not to be a helpless, naive damsel.
January 5, 2023
Aella begins as the young, innocent hero without any knowledge of who she truly is other than the daughter of a Pirate Queen, Ryanna. A zealot church's army of knights is destroying all the people like her mother and magical pirate family. As the knights chase down the girl who appeared in a prophecy as the one who contains the demon Xir, the girl must make difficult decisions between the love for her family, her original good nature to avoid killing, and her first romantic love.
Aella moves from feeling powerless to being like a god. In her attempt to save everyone, she sees that violence is the only way out and death is the only way to stop people from fighting. If Kylo Ren's story was about a girl and the sea rather than a boy in space, it would be this beautifully rendered book filled with detailed panels and a select muted palette of greens, blues, and reds.
That's the basic gist of volume one. Volume two is slated for September 2023.
Here's a little more about why Sea Serpent's Heir is breathtaking: the cast is diverse and drawn with such care. Readers will get to know enough about the secondary cast members who make up Aella's family of pirates and sorcerers. This is a gang that is clearly "ride or die" for each other.
Opposing the energy of the pirates and the quiet life on Kinamen Isle, the Church of the First Light is on a quest to spread their religion like real world missionaries: first by asking; then by force. Their army is led by Captain Oren and guided by a seer named Mirena. This prophet Mirena knows about the destruction and all the many deaths that will happen, but insists it is fate and can't be changed.
Free will versus fate is an age-old plot device in any hero's journey. Aella's relatability to modern girls is that she feels cooped up under the watchful eyes of her aunts and uncle. She doesn't have any understanding or knowledge about why her mother needs her to be kept secluded and safe. As Aella discovers the truth about being sired by the powerful sea demon, Xir, she begins to see that she can make her own choices. She doesn't have to obey her mother or Xir. She can accept the powers and take her own course of action. The pain and trauma is shown in every panel of Aella through her eyes and body language. The tones of her face change when Xir is puppeting her. Even young readers are unlikely to be confused to because of the actions in the panels and the change in the lines from a soft gentle girl to a rigid monster to be feared still inside the body of the girl.
Naturally, each side—the pirates and the church—feel they are the heroes. Young knight Bashir is naïve and believes he can fix all that's wrong with the church. He thinks the violence can end if only Aella joined the church alongside him and spread a message of peace. Historically IRL, that doesn't go well. Aella takes Bashir's actions as a betrayal. She had always been obedient to her mother, her family, and then Bashir wanted her to follow his way too. She may be making enormous mistakes, but the freedom of having choices to make is more compelling to Aella than shifting her obedience to another master.
Content Note: though it's in a fantasy setting, there is a lot of human death and violence.
Skybound has a teaching guide on their site for Sea Serpent's Heir which includes Common Core pre-reading tips.
Rating: 5 stars
Aella moves from feeling powerless to being like a god. In her attempt to save everyone, she sees that violence is the only way out and death is the only way to stop people from fighting. If Kylo Ren's story was about a girl and the sea rather than a boy in space, it would be this beautifully rendered book filled with detailed panels and a select muted palette of greens, blues, and reds.
That's the basic gist of volume one. Volume two is slated for September 2023.
Here's a little more about why Sea Serpent's Heir is breathtaking: the cast is diverse and drawn with such care. Readers will get to know enough about the secondary cast members who make up Aella's family of pirates and sorcerers. This is a gang that is clearly "ride or die" for each other.
Opposing the energy of the pirates and the quiet life on Kinamen Isle, the Church of the First Light is on a quest to spread their religion like real world missionaries: first by asking; then by force. Their army is led by Captain Oren and guided by a seer named Mirena. This prophet Mirena knows about the destruction and all the many deaths that will happen, but insists it is fate and can't be changed.
Free will versus fate is an age-old plot device in any hero's journey. Aella's relatability to modern girls is that she feels cooped up under the watchful eyes of her aunts and uncle. She doesn't have any understanding or knowledge about why her mother needs her to be kept secluded and safe. As Aella discovers the truth about being sired by the powerful sea demon, Xir, she begins to see that she can make her own choices. She doesn't have to obey her mother or Xir. She can accept the powers and take her own course of action. The pain and trauma is shown in every panel of Aella through her eyes and body language. The tones of her face change when Xir is puppeting her. Even young readers are unlikely to be confused to because of the actions in the panels and the change in the lines from a soft gentle girl to a rigid monster to be feared still inside the body of the girl.
Naturally, each side—the pirates and the church—feel they are the heroes. Young knight Bashir is naïve and believes he can fix all that's wrong with the church. He thinks the violence can end if only Aella joined the church alongside him and spread a message of peace. Historically IRL, that doesn't go well. Aella takes Bashir's actions as a betrayal. She had always been obedient to her mother, her family, and then Bashir wanted her to follow his way too. She may be making enormous mistakes, but the freedom of having choices to make is more compelling to Aella than shifting her obedience to another master.
Content Note: though it's in a fantasy setting, there is a lot of human death and violence.
Skybound has a teaching guide on their site for Sea Serpent's Heir which includes Common Core pre-reading tips.
Rating: 5 stars
April 29, 2022
This first volume tells the story of Aella, a kid who’s always wanted to live an adventure by the sea. And though, her mother’s prestige is quite a legend (she’s a famous pirate), she wants to go out and explore the world just by herself.
Problem is, she doesn’t realize who she really is until some so-called knights from the Church come to attack the island she lives in. They’re looking for clues to find Xir, a sea demon who swore to take revenge on humans.
In the middle of the attack, her mom comes to aid and later on she reveals Aella’s true past to her. This kid is destined to be Xir’s heir yet the mother lets her choose for herself. All the people Aella’s known her whole life turn out to be mages, assassins and bounty hunters, yet they cared for her as she were their own child.
Thus, when the moment to claim her heritage comes, she’s confused. This great power cannot be easily controlled and many people will get hurt but, what if this sea demon is right? What if humans were the ones to blame?
Now, I was craving some pirate stories and this was perfect. It was a compelling, exciting and fast paced story, which I think would be great for younger audiences. Last but not least, some scenes were absolutely stunning and I’m eager to know what will happen in volume 2!
I received an e-book ARC in exchange for an honest review via Diamond Comic Distributors.
Problem is, she doesn’t realize who she really is until some so-called knights from the Church come to attack the island she lives in. They’re looking for clues to find Xir, a sea demon who swore to take revenge on humans.
In the middle of the attack, her mom comes to aid and later on she reveals Aella’s true past to her. This kid is destined to be Xir’s heir yet the mother lets her choose for herself. All the people Aella’s known her whole life turn out to be mages, assassins and bounty hunters, yet they cared for her as she were their own child.
Thus, when the moment to claim her heritage comes, she’s confused. This great power cannot be easily controlled and many people will get hurt but, what if this sea demon is right? What if humans were the ones to blame?
Now, I was craving some pirate stories and this was perfect. It was a compelling, exciting and fast paced story, which I think would be great for younger audiences. Last but not least, some scenes were absolutely stunning and I’m eager to know what will happen in volume 2!
I received an e-book ARC in exchange for an honest review via Diamond Comic Distributors.
February 1, 2025
The character design and world building get three stars for being quite interesting. I enjoyed the diverse characters and the bits of world building included. The art is interesting and fits the themes, but I do wish the proportions and such weren’t quite so distorted, especially when it has characters look drastically different from one panel to the next. The lettering/speech bubbles unfortunately are confusing at times. Still enjoyable and I like the nautical color palette. Unfortunately the plot gets two stars. I quite enjoy the premise, but I feel the plot of Bashir and how that changed the outcome of the entire story did quite a disservice to it and made it much more of a boring overdone trope, it was also like whiplash having both characters change from one page to the next. **edit after reading the second** the second book has the plot become much more interesting, and more of what I’d hoped for, so mainly my complaint is that the writing does not pull off the changes in direction skillfully enough. It feels like a rollercoaster, whiplash, and mercurial whims; too much telling and not enough showing, rather than actual character development and so leaves it feeling wishy washy. The second still has this issue, but not as much as this first installment.
November 2, 2022
trigger warning
When Aella longes for an adventure, she does not expect her wish would be granted so soon.
The graphics remind me a lot of classic 80-ies fantasy, which is not bad in itself if you're in the mood for it. The plot feels fairly simple, too: To protect her daughter, the pirate queen has placed her under guard on a small island. Then, one day, it turns out said child might be the host of the strongest demon there ever was, and events unfold.
It's fine. It feels like I already read tons of stories like this, so I don't feel the need to go on.
If the premise sounds interesting to you, go for it.
The arc was provided by the publisher.
When Aella longes for an adventure, she does not expect her wish would be granted so soon.
The graphics remind me a lot of classic 80-ies fantasy, which is not bad in itself if you're in the mood for it. The plot feels fairly simple, too: To protect her daughter, the pirate queen has placed her under guard on a small island. Then, one day, it turns out said child might be the host of the strongest demon there ever was, and events unfold.
It's fine. It feels like I already read tons of stories like this, so I don't feel the need to go on.
If the premise sounds interesting to you, go for it.
The arc was provided by the publisher.
August 7, 2022
arc provided by the publisher via edelweiss in exchange for an honest review
The premise and the cover really sold me on wanting to try this graphic novel out but unfortunately, I didn’t really love it.
I liked the general feel of the story with demons and pirates and magic but it did feel kind of rushed and with little to no explanations of anything so I was still lost by the end. I know there’s going to be more books in this series but I was hoping for even a bit more information.
I also wasn’t a fan of the art style. It just wasn’t my favourite and it kind of made me dizzy. If you like a lot of brightly colored art though, you’ll love this one!
The premise and the cover really sold me on wanting to try this graphic novel out but unfortunately, I didn’t really love it.
I liked the general feel of the story with demons and pirates and magic but it did feel kind of rushed and with little to no explanations of anything so I was still lost by the end. I know there’s going to be more books in this series but I was hoping for even a bit more information.
I also wasn’t a fan of the art style. It just wasn’t my favourite and it kind of made me dizzy. If you like a lot of brightly colored art though, you’ll love this one!
November 30, 2022
A rollicking, pirate-filled amalgamation of Charles Vess, Jim Henson, and the darker side of Miyazaki. While this book follows the trend of fantasy-adventure graphic novels these days and moves through the story at a breakneck speed, here it isn't to the tale's detriment. Aella is a moving and interesting young girl in her own right, all demons aside; and all the side characters we encounter (and there are plenty, though Scott takes care that their numbers don't overwhelm the story) are likewise enjoyable and diverse. I'm looking forward to the second volume and regret that it'll be a full year before publication!
December 28, 2022
Lots of fun characters with a very female centric pirate crew and a heroine with a dark side. It’s a must read if you enjoy villainess-type stories with a main character battling between good and evil.
Small quibble… When a story has lots of morally-gray or morally-evil characters, (no characters that are morally-good to balance them out) then the characters have to be interesting and fleshed out to keep the plot and story moving. While the artist is amazing at visualizing the characters and their expressions and actions, I wish the writer had included more personality and backstory behind some of the side characters.
4 stars for Nix the crab though!
Small quibble… When a story has lots of morally-gray or morally-evil characters, (no characters that are morally-good to balance them out) then the characters have to be interesting and fleshed out to keep the plot and story moving. While the artist is amazing at visualizing the characters and their expressions and actions, I wish the writer had included more personality and backstory behind some of the side characters.
4 stars for Nix the crab though!
November 10, 2023
Mairghread Scott's "Sea Serpents Heir Vol. 1" is a briskly paced yarn of pirates and a young girl with a deadly destiny. The writing is good and artwork by Pablo Tunica is detailed. The visuals is for fans of fantasy who aren't too discriminating. The characters are well done but the perspective is done mostly in medium shot panels. Dialogue and sound effects placement does not overpower the artistry. Overall the characters and relationships are nicely delineated. But it does seem to be overshadowed by the more well know "Monstress" series by Marjorie Liu and drawn by Sana Takeda.
Well worth a look who want a simplified story and plot.
Well worth a look who want a simplified story and plot.
January 7, 2024
I picked up this book a while back, only got to reading it now (mostly because i've gained an interest in pirates) but what originally drew me to this book was the amazing art, and it did not disappoint. The art is absolutely stunning and i adored looking at every page. The story itself is also very interesting and sets up a believable and exciting story. Although I did find it very fast paced, for me it would have been more believable if Bashir and Aella would have spent more time together, created a real bond before their betrayal. However it was still very well done. overall enjoyed this book and I will be reading the next soon!
March 15, 2024
Very good fantasy / pirate comic book series - nicely executed.
Aella, a young girl, discovers a lot about herself and her ancestry as she is hunted by nasty Church loyalists. It's an interesting plot in this fantasy series, reminiscent of French "bande dessinee" series. There are well-developed characters, both friendly and hostile, responsible for revelations about her background but also her betrayal. The artwork is clear, colourful and enjoyable. This is only the first volume, ending on a bit of a cliffhanger. For lovers of fantasy comics. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Aella, a young girl, discovers a lot about herself and her ancestry as she is hunted by nasty Church loyalists. It's an interesting plot in this fantasy series, reminiscent of French "bande dessinee" series. There are well-developed characters, both friendly and hostile, responsible for revelations about her background but also her betrayal. The artwork is clear, colourful and enjoyable. This is only the first volume, ending on a bit of a cliffhanger. For lovers of fantasy comics. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
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