Customer Reviews

Castle Waiting

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Linda Medley, Castle Waiting (Fantagraphics, 2006)

After I finished reading Castle Waiting, I went online and frantically looked for any evidence that there would eventually be a volume 2. If you take this as a stand-alone book, the ending is the very definition of "unsatisfactory"-- a vast number of questions are left unanswered, complex plots just beginning to tie themselves together, a host of characters whose richness and depth has yet to be explored. As the beginning of a sweeping epic, on the other hand, this is just the ticket, and Castle Waiting promises to be the graphic novel answer to the huge, literate fantasy series that have been taking readers by storm recently.

Castle Waiting is the tale of, not surprisingly, a castle, and the host of odd characters who inhabit it. I can't think of a way to even begin explaining the plot of this, as just about anything I could say would constitute some spoiler or another about one or more of the characters, and the characters are what drive this narrative. Perhaps it's more appropriate to say that, while there is a plot to this (in fact, a pretty good number of plots, subplots, etc.), all of them live in the service of letting us get to know Medley's unforgettable collection of characters. The first half of the book gives us an overview of the entire cast; the second focuses on the story of Sister Peace, one of the castle's inhabitants, and how she came to reside there. Medley's motley crew are the finest bunch of malcontents, mysteries, and muddlers I've come across since discovering the wonderful world of Bone, and now that I've read the first book, I'm champing at the bit for the rest of the tale. (The fact that it took medley ten years to draw this one has done nothing to curtail the current erosion of my tooth enamel.) A wonderful book that stands to be enjoyed both by existing fans of the graphic novel and fans of epic fantasy who've never picked up a comic book in their lives. Trust me-- you'll love this. **** ½

Linda Medley's Castle Waiting series is one of the most best and underappreciated comic series of all time. This volume begins with the story called the Curse of Brambley Hedge, the prequel to the Castle Waiting Series, which puts a clever twist on the story of Sleeping Beauty and does a great job of setting up the main series. The first story arc concerns the flight of a young pregnant woman (Jain) from her abusive husband. She finds refuge in Castle Waiting, a magical castle inhabited by unique characters from various fairy tales. In this first story arc the gang has many zany adventures from escaping bandits on the road to a dangerous experiment with hair dye. The second story arc takes place in two different settings. While most of the gang is fixing the roof, Jain and Sister Peace are inside. Jain asks Sister Peace about her past and the telling of that tale makes up the majority of this arc. Castle Waiting is such a great series, and I'm so glad that Linda Medley has been picked up by a new company and is back at work on the series! Look for the arc three issues to start coming out soon!

Finally! Castle Waiting in a harcover trade format. I've followed this book in serial form for 10 years and it's a joy to have it collected in one thick volume. This was the first comic I gave my then 9 year old sister and got her hooked onto reading comics. She's now 19 and we still enjoy reading Castle Waiting together when possible. The story is not over though, Fantagraphics has put out 3 issues (at the time of this review) of Volume 2 about 100 pgs worth. I recommend you go out and pick them up. You do want to know who Pindar's father is right? (if you picked up the single issues you'd have a clue on one of the back covers--thanks Sis for pointing that out). Or how Iron Henry lost his heart? Or where Rackham came from?

Borrowed a copy from my kids who got it from the library, and set down for an evening read. It's very similar tales to your classic tales Grimm. However it feels like VOL 1, and while the stories within the world are complete, it feels like there are many more to come. Which is a good thing.

It's a nice alternative from the heavy dark/violent stuff that seems to be most of the Graphic Novel books these days. The order of the Nuns is a nice variation of the theme on beauty and personal value.

In addition the women characters are generally strong and not some bunch of whinnying ninnies. So all in all recommended for early teens.

Castle Waiting begins as a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but that ends once the princess is woken by the prince. Feeling lost, confused, and just a little betrayed by their princess, her handmaidens decide to stay at the castle after the princess leaves with her new love. The castle becomes known as Castle Waiting, a mythical home for the weary who need a place to take them in. So we meet our young protagonist, pregnant and without a home. Her father once told her of the magical Castle Waiting and so she finds her way there and immediately falls in love with all who live there.

Castle Waiting is wonderful. Broken up into vignettes, we are told various stories about the inhabitants of Castle Waiting, though there are still quite a bit of mysteries that I hope are cleared up in the second volume. The bulk of the book is taken up by a story about a bearded lady's convent. Yes, bearded ladies. Oh, it is wonderful. The art is whimsical and perfect for the story.

I loved Medley's humor, her characters and her art. Which I believe makes the perfect combination for a delightful comic!

This is the first graphic novel I've read and I must say I'm impressed. The build quality of the book is fantastic; rough-cut pages, vinyl spine and an attached silk bookmark.

The story itself is very entertaining with many likable characters. The drawings are simple yet detailed at the same time. The author has done a great job with these line drawings to create depth within each drawn cell.

The only downside to the book is that you can read it too fast ;)

Wow did it take me a long time to get a copy! This book does not seem to be widely distributed, and I finally got it at the library, but you really want to try to get this reprint edition, as it also contains a prelude comic about the origins of the castle. The reprint is also much longer than the original TPB that I found.

This book is a collection of tales that reads like a bunch of intertwined short stories. It's hard to tell if later books have more of a "plot," but it's perfectly fine without an overarching story. We begin with the tale of Lady Jain leaving her home and follow her to Castle Waiting, where she hopes to find a safe haven to have her baby. There she meets an assortment of characters from "Beaky" (as the anthropomorphic horse knight likes to call him) the stork butler to Iron Henry the woodsman, who's heart is held together by iron bands after the death of his son.

Unlike many traditional American comic books, Castle Waiting is a character-driven story with lots of heart. The stories circle around the ordinary lives of those who live there, showing that there is little difference between talking horse-men, storks, and humans.

Since this is also a comic book, we of course need to talk about the art. Now, personally, when it comes to American comics, I want full color. So I'm a little disappointed that the book has a black and white interior. You just don't see B&W a lot these days, because it isn't that much cheaper and readers are going to be expecting color interiors.

In the UK we don't seem to have as many comics/graphic novels available. I was really pleasantly suprised by Castle Waiting, the binding is really nice in that it looks like a proper fairytale book. The story was great and there was many little references to childhood stories we all know an love.

I just want to know is there any more......?? A sequel would be great!

Stories tend to be too tightly written. After having read Castle Waiting, I realized that. The storyline goes all over the place and doesn't so much leave you hanging at the end but blow out the light and crawl into bed.

The story starts with the "Sleeping Beauty" folktale. New baby, twelve witches/fairies, one wicked witch who was left out, the spell, the briars, the falling asleep, etc. The prince comes, wakes the princess, and they ride off to the prince's homeland, silhouetted in the sunset.

Now what?

The castle becomes a waypoint, a safe haven. The story shifts now to focus on a traveller, running away from her husband in order to give birth to her lover's child. She makes her way to Castle Waiting.

Now what?

Well, the traveller likes stories, and ends up asking the story of Sister Peace of the order of Solicitines. Sister Peace tells her story, which involves the abbess of the order telling her story...

Now what?

Well, hopefully a sequel. Castle Waiting ends (after 452 pages) with the main part of Sister Peace's story, but there are a lot of loose ends. What about Iron Henry, who has lost his son and is learning to love again? What about the traveller's husband? And who was her lover anyway (here's me, not spoiling a significant plot point, aren't I so good)? And so on.

A wandering story. Even most episodic stories aren't this wandery. Even Scheherezade manages to tie things up more snugly. But good.

The art is great, too. Most significant for yours truly, the people's faces look like people's faces. Not pretty, not monstrously ugly, but individual and expressive. Even the fairytale characters (for example, Sir Chess, a knight with a horse's head) manage to reveal their souls with an ease that makes Disney and Pixar look contrived. Oh! And I should mention that this edition is one of the more beautifully put-together books I've seen in a long time. It has the bookmark ribbon, the internal motifs, the color scheme, the rough-cut edges...everything.

This collection of Medley's award-winning comic book series into a lovely 17-chapter volume should make for great bedtime reading for the pre-teen set. The setting for her graphic narrative is a classic semi-magical, medieval middle-European, fairy-tale land. The first three chapters tell of "The Curse of the Brambly Hedge", a riff on the "Sleeping Beauty" tale involving witches, a baby princess, and an entire castle enchanted into a century-long slumber. This establishes the backstory of "Castle Waiting" -- how it was abandoned and then became a refuge -- which becomes the foundation for all that follows.

Chapters 4-10 tell of a pregnant noblewoman named Jain, who has fled an abusive husband and seeks sanctuary at the castle. Taken in by its friendly inhabitants, she has her baby and starts raising it in this commune-like community. As we see the daily life of the castle, the chapters also introduce the array of people who now call it home, from the fussy, stork-like guardian and three ancient ladies in waiting, to the strong, silent smith and a bearded nun. We learn a little about what brought each to the castle via flashbacks and rainy-day storytelling. Chapters 11-17 tell the life story of the bearded nun: her youth in a village, her running away to join the circus, her retreat to a convent for bearded women, and her eventual arrival at the castle.

Rather than telling tales of the fantastic, Medley focuses more on everyday lives. Sure, there are dog-faced munchkins in human clothes, and little imps and sprites here and there, but they're more or less all background to stories of women just trying to live happily in a sometimes unjust world. It's all pretty good stuff, but there's not a ton of dramatic tension. The three sections are individually compelling, but are a little bit awkward when stitched together. Those who like their graphic novels to have a good deal of action will likely be disappointed by these chatty, sometimes tongue in cheek storylines. Medley's black and white art is crisp and conservative, never drawing attention to itself. Overall a pretty solid work, albeit one less likely to appeal to adults than to kids.