Review: Princeless #1

Publisher: Action Lab Comics
Writer: Jeremy Whitley | Artists: M. Goodwin (main story), D.E. Belton (back-up story)
Publication date: November 2, 2011 (Graphicly) | November 9, 2011 (East Coast and Midwest) | November 16, 2011 (Southwest and West Coast)

The short: Princeless #1 is a hilarious, intelligent deconstruction not just of fairy tales, but of the popular “princess” culture and the ideals it encourages, as well as a straight up entertaining story.

The long:

The debut issue of Princeless opens with the young princess Adrienne indignantly picking apart a fluffy and seemingly innocuous bedtime story of a fair princess with blonde hair and blue eyes rescued from a tower (and her tragic fate) by a brave knight. “I mean, really,” Adrienne says, “what kind of dragon dies with one blow? Not to mention, how did he get her down from that tower?” But it isn’t just the contrivances of the plot she finds so annoying; no, Adrienne is bothered by the princess’ helplessness, the fate forced upon her by others, and the question of who would lock a princess in a tower and why would they do so? Adrienne’s plenty of time to ponder these issues when, years later, her own parents lock her up in a tower and leave her to be found by a prince of good and noble heart.

This clever, funny opening neatly sets up the rest of the issue while also serving as an effective introduction to Adrienne, and oh, Adrienne is wonderful. She’s intelligent, quick-witted, and frustrated at being underestimated by others and expected to play out a role she doesn’t like or want–frustrated, too, at standards of beauty and grace she cannot meet but which are nevertheless forced upon her. When a well-intentioned prince calls out to her in her tower as the “fair maiden Adrienne,” Adrienne–who is not at all the fair princess with blonde hair and blue eyes of her long ago bedtime story–takes him down with blistering scorn. “Do you know what fair means?” she demands of the prince, who haltingly replies, “Beautiful?”

“Wrong-o, Prince Chuckles,” says dark-skinned Adrienne. “It means white!”

In an interview Jeremy Whitley gave to Keith Cunningham of Action Lab Comics, Whitley explained the genesis of Princeless and Adrienne thus: “I can count on one hand the number of black women you can find on your comic book stand right now, not to mention the number who are positive portrayals. The same holds true for women of color in fantasy stories. I wanted my daughter to have comic books she could love the same way I’ve loved mine. Not to mention, I’m a little leery about the princess culture and what it actually teaches girls.”

This caring shows, not just in Adrienne’s pointed criticism of the association of beauty with whiteness, but in the sympathetic way in which Adrienne’s language is shown. When she speaks to her guardian dragon, Sparky, of the systems of oppression safe-guarded and encouraged by the patriarchy which have harmed them both, she isn’t presented as a radical; her opinions, her words, her hurts and her desire for change aren’t treated as farcical. Rather, Adrienne is afforded dignity. She’s the hero of this story, the hero of her story, and her motivations, her passions, are presented respectfully. So, too, is the matter of her taking up a sword explored with both humor and grace. It isn’t femininity that’s the sin–Adrienne doesn’t trash talk other women or sneer at dresses and women who wear them–but rather disallowing a woman the agency to determine the course of her own life. I’ve high hopes for what this comic will have to say about gender and femininity vs masculinity, not simply through the princess Adrienne who sets out with shield and sword to rescue other princesses, but through her sole brother, Devin, whose interest in the theatrical arts and disinterest in the martial arts has earned him the disdain of their father.

But all this said, Princeless stands out as a clever and engaging story in its own right and not simply for the value it offers as a needed deconstruction. Whitley’s writing is quick and clever; the pacing is breezy, the dialogue and action fresh and engaging, the jokes (particularly a background gag involving Adrienne’s diary) hilarious, and the whole of the book a consuming delight from start to finish. I zipped through it and when I hit the end, I rolled over and kicked my feet in outrage because I want more and I want it now. That Whitley is able to so deftly manage a script that simultaneously a) tackles harmful ideals and b) engages, amuses, and intrigues the reader bodes well not simply for the future of Princeless (and I am very, very excited for Princeless‘ future) but for his future as a comics writer.

M. Goodwin’s pencils are a natural complement to the spirit and zest of Whitley’s script. His work is energetic and detailed but stripped down, too, and his use of perspective and (somewhat sparingly) of shadow is particularly noteworthy. All of the characters are imbued with an immediate visual personality, from Adrienne with her fluid eyebrows and expressive body language to the hapless, bewildered Prince Wilcome to the dragon, Sparky, whose droopy, dozy eyes sharpen when she suspects something’s going down under her watch.

The back-up story (“Mr Froggy”) by Jeremy Whitley with D.E. Belton on pencils is similarly delightful. Focused on Prince Wilcome, it’s both an amusing satire of the Prince Charming ideal and another delicate look into the division between what’s expected of someone and what it is they want to do. Wilcome would much rather play with frogs and explore the world than learn to fight and rescue princesses, but, like Adrienne, what he wants doesn’t much concern the people around him. “Mr Froggy” is rife with sight gags, my favorite of which is the billboard advertising Prince Charming’s Charm School for Future Kings (“You too can be elegant and pompous!” it happily proclaims), but it neatly ties into a number of themes set forth by the main story and gives the character of Wilcome some welcome depth.

I absolutely recommend Princeless, both to the audience of children and young teens at which it’s aimed and to adult readers who might think to skip it. Skipping Princeless would be an awful mistake. It’s funny and heartfelt and thoughtful, too, and it’s blown away nearly every other ongoing title I’m reading. Please do give it a look!

Princeless #1 is the first issue in a four issue miniseries, which is itself the first installment in an ongoing series of five miniseries, each four issues long. You can purchase the first issue digitally here at Graphicly or here at Drive Thru Comics for $2. If you prefer print, your local comic shop (if you have a local comic shop) can order it for you if they don’t already have it in stock; the print issue retails for $4. Many online vendors also have it in stock.

And now a few parting words from Princess Adrienne to ease you out the door: