Jeremy WhitleyKirja-arvosteluja

Nadia is a little ray of sunshine, maybe to an unbelievable amount.

Great read and reaffirming for girls by breaking out of that princess role. As the father of a young girl, I'm definitely going to be getting a copy of this to save for her to read in about 8-10 years; hope the series continues to be as strong and fun as this start.

Representation: Black characters
Trigger warnings: Bullying, near-death experience
Score: Six points out of ten.
This review can also be found on The StoryGraph.

Well. I found this in one of the two libraries I go to and I immediately picked it up but this is a special case where one library has this but the other wouldn't accept it due to two reasons, the content inside and that library has a filter and this would violate it. Now that I said that I noticed this was part of a series but I won't rush to finish it off considering I didn't enjoy this one at times which makes me not want to reread it either. The novel starts with the main character Frankie Jude Bryant or Frankie for short who lives a typical life right up until some catastrophic events happen for no reason at first glance until Frankie is sent to some place. Oh and there's gremlins here. Really. Frankie is then declared The Dog Knight by a bunch of dogs (weird, I know, but this is a fantasy novel after all) and Frankie now must take some tests to be an what I would call official Dog Knight which takes place throughout most of the book but especially the middle. The pacing was slow during this part but that let me explore who Frankie is as a person and also the antagonist got some character development as well which I liked. What I didn't like however was most of the characters, I couldn't connect to them for some reason but it might have to do with the way they are written and Frankie is hard to read at times since the book tells me Frankie is a specific gender and likes to tell me that again and again (I get it! You don't have to shove that message into me for so many times.) Also the shouting and loud dialogue and the time when Frankie admitted to disrespecting people? Irritating. I think Frankie also has character development to become a better person by overcoming things like bullying and becoming the official Dog Knight after passing all the tests which I enjoyed reading. The ending is a high note. Wow. The dogs were intriguing and likable I suppose.

Having burned down their last school campus in a battle with the bad guys in the first issue, Tara, Misco, Summer, Kat and Zveni, along with all their classmates are being transferred in secret to The School for Extraterrestrial Boys. It’s located in an unusually warm spot in the arctic, the abandoned site of an unknown alien race complete with a mysterious lake and majestic castle used for the Boys School. The newly arrived female students are housed on the other side of the lake in cabins. It looks like an “American summer camp.” The girls are sent to find a cabin, eight girls and one chaperone per cabin, and prepare for the first evening’s social, where they will meet their male counterparts.

Needless to say, this will be where new friends will be made, and the seeds of a few romances will begin, but that’s not all. There’s an aloof instructor who takes a particular interest in Tara. The next day a class on Self-reflection and yoga will start putting the girls more in touch with themselves and more willing to share themselves with others. And there will be many dangerous secrets about the place that the girls discover, and spectacular obstacles and monsters to be overcome. It makes them wonder if this will be the next campus to go up in flames.

3.5

The subtitle for year two is “Love and Revenge.” The crew, all back together again, are now working through their interpersonal relationships. Love is fueling envy as two rivals compete for the affection of the captain, and while this is going on, their ship is attacked by other pirates. While this battle is going on, Raven’s two lovers are tossed overboard, and only one is recovered.

Raven and crew escape their captivity by her dastardly siblings, mostly with some bruises, cuts and sore muscles. But their navigator Ximea fared far worse. She’s unconscious, has broken ribs, and may be at death door. Fortunately, a renowned healer lives on a nearby island. Unfortunately, The crew arrives only to find that the healer has a strict NO SERVICE TO PIRATES policy and lots of guards to enforce it. Getting a waver to this policy turns out to be as big a fight as the one with Raven’s brothers.

Meanwhile the unconscious Ximea needs constant watching in case she regains consciousness. As they sit with her, two different crew members tell tales of their ancestors to an unconscious audience. These tales, illustrated in a different style from the rest of the book, comprise two of the three love stories promised in the subtitle and give the reader a bit of the storytellers’ backstories.

Having recruited a crew of women for her pirate ship, Raven Xingtao sets sail for a port of call frequented by pirates. It’s notorious for its harbor full of don’t ask don’t tell merchants. The crew is seeking both supplies and intelligence about the Raven’s brothers who have cheated her out of her inheritance. Alas, they end up captured by the same dastardly brothers who discover, rather painfully, that this crew has a few electrifying, not to mention explosive ways of getting out of tight spots. Plus, they can more than wrestle their weight in alligators.

Freed from captivity in a tower by Princess Adrienne and her sidekick Bedelia, the pirate princess Raven Xingtao, “The Black Arrow” convinces her rescuers to join with her to win back a ship from one of the brothers who betrayed her. Having won the battle and evicted the ship’s crew the victors part company. Now it’s up to Raven to find a new crew for her liberated ship. Her first recruit is the pickpocket nicknamed “Sunshine,” that steals her purse. The pursuit of this miscreant leads Raven to the tavern of an old acquaintance and an opportunity to do some recruiting. Following a raucous barroom brawl several of the victorious female fighters join Raven’s crew. Her next recruits are a pacifist navigator who was a former captive of Raven’s father and a young woman accused of being a witch due to her interest in chemistry and explosives.

Frankie, whose preferred pronouns are they, them, and their—despite her schoolmates who still refer to them as she—is a drummer in the school band. Their mother and they go shopping for an outfit to wear at an upcoming band concert. Frankie, at first reluctantly tries on a dress at the mall, but thinks, “it doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t feel like me.” After shopping Frankie consoles themself by looking at the puppies in the pet store window while her mother is eating at a nearby table. Frankie would love to have a dog, but Frankie’s mother is allergic to dogs. Suddenly, a large dog without a collar or leash appears barking at Frankie, thus alerting Frankie to imminent danger! An automobile suspended from the ceiling is breaking loose from its supports right over the table where Frankie’s mother is sitting. Frankie rushes to the rescue and saves mom! The car crashes atop the table, and the strange dog disappears.

The next day when Frankie is going to school a bully attacks them. The strange dog appears again, but this time the dog drags the unconscious Frankie though a portal into another dimension to the Omniversal Doghouse where Frankie is recruited by the members of the Pawtheon to save the universe from the forces of chaos and evil, as the Dog Knight, but first Frankie must undergo a series of trials to prove that they possess the six dog virtues of loyalty, kindness, honesty, justice, stubbornness, and smell. This will involve battling a number of malicious shadow creatures, demons, and the gremlins who attempted the attack on mom.

Scriptwriter Whitley, who also authored the series PrinceLess, is an expert at creating brave knights who are unafraid of stepping out of traditional female sex roles and persevere in their quests for justice. Indigo’s drawings and Capriglione’s colors bring out the whimsy as well as the adventure in this fantasy which is hopefully the start of a new series.

This TPB just filled me with so much joy. Janet Van Dyne, Bobbi Morse, Nadia, some Mr. Modok (aka Matt Murdock). Everything just fits together so well, and then there's Shay and Ying and all the girls (I really like Alexis).

The plot is interesting too. They need all of those who are G.I.R.L.S. to get together and solve the problem that is the bomb in Nadia's Friend's head.

Then we have a story with Janet where she has to solve some problems too (in an amazing way). I loved how her and Nadia's relationship grew through the previous and this TPB too, and I'm so sad that this is the end of the series.

I started this series because I liked what other stuff Jeremy Whitley has written before, but, by the end I wanted more of the characters no matter the writer.

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Netgalley. Content warning for depictions of transphobia, bullying, and animal cruelty.)

Middle schooler Frankie Bryant knows a lot about bullies. When they came out as nonbinary, Frankie told exactly two people: their mom Diane, and their best friend Dallas - who immediately outed them to the entire school. Now she joins in the "Freakie Frankie" chorus when her classmates mock her. Dallas's older brother Austin is even worse, upping the verbal abuse to physical threats and even assault, ultimately driving Frankie off the baseball team.

So when Frankie spots Austin and his friends taunting a Golden Retriever on their way home from school, they intervene. What was meant to be a heroic effort takes an embarrassing turn when Frankie trips on a tree root - and wakes up in an ornate mansion, surrounded by a pack of talking superhero dogs. They are the Pawtheon, and they suspect that Frankie might be their next Dog Knight, the one human meant to battle the forces of chaos (gremlins and shadows and such) alongside these super-pups. Frankie knows all this because they can communicate with the dogs, thanks to a magic, dog-eared helmet (the "helm").

Frankie must prove their merit by passing a series of trials, each designed to test the six dog virtues of loyalty, kindness, honesty, justice, stubbornness, and smell. But it won't be easy when the forces of evil are conspiring against them. Ditto: their mom's allergies.

THE DOG KNIGHT is a slightly silly, yet utterly charming and touching story about self-discovery, growing up, and doing what's right. In all their awkwardness and self-doubt (not to mention, moments of bravery and heroism) Frankie makes for an engaging protagonist. Their scenes with humans Sam and Nadia and canines Platinum and Good Dane are so delightful! The dogs, of course, threaten to steal the show, but Frankie more than holds their own.

There's so much to love here: talking dogs; a complex, human-canine backstory, complete with gremlins; a nonbinary, drum-playing, demon-slaying MC; a cross-fit-training, badass lawyer mom; a knight helmet with dog ears; a LGBTQ Cinderella moment - need I go on? The vibe does skew a little young for me, but it's perfect for the target demo of 9-12 years.

I do feel like Austin got of a little easy, but I understand the need to take the moral high ground in a book meant for middle schoolers.

Finally, if I had to pick one dog? Yorkshire Terror, if only because I've fostered a few Yorkies of my own (one of whom we nicknamed Tiny Terror).

Reread with my daughter and so glad she loves Nadia & G.I.R.L. as much as I do

Everything about this title makes me happy. There are princesses who aren't pale-skinned and blond. It's a kick-ass feminist storyline for a younger audience, who are just the right age to need this story.

I will admit that I wasn't immediately wowed by Princeless. I enjoyed it, thought it was cute, but I wasn't in love with it, and I wasn't really sure if I wanted to continue with the series.

However, I did buy the next volume and am really glad I did. This is my new favorite graphic novel. So while this first volume may be a little slow to start, it gets fantastic really really fast.½

I was super excited about this. I am in utter love with the main Princeless series, and loved Raven from Volume 3. Hey, she's a kick-ass pirate princess of Asian descent. Hell yes.

It looks like Raven: the Pirate Princess is for an older audience than the main Princeless title. The artwork reads older, for one, and the violence is more... it seems silly to say violent, but it's true. It's depicted as actual violence instead of something silly. You sometimes see blood, even.

Also, the jokes are much more nuanced and subtle. And many of them are extremely meta. I mean, there's a "Not All Men" joke that made me fistpunch the air. And a cameo appearance by some of the most famous contemporary women in comics today (hey, G. Willow Wilson! And Kelly Sue! and Marjorie Liu!). In fact, the entire volume seemed to be a tongue-in-cheek nod to some of the things that women have faced in geekdom in the quest for more diversity, representation, and inclusivity.

I loved that Raven continued what started in Princeless, and introduces readers to strong women of all walks of life, backgrounds, and appearance. It's diversity without hitting you over the head with it, which is awesome. Also, the subtle way Whitley handles the reveal that Raven isn't heterosexual is wonderful. It's not a big deal, there isn't a giant OMG reveal, but it's just handled naturally, as a progression of the story. This is how you handle diversity - it's not a big deal to have non-white and non-straight characters in the story because it's not a big deal in real life.

I'm so looking forward to the the next story arc. This is everything right in graphic novels today.

After their adventures with helping Raven in Volume 3, Adrienne, Bedelia, and Sparky go after Angoisse, who was imprisoned in a tower in the middle of a swamp. There's a fun side-adventure with some swamp gobins before they finally meet up with Adrienne's sister.

This was the darkest book of the four so far. This tackled a few more adult themes than previously, from political corruption in the goblin community to Angoisse's abusive relationship with her princely suitor.

And whoa, that relationship. A huge thumbs up to Whitely and company for accurately depicting an abusive relationship, and not just a physically abusive one. This raised every single red flag on what an emotionally abusive relationship looks like. Just, kudos.

I also liked seeing more with King Ashe and Prince Devin, who are such interesting characters. I hope that somewhere along the way we learn what made Ashe such a hardass.

Also! How the hell has no one figured out that the Queen is the Black Knight? HOW? It's so obvious.½

There is a kick-ass (and ass-kicking) Asian pirate princess. Enough said.

Cheng Shih would be so proud.

My favorite volume yet.½

This was the book that made me fall in love with Princeless. After the set-up in the first volume, Princess Adrienne and Bedelia are off to rescue Adrienne's sister Angelica, who apparently started the whole tower thing because she was so beautiful her father had to lock her up.

I loved that this series is showing different types of princesses. It's okay that Adrienne doesn't want to be the traditional feminine court beauty, but it's also okay that her sister Angelica does. There's not just one mold of a strong female character, and this series is showing that wonderfully.

I should have listened to other reviewers who advised skipping this volume, but I figured that even if it wasn't as spectacular as the main series, it would still be an okay read. Unfortunately, I didn't really find it added much to the series. While knowing some of the backstory was interesting, nothing was truly vital.

Blew through most of this in one sitting. This was fun, though I did enjoy the first volume better. There were still meta jokes, and women kicking ass with both brains and brawn.

Excellent.

Also, we finally meet the dastardly brothers of Raven, and they are as loathsome as advertised.

I am probably missing some context (Nadia's childhood and escape) but this was a cute first issue. A superhero who isn't a self loathing-Deadpool rip off mess. I may continue.

Spinning out of Dan Slott's Fantastic Four Vol. 1: Fourever and canceled immediately after issue #1 was published, this aborted series is all frantic adventure and set-up that goes nowhere other than teasing a Power Pack revival (that did show up as a limited series a year or so later).

Alex and Julie Power are teachers for a group of young prodigies who are barely named and definitely given only a single personality trait (except for those who get none). A bunch of other B-level Marvel characters are shoehorned in, but even with each of their full complex histories crammed into a couple of pages of small panels, they don't have much personality, appeal, or reason for being in this story other than maybe no other writer is currently using them right now.

There's an LGBTQ+ storyline, but like everything else here, it is zipped through too quickly for its own good, coming off more as a stunt than an organic development. Still the best part though.

This book was entertaining and creative riffing off the Disney Princess genre. Princess Adrienne is much better role model than your standard Disney Princess. Well she does defy her father but he's one bad dude.

It earned a big extra star for pointing out that traditional women's armor (bikini armor) really is not practical. Another star for talking about black hair, which has become more of a topic in this household especially after watching the Chris Rock movie.

I can see this story going places and would be proud if either of my daughters decided to call this their favorite book.