Ladycastle (2017)
Written By: Delilah S. Dawson
Illustrated By: Ashley A. Woods and Rebecca Farrow
Genre: Fantasy Graphic Novel
Pages: 112 pages Paperback
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Why I Chose It: I heard it mentioned on the Writing Excuses podcast. A castle full of women saving the day their own way? Heck, yes. Sign me up.
The premise:
When the King and all the men of the castle die, it’s time for the women to knight up.
When King Mancastle and his mighty vassals ride off on a crusade, the women left behind are not at all put out — that’s a lot less armor polishing to do. Of course, when the men get themselves eaten by a dragon and leave a curse that attracts monsters to the castle . . . well, the women take umbrage with that.
Now, Merinor, the blacksmith’s wife is King, Princess Aeve is the Captain, and the only remaining (and least capable) knight, Sir Riddick, is tasked with teaching the ladies of the castle how to fight, defend, build, and do all manner of noisy things the men had done while the women assumed they were just drunk.
Novelist Delilah S. Dawson (Star Wars: The Perfect Weapon, As Wicked as She Wants) brings her first original series to the graphic novel world, and is joined by breakthrough illustrator Ashley A. Woods (Niobe: She Is Life) for a rollicking fantasy adventure in Ladycastle.
Spoiler Free!
Discussion: All right so this might be my new favorite graphic novel. And I’m a little sad that it’s actually complete at only one volume.
As Andrea Judy mentioned a while ago, Ladycastle is a fantastically fun, quick read. When all the men in Mancastle die, the women must band together Dungeons and Dragons style and solve their own problems. But they get to do it their way. And of course, they manage to wield grace and social justice just as well as swords and shields.
While I feel like the theme of the book was a little in your face (it’s hard to avoid being blatant when the name of your keep literally changes from Mancastle to Ladycastle), I do feel like it managed to delve even deeper than just the fact that these women were now allowed to take charge of their own lives and fates. I love that the new “king,” who is clearly the strongest among them, still suffers crippling self-doubt. And that the princesses have to learn how to grieve a father who was borderline abusive.
It also helps that it’s super easy to get behind issues like allowing women to wear what they want to wear, whether that’s armor, fancy gowns, or religious head-coverings. I, of course, was a huge fan of pulling the disabled woman out of the basement where her husband had hidden her in shame. And giving her a spiked chariot. Rock on.
I also really appreciate Dawson’s ability to play with common fantasy tropes, tell a compelling, satisfying story, and keep it all clean enough to share with my little sisters. I mean, I love me some Rat Queens, but I always feel like I can’t recommend it without half a dozen caveats. Not so with Ladycastle.
In Conclusion: Packed with as much internal conflict as external conflict, I found it surprisingly profound while scratching a purely escapist itch. And while I normally prefer a shorter series or standalone novels, I find myself hoping that Dawson, Woods, and Farrow will revisit Ladycastle in the future and allow me to come with.
No Comments