Review: Ladycastle by Delilah S. Dawson

Title: Ladycastle 

Author: Delilah S. Dawson
Illustrator: Ashley A. Woods

Publisher: BOOM! Studios

Publishing Date: October 18th, 2017
Read: January 25th, 2022

Pages: 112 

Audio Length: N/A

Genre: YA Fantasy Graphic Novel

TW: N/A

Series: Standalone

Source: Physical copy from Library

What it's about:

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.

What I thought:
I really enjoyed Ladycastle, I feel like it was a really great book about feminism and how women are just as strong and capable as men are. I love how the women in this graphic novel really stepped up and did what they needed to do to fight and keep each other safe and alive. It's been quite some time since I read this graphic novel, but I remember most of it and I remember thinking "Hell yeah! I am woman hear me ROAR!" when I finished this one. 

Cover:

I think the cover matches the book well, it has the characters on it and it showcases what the book is about. It's the same artwork as what's inside the book. 

Story:

The story is a bit sad, because the ladies of the castle lose their male family members and friends. However like I said above, I love how the story progresses and the women do what they need to do. It's a unique story because so many times in books (Less so nowadays) the women are perceived as weak and useless and this book really bites back saying no, we are just as capable as any man. 

Pace:

As with most graphic novels this was a really quick read, it went from princess locked in a tower to all the men died to badass women defending the castle really quickly, but not too quickly to the point where it felt like it was too much. 

 

Writing:

I don't have much to say about the writing, I think the author did a great job with the humor, the story, the characters, the progress this short book makes, and the character development. I think she did exactly what she wanted to. 

Artwork: 

The artwork in this book is really well done. The characters are beautiful, the world is gorgeous, this is an art style I really like. 

Characters:

I loved these characters, I especially loved Merinor the most I think, she went from being the blacksmiths wife to being king and she totally rocked it. I love her style and I love her humor.  

Ending:

Not much to say about the ending, it was all wrapped up neatly and pretty and had a good conclusion. 

Overall:

Overall this is a quick, funny, beautifully illustrated (and written) book about badass ladies. 

A little snippet:

Possible books of likeness:

Author's info:

Delilah S. Dawson is the New York Times-bestselling author of Star Wars: Phasma, Black Spire: Galaxy's Edge, and The Perfect Weapon. With Kevin Hearne, she writes the Tales of Pell. As Lila Bowen, she writes the Shadow series, beginning with Wake of Vultures. Her other books include the Blud series, the Hit series, and Servants of the Storm.

She's written comics in the worlds of Marvel Action: Spider-Man, Lore's Wellington, Star Wars Adventures, Star Wars Forces of Destiny, The X-Files Case Files, Adventure Time, Rick and Morty, and her creator-owned comics include Star Pig, Ladycastle, and Sparrowhawk.

Find out more at www.whimsydark.com.