Behold, a beautiful princess is trapped in a tower guarded by a fierce dragon and only the bravest knight in the land can save her from her terrible fate. Oh, woe is the helpless maiden!
Yeah, that’s not this story.
This comic, which is the first in a series of four, is all about a maiden who is trapped in a tower, but is completely done with it all. Her parents put her up there in the hopes that a strong, young prince would happen along and save her, thus providing the kingdom with a worthy heir. But our heroine, Princess Adrienne, needs no rescuing and has other ideas about how royalty should treat their children. The story and whimsical style will appeal to both adults and kids and Princess Adrienne’s trusty dragon will have everyone longing for one of their own.
Written by Jeremy Whitley and published by Action Lab Comics, this light-hearted comic addresses the stereotype of helpless maidens that drives most women nuts today. It’s great to see Princess Adrienne, who starts off as just a little girl, question the way of things and then grow up to find herself trapped exactly where she feared. Even her would-be hero, Prince Wilcome, fails her when he’s defeated by her dragon and forced to face the King’s wrath.
But, in the grand tradition of the epic tales we all grew up on, Princess Adrienne becomes her own hero, overcoming the obstacles her parents have thrown in her path to rescue herself. Now she’s got her mind set on shaking things up and saving her sisters, too. But what will become of the poor hapless Prince Wilcome?
We get a little peek at his life, how he was trained in the ways of epic maiden-saving, dragon-slaying, and hair-coiffing. But now nothing has gone according to his plan and Princess Adrienne’s father has thrown him in a dungeon. Who will save the prince that’s supposed to be doing the saving?
Not only is this story fun and engaging, Princess Adrienne is a great role model for girls. She does not expect to be saved by some Prince, and in fact, really never wanted a prince to save her in the first place. She fights to take charge of her own destiny and is a wonderful lesson in never giving up or surrendering your fate.
Check out the first issue of PrinceLess digitally at Graphicly or at your local comic retailer!
If you haven’t already you should really check out the enchanted forest chronicles by Patricia Wrede. Pretty funny and not your typical fairy-tale.