Wynn is struggling to survive when the Immortal Swigne gives Wynn their Blessing. The only explanation Swigne gives is that Wynn now has “Power”.
Wynn meets people Blessed by other Immortals that can help guide them. In searching for knowledge of their new gift Wynn finds love, friendship and a more full sense of self identity. Wynn learns that being Blessed is a gift with a price tag of responsibilities and constant hunger attached, but the pay off is fantastic strength and the resources they’ll need to thrive in the world they live in. As long as Wynn keeps overcoming the challenges their new status brings them.
Fresh off her adventures in the pages of Princeless, Raven is ready to set out on her quest for revenge against her brothers. They've stolen everything that should be hers and now she's going to get it back. But first, she needs a crew. Share the laughs, action, and adventure as Raven assembles the fearless crew of awesome ladies who will help her get her revenge.
How do I love Raven? Let me count the ways...
1) Raven herself is a badass. She's been raised to take over for her father, the Pirate King, which has given her both her title (Pirate Princess) and a whole set of physical and strategic skills that she's determined to use to regain control of her family's pirate empire. (Long story short - her brothers are jerks.)
2) Raven is a heroine with flaws. She's written as a badass (see point 1) but also as a character with some issues to work out. She's impulsive, careless of her own safety, and sometimes unwilling to consider alternatives suggested by her crew. She's in love with one of her crewmates, but can't admit her feelings to the object of her affection or to herself. It's a whole thing. Yet, for all of these "masculine" traits, Raven is unapologetically female and uses her position to lift up women of all persuasions.
3) The crew. In a hilarious and pointed bit of social commentary, Raven decides to populate her crew with only women. The men who "apply" are lecherous, dismissive, or otherwise useless. At least this way, she and her crewmates won't be subjected to harassment or worse on their journey. The crew Raven assembles is comprised of, among others, a character reminiscent of a marshmallowy Brienne of Tarth, a black chemist skilled at blowing things up, a cartographer/navigator (this is the aforementioned love interest), and a thief who kinda falls for Raven herself. Writer Jeremy Whitley plays them off each other for comedic value, but also for surprising episodes of pathos and edge-of-your-seat adventure.
4) The love story. This is a slow burn, since Raven and Ximena have a complicated history that includes a serious betrayal. At the end of Book Three, some stuff happens that finally pushes Raven to admit, out loud, that she loves Ximena. Of course, in true Raven fashion, Ximena isn't nearby and Raven is having the hell beaten out of her by another woman at the time... but it still counts. The two of them have several obstacles to overcome, but I'm really rooting for them.
Speaking of 4... Arc 4 of Raven just started, which means you have three books (or a whole bunch of issues) to catch up on. If you're a completionist, you can start with Raven's introductory arc in Princeless, which is an amazing comic of its own, just without a romantic subplot. We've passed this series along to our daughters and several friends, but I do think it's aged up a bit from the original Princeless series. (Princeless is rated "All Ages" and Raven is "9+.")
TL;DR - Raven is amazing and everyone should be reading this. If you have the slightest interest in lady pirates kicking ass and falling in love, this is the series for you.
Three kids make an ill-advised (but well-intentioned) deal with a demon in the woods one day. Twenty years later, Levi, Rowan, and Alder meet again to find out their past has caught up to them. But a lot changes in twenty years, and they aren’t as innocent as they used to be.
In the vein of Nimona and Dragon Age, this character-driven comic by Keezy Young is a queer, modern take on the fantastical. Prepare for an adventure with your new found family.
Yellow Hearts is a comic about three people who met first, briefly, as children, and accidentally made a deal with a demon. Now, as adults, the demon has drawn all three of them back together, so that it may repay it’s debt to them. As children, they seem to have given it permission to have friends, to mimic humanity, and now the demon wishes to repay them with a single wish.
The story picks up in earnest years later, when coincidence again brings them all back to the same city where the tale started. We’re able now to see who they’ve grown up into, how the demonic pact (and subsequent flight) event affected them, and even how it affected the demon they made a bargain with. The three main characters come from distinctly different walks of life - a noble city guard and self-styled coward (Alder), a grifter (Levi), and a necromancer of some sort (Rowan). As the story progresses, each of them seems to be grappling with their past. It’s vague, but there’s enough detail that I’m confident the author has a definite direction. Alder and Levi are also in the beginning stages of a attraction to one another, despite the fact that queer identities seem to be frowned upon in this world.
The three (or four) main characters share a bond in that they’re genuinely good people in a world that doesn’t make room for them. I believe this bond will carry them forward to eventually triumph, though the main enemy right now seems to be their own fear of the unknown. Demons are not to be bargained with, but they made a deal with one, in good faith, before they even knew it was a demon. There's enough doubt in the world's religious texts that I don’t think the demon is evil.
The artwork is mostly thin lines with flat colors, but it does a great job pulling the reader in and conveying the emotion of the characters. Individual pages are made up of similar hues and tones, in a way that reminds me of the artwork of Bill Waterson (of Calvin & Hobbes), surprisingly enough. It is certainly less cartoonish, but the palettes evoke the sense of adventure in a prehistoric T-Rex or Spaceman Spiff comic.
Fans of fantasy comics will enjoy this one. We're looking forward to reading it as the story develops.
Love in Panels is two blogs, each with their own searchable database. One blog covers comics with queer and romantic elements, the other is dedicated to romance novels. We post news, reviews, and lots of other fun stuff!