Customer Reviews

Castle Waiting Volume 1: Lucky Road

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Go buy "Castle Waiting". Now. Whatever you can get your hands on, however many copies you can find. This is one of those amazing books that you just don't come across often enough.

Linda Medley's artwork is charming. Her stories are delightful. I don't think I can recommend this book *enough* to anyone who loves faery tales, graphic novels, comics in general, or just good stories and good art. I keep going back to re-read this one, and it's spent more time lent out to friends than sitting at home on my bookshelf.

Her characters are a treat. Her women are real: not glamorous, not perfect, not stereotyped, but portrayed like - *gasp!* - actual humans (a stunner in a graphic novel)! More wonderful than that, she has real male characters at the same time - there's no reverse-stereotyping going on, making for a full, well-rounded cast of characters that's remarkably true to life (no small feat in the fantasy genre). Issues like domestic abuse and loss are addressed, but not in obvious or preachy ways, and VERY positive male characters stand in direct contrast to the off-screen baddies that you never see in "The Lucky Road".

Her characters are just marvelous and memorable. I can't stress this enough. The book is sweet without being cloying, and just very, VERY clever.

I think it's appropriate for older children as well as wonderful for adults. This one goes on my holiday list for any moms with a sense of wonder, grownups who like fantasy and/or comix, and mature kids who like some substance to their stories. If I could give it more than 5 stars, I would.

At first glance, CW appears to be a warmly illustrated children's comic. After awhile, however, parents and older siblings will realize that the book finds its most appreciate audience in themselves. (Subtle adult jokes sneak in between the all-ages appeal.)

With a delightful fairytale veneer (and a pleasantly researched medieval backdrop), quirky and endearing characters, and the promise of many unfolding storylines to come, it's no surprise that Castle Waiting is a rising star in the industry.

Linda Medley's narrative wit and lovely artistic style (not to mention Todd Klein's typically excellent lettering) make this entire book a pure delight. Here's hoping the word gets out about this wonderful effort.

I always enjoy this series whenever it comes to my local comic shop. It is an excellent fantasy story that has very memorable characters that are truly likable and you connect with quickly. The issues collected in this volume are just the beginning of what feels like an epic story. You will be right on your way to becoming hooked if you purchase this book since it collects the first eight issues of the series. And it establishes the setting well and leaves you wanting more when you get to the last chapter.... Linda Medley publishes "Castle Waiting" through her own company Olio, and every new issue that sells I'm sure will help her keep publishing.

Linda Medley's, "Castle Waiting," is a sweet and gentle comic book series that manages to blend the genres of fantasy and fairy-tale quite effectively in entertaining fashion. In Volume #1, The Lucky Road, readers are introduced to the series' protagonist, Jain, as she looks to escape her past and start anew in a castle populated with whimsical characters both human and animal alike. While Medley's black and white art does little in the way of stylistic expression, it is perfectly suited to convey her simple and somewhat predictable storyline. On the whole, this series doesn't contain much 'wow' factor by way of story or art but nevertheless the charming characters and sugary storyline lends itself to an entertaining afternoons worth of reading.

CASTLE WAITING was one of those books that I always looked at suspiciously. Try as I might, it seemed like one of those well-meaning independent comics that was a labor of love that would be so embedded in fantasy traditions, or so hellbent on smashing those traditions, that, in my mind, I granted the books the appeal of cod liver oil.

Instead, CASTLE WAITING is quiet. Linda Medley's linework is a touch too well-defined for my tastes, but it suits her characters and setting. Here, she creates a fantasy world that brings to life the types of characters that populate fairy tales and gives them comfortable personalities, warmth, and time to develop. The residents of the castle are much like the supportive but easygoing neighbors we see in contemporary stories in other media.

Though Medley creates some conflicts and a degree of pending menace, this volume's greatest fault may be it's relative lack of dramatic tension. Comic book readers used to rapidly propelled stories may find themselves having to adjust to the more relaxed pace. That is really just your cue to sit back and enjoy the details.

In the middle of my reading for Fairy Tale Fortnight, I was craving some graphic novels. It had been awhile, and my fingers were itching for them. And then I opened up my Google Reader one day, and the Polish Outlander had posted a bunch of graphic novels; I popped over to Goodreads to mark some of them "to-read" and came across another one she was reading that hadn't been in the post: Castle Waiting, Volume Two. The title - and her enthusiasm for the story - hooked me, and I immediately went to my library's request page to see if they had volume One. No. No, they did not. But they had another volume that makes up part of volume one (this series has some of the most confusing, convoluted ordering): Lucky Road.
Request this title? Um, '


I didn't even really know what it was about. I just wanted a comic and it had a cool title -- it fit the bill. And y'all - it's about fairy tales. No effing joke. I just now got the full Volume One, and Lucky Road is in about the middle of it, so I did miss a little bit of back story about Castle Waiting and how it came to be, but I actually kind of liked just being plunged in. It made for a quirkier read, and one I thoroughly enjoyed. Basically, Castle Waiting works in some familiar story lines and characters that will be recongnizable to fairy tale lovers, but it is really its own thing. It uses the fairy tale realm as a base for the world, and expands out from it, bringing in a lot of the side characters and everyday people from the fairy tales we grew up with (I love this, btw. I love that Medley didn't just do a straightforward retelling, or feel the need to explain to the reader -- you know the stories or you don't, but she's not going to hold your hand through them -- it all just is, and I love that.)

Lucky Road follows Lady Jain who, pregnant and fleeing from her husband's home, is in search of the fabled Castle Waiting and the sanctuary it is said to offer. I loved everything about her journey to the Castle, her reception there, and getting to know the odd but lovable castle inhabitants. Medley packed so much personality into the characters in such a short time that I came to love them. And they had me continually cracking up. On top of the fairy tale elements that make up their characters - Henry and his heart caged in bands of iron; the handmaidens who slept 100 years alongside their enchanted mistress - they each have their own quirks that made them memorable.

The story and their interactions were so silly and light-hearted and fun, but not frivolous - the reader is always aware that Jain is running from something - and that they probably all are.
But in the meantime, they're going to have fun and make the most of life, and carry on with their little quirks, making fun of each other and being made fun of in return.

You know that warm feeling you get when you read a new book and you know it was meant for you? You've made a new friend, and you're going to be together forever? As light and silly as this was, that was how I felt. It was exactly what I wanted, even if it was only a fragment of the story.

I just got the full Volume One (and Vol Two is on request), so I will definitely be continuing my adventures with Castle Waiting. I understand that the story as a whole has some feminist aspects, and gets compared a lot to Chaucer, and I can see bits of that in Lucky Road. I bring this up for 2 reasons:

If you're thinking, I'm not going to read that, it's fluff - know there is more to it. Feminism! Chaucer!
If you're thinking, Feminism? Chaucer? - know that it's fluff! It's fun, and it's not going to beat you over the head just because it's got some subtle heft to it!
(speaking of heft - the full Vol 1 clocks in at about 500 pages)

So, to stop rambling so I can get back to reading, I just want to leave you with this last thought: I think this will be one of the few graphic novels I feel the need to buy - if that doesn't recommend