I had mentioned in previous posts an Indy book I had my feelers out for was Princeless by Action Lab Comics, the story of a princess who saves herself. I was able to pick up a copy at APE and let me say this book does not disappoint. No, let me underscore my thoughts more clearly…
Princeless. Is. Awesome.
The story follows Princess Adrienne, a teenage princess locked in a tower awaiting salvation by a handsome prince. We are all lead to believe this is a fairytale story, but it rapidly becomes a deconstruction. Young Adrienne sternly grouses at the prospect at being a locked up princess, per the story, but ends up as such anyway. Her circumstance is a system of control set about by kings and queens. Only the most ruthless men are able to defeat the dragons guarding princesses in towers, so instead of being knights in shining armor, they’re really more meathead brutes intended to keep up the status quo. And Adrienne wants no part in this system, so she sets about on a quest to save her fellow sisters from this system of repression and control.
F*CK YEAH.
This book is awesome. This book does for princess stories what Shrek did for ogre stories. Also, Adrienne herself is the right kind of intelligent and tough that more readers need to see in comics these days. Finally, the book is very balanced in showing that it’s not so great being a prince in this bargain either, as there are implications that the king is just as cruel to Adrienne’s brother as he is to her sisters. The side story “Mr. Froggy” at the end of the issue definitely reaffirms this.
Books like Princeless are exactly what the comics industry needs right now. It makes you laugh, it makes You think and it’s a shot in the arm and a kick in the ass. We don’t need any more superheroines (or whatever passes for one these days). What we need is a tough, Princeless princess.
2 Comments
Susan Faludi’s Terror Dream would be an excellent rean, if you haven’t already
Thanks! I’ll have to look that up.