This is a graphic novel with an historical setting and cast of characters. It tells the story (some fact, some fiction) of Grainne Ni Mhaille, a.k.a. Grace O'Malley, daughter of a legendary Irish chieftain, shortly after Ireland came under English Tudor rule. Spanning from the reign of King Henry VIII to that of Queen Elizabeth, this novel is a good way to introduce mature older children and young adults (or anybody who likes graphic novels, actually) to an era of history perhaps little known to them.

There was a lot of research put into the making of this book. However, perhaps to make it more fast-paced, a lot of history was twisted and condensed to make it a "better story". I personally would have liked it more if it stuck to the facts, rather than obviously glamorizing a pirate, who pillaged and killed. The book seems to have a stark feminist agenda, and twists the facts somewhat to further this agenda. I also did not like the use of magic in this book. It wasn't at all needed, and only distracted from the story without adding to it.

The colorful illustrations are very good, and get the point of each pane across nicely.

Overall, I would give the book four stars, and add that it should only be read for entertainment and not for the history it contains. ( )

Twenty years ago when I was a teenager, I would have enjoyed the misogynistic brand of feminism this book uses to establish Grace O'Malley's character in the early pages. Back then, it seemed like girls either had to reject all feminine trappings and be powerful, or enjoy even just one and be relegated to the background. This, then, is what happens for Grace: she completely rejects feminine things like long hair, dresses, romance - even seems to dislike being a mother going by how eager she is to leave her children at home to go on voyages. The dialogue treats being a girl like some awful disease.

But now we have heroines who kick ass and enjoy stereotypical feminine things. There's no need for the derogatory treatment of girlishness when the girl can just prefer a different way of living. Sure, Grace O'Malley may have rejected dresses and such, but there are plenty of practical reasons for that! The rushed plot with little to no lingering in the build up leaves this as one of the few elements of character development for Grace, which is a shame.

I'm not a fan of the artwork, either. I wouldn't have been even twenty years ago. It's in the super hero comic book style: heavy black drawings with filled in color that vaguely resemble traced photographs with odd lack of detail in some places (chins have no definition or shadow) and strange additional lines in others (Grace's face often has her eye sockets drawn, making her look like a skull). Sometimes the colorist used different shades for shadows, but not always where it's expected, and quite often there are just solid swaths of black instead. Or lines where shadows might be expected but aren't filled in. It's not always easy to track the action from panel to panel, which made it difficult to figure out any nuance in the plot based on visual cues vs dialogue.

The dialogue is also in the American comic book style with bad Irish accents and oddly emphasized words. Almost all the story seems to be contained in the dialogue, but I'm not sure if that's because the art is poor or the plotting is poor. Anyway, the dialogue isn't very helpful or clear. (There's something about protecting toddler Queen Mary - I read the four pages multiple times but couldn't figure out who was doing what or why, only that Mary had to be protected and then somehow young Grace is her close friend?)

The combined effect of art, dialogue, and plotting/characterization is an intense story with no emotional weight or engagement. I had high hopes because I love historical stories about women taking charge at sea, but the whole thing is exhausting and frustrating and rang false. I stopped reading shortly after Grace leaves her kids to go fight the English or Scottish or something when her husband dies, because I hated the experience so much.

I think this book would have been much more welcome a decade or more ago, or maybe kids who mostly read superhero stuff (which, in my experience, has similar art and story styles - or else I just keep picking up the bad stuff) will enjoy it. ( )

I'm not a big reader of graphic books but when this book was offered on LibraryThing's Early Reviewers list I requested it. Partly it was because I was planning a trip to Ireland and I was trying to read as much literature set in Ireland as I could. Additionally I wanted to see what a woman living in the 1500s could accomplish because it seems like a time when women did not have much latitude to do anything other than raise babies and look after a home. Grace O'Malley certainly broke those barriers down. She married and had children but she also sailed and fought and killed. She was integral to the Irish fight against the English conquest of Ireland and Queen Elizabeth I had quite a bit of respect for her. Both women died in 1603.

I was impressed by the biographical details but the illustrations didn't do as much for me. Many of the pages seemed too dark; it was sometimes difficult to follow the narrative thread from one panel to the next because there was no consistent pattern; and if there was a reason why the background colours changed from blue to brown and back again I couldn't figure it out.

One personal note to this story: I didn't read this until after I came back from my trip to Ireland. We spent 9 days in a cottage near Galway in a nice rural area near the Lough Corrib. I was interested to read the part of the story set around Lough Corrib and especially the fact that the Joyce family was persuaded by the English to kill Grace's husband. There are still Joyce's in that area. The town of Headford has a Joyce's Supermarket, a Joyce's lumber store, a Joyce's clothing store and so on. ( )

I received this book for free in a Library Thing giveaway in exchange for an honest review

I've been reading comics every month since I discovered them in December. They're quick, vary in tone, and add to my Goodreads goal. I'm a big fan of Europe and I love to read books set in that continent. Pirate Queen was my first historical comic and I learned about the legend of Grace O'Malley. The artwork was beautiful and I loved how it showed the main character at different ages. I liked the girl power and strong feminism she exuded in her life. My only complaint was that it was hard to follow at times and I got the names mixed up. I congratulate the author for all their research and the hard work that went into creating this cool comic. Thanks for this opportunity and teaching me about a rad lady in history.

( )