Comic: Goldie Vance
Release date: April 6, 2016
Publisher: BOOM! Box Studios
Genre: Mystery
Comic: Ladycastle
Release date: January 25, 2017
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Genre: Fantasy
Descriptions
Goldie Vance: “In a timeless story, 16-year-old Marigold “Goldie” Vance lives at a Florida resort with her dad, who manages the place. Her mom, who divorced her dad years ago, works as a live mermaid at a club downtown. Goldie has an insatiable curiosity, which explains her dream to one day become the hotel’s in-house detective. When Charles, the current detective, encounters a case he can’t crack, he agrees to mentor Goldie in exchange for her help solving the mystery utilizing her smarts, random skills, and connections with the hotel staff and various folks in town.” (via Comixology)
Ladycastle: “When King Mancastle and his mighty vassals ride off on crusade, the women left behind are not at all put out—that’s a lot less armor polishing for them 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 the blacksmith’s wife Merinor 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 been doing while the women assumed they were just drunk.” (via Comixology)
My Thoughts
Goldie Vance
Goldie Vance started out as a four-issue miniseries but was so successful that BOOM! Box extended it to an on-going, and thank Hera it did. Set in the 1960s in Florida, Goldie Vance tells the story of our eponymous hero, a valet at the hotel her father manages by day and teenage detective by night. So far she’s solved the case of the missing necklace and uncovered the mystery of the astronaut on the beach, and with issue #9 she’s teaming up with Sugar, her rival and professional speed racer, to figure out who’s sabotaging her racecars. Think Nancy Drew crossed with the Julian, Secret Agent series but with a teenage girl who has heart-eyes for a female record store clerk…
Ladycastle
When King Mancastle and his army of dudebros die off in a failed crusade, the women left behind take charge. Princess Aeve, locked away in a tower by her father until she’s married off, is finally free to chop off her hair and take up arms. No longer is she stuck writing Dear Abby responses to unsatisfied women she can never visit. Now the women make their own happiness. She’s joined by her younger sister Gwyneff, a preteen who’d rather be a squire than a princess, and Merinor, the blacksmith’s wife turned King of Man– er, Ladycastle. The only surviving male knight, Sir Riddick, teaches the women to defend their kingdom from evil forces and learns how to treat women as equals rather than subordinates. It’s a little bit Lord of the Rings high fantasy, a little bit Monty Python and the Holy Grail humor, and a little bit Tangled sing-songy feminism…
For the rest of my review, head over to Tor.com.
Do the world a favor and buy these from an indie comic book store or borrow it from your local public library.
Punk-Ass Book Jockey 