A pretty decent space action comedy comic with some actual emotional grounding. The ending was overly simple (I did not find the resolution plausible at all, at least not without spending a lot more pages to better explain a character's sudden change of attitude), and the artwork is usually great but very occasionally weirdly uneven (there are panels in which the characters to a distracting degree don't look as well drawn as they usually do). The humour's pretty good, and the storytelling the same, even if I was occasionally confused by poor indications of what was and wasn't a flashback.

In conclusion, I'm happy I picked this up, but I've got other things on my reading list I've enjoyed more. If I see the second volume on sale somewhere, I'll pick it up, but I don't think I'll go out of my way to order it. ( )

★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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Let's get this out of the way, I'm having a very difficult time not talking about the job the late SYFY show did of adapting this. I could go on and on...I don't know if I'd have liked it if I'd read the comic first, but I think I would. It captures the spirit of the book, and a fair amount of the letter. Coming the other direction, I'm pretty impressed.

ENOUGH OF THAT, TALK ABOUT THE BOOK

Once upon a time, there was a child queen, Eldaya. Eldaya seems to have had a good heart and a desire to rule her people well. Her handlers seemed all in favor of that, but some things came first. Somewhere along the line, her advisors/hanlders—as well as her predecessors—lost track of their purpose, and let the galaxy (not ours) go to pot, letting injustice and suffering grow. Eventually, this bubbles into a French Revolution-style revolt. Eldaya, her mother and some loyal people escape—for a while. They're eventually found, and some of the revolutionary forces almost get the queen, they get almost all of her staff and mother.

It's years later now, and the queen has adopted the name Elida. Elida's a mavericky, smark alecky, savanger—doing all she can to survive. She wants nothing to do with her past and is doing all she can to pretend it has nothing to do with her (and it works, there are few who have a clue about it)

Elida has a...frequent ally, I guess. He's not really a friend. He's definitely not an enemy. Think Empire-era Han and Lando, maybe. Isaac is from Earth (a planet that no one believes exists), and will do almost anything for a shot to get back there—even if it is in another galaxy.

One of the revolutionaries, Lazaro, has been hunting for the Queen since she fled her home—and after all this time, he thinks he can capture and kill her.

Throw these three into a galaxy-wide chase with Elida trying to rescue her long-lost mother from the clutches of the revolution...and you've got yourself an exciting little space opera.

HOW'S THE ART?
I don't have a lot to say about it, really. Which solely reflects on me, not on Smith. The art is quirky, vibrant—there's a great sense of motion to it. I really dug Smith's approach.

I think Lazaro is frequently depicted a bit too cartoonishly. Which is odd, as he's about as far from comic relief as you can get.

WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT VAGRANT QUEEN VOL. 1?

It was fun, with some great action. I wanted a little more depth to everything, but not much. For a little bit of fun SF adventure, Vagrant Queen fits the bill nicely. I'll be back for Vol. 2. ( )

Vagrant Queen Vol 1. - Vissaggio Smith and Saxon Saam - 3.5
An interesting space opera. The Queen is on the run. Her planet and people taken over by revolutionaries. She wants her people to be free, but she also wants to live and free. But the two can not happen if others keep stabbing her in the back. Overall an interesting graphic novel. I liked the art work better than the story line.
#LitsyAtoZ #V
#GondorGirlGNChallenge
#SFFTBRChallenge ( )

A Fun Enough Shoot 'Em Up Space Opera

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through NetGalley.)

Elida Al-feyr's ancestors were ... not very nice people. At the edge of a galaxy (not ours), they developed a mind-control device called the Bezoar of Kings. With it, they brainwashed the people of Arriopa into believing that they were gods, accepting their will without question. By the time Elida was crowned Queen of the Divine Monarchy - at the tender age of ten - the Bel-iors had not relied upon the amulet's power for generations. Yet this doesn't quell a popular, violent uprising, in which the monarchy is overthrown and replaced by a republic. Elida and her mother escape certain death, but barely - and the last two remaining members of the royal family are separated within the year.

http://www.easyvegan.info/img/vagrant-queen-volume-01-02.jpg

Fast-forward fifteen years. Elida is in hiding, making a living by scavenging wrecks and reselling her finds. A not-so-chance encounter with an old frenemy named Isaac sends her in search of her mother, said to be imprisoned in the Monastery of Wix. But is Isaac double-crossing her, or triple-crossing someone else? Is the long-lost Bezoar of Kings merely myth, or is it out there, somewhere, just waiting to be found? And if it is, what responsibility does Elida bear for its misuse?

Vagrant Queen is a fun, shoot 'em up space opera. There's not a whole lot that's noteworthy or especially memorable about the plot, but it's a fun enough ride while it lasts. Some elements work better than others; Elida is a badass anti-hero, but Isaac's bad boy schtick feels played out. That said, his facial hair is a thing of wonder. Ditto: Elida's 'do, which almost feels like a throwback to Aeon Flux. Ten-year-old Elida is a compelling character, and I'd love to see more of her in future issues. (And her fro? Even more glorious than her future self's locks.) For those who like gory, over-the-top violence, Vagrant Queen has it in spades; to wit:

http://www.easyvegan.info/img/vagrant-queen-volume-01-01.jpg

While I love the diversity in this story, it feels a little weird to see a Black family enslave a bunch of white people. Like, is this progress? Just dessert? Post-racial, race-blind storytelling? Or maybe I'm just reading too much into it? Idk what to think.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2019/04/05/vagrant-queen-volume-1-by-magdalene-visaggi... ( )