| Title | : | The Legend of Bold Riley |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 217 |
| Publication | : | First published June 1, 2012 |
The Legend of Bold Riley Reviews
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A unique take on classic storytelling. I felt like a kid reading fairy tales for the first time.
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It's an interesting story, but it's also interesting visually because each of the separate narratives composing the whole is illustrated by different artists.
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I grabbed this graphic novel at APE a few weeks ago, and it's pretty good. It's a collection of six stories, each with a different artist, but the same writer. Each story makes a good whole, so the graphic novel is overall episodic in structure.
Rilavashana (Riley) is a princess of the fictional Indian kingdom of Prakkalore, but is seriously smitten with the wanderlust bug, and so goes off on adventures far from home in the best Sword & Sorcery tradition. The stories are actually more traditional folk-tale in tone and structure, and use a fair amount of narration like Marvel's old Conan stories (well, not quite that much). Generally, Riley rides into a new locale where there is a preexisting problem, and with a combination of foresight, cunning and swordplay, works her way to the center of the problem, and a solution.
While I've certainly seen (and enjoyed) worse, I found the art to be ho-hum to a bit below average most of the time. The main exceptions are the cover by Brinson Thieme, and "The Wicked Temple" by Konstantin Pogorelov. Even that last can take some getting used to, but it's the middle of a monsoon, and everything looks wet and sleeting rain. Best of all is his two-page spread establishing the temple, which was so striking it pushed me over the edge to buying the book.
Overall, it's good but not great. The writing is clever but remains a bit distant, and most of the art isn't what I go for. But neither is it bad, and I'll certainly consider getting a second volume with more stories should one come out. -
It's a little hard to know what to make of Bold Riley. On the one hand, there's a lot of competence behind it creatively. On the other, it seems like Weathington borrowed a lot of Indian folklore to create her stories, and kind of needlessly created a fictional version of India to do it.
So, what's wrong with that? For one, Weathington creates a bunch of difficult-to-pronounce names, or just plain difficult. Which in depicting another culture is fine, but she immediately undercuts that by giving the lead character a distinctly English nickname that once bestowed is clearly meant simply to make things easier for the reader. But the thing is, if Weathington hadn't created all the fake Indian names in the first place...
And that about sums up what's wrong with otherwise better-than-decent material: there are too many gaps in the logic. Because this is a series of somewhat-related stories, the individual parts work well enough, but taken as a whole, Weathington clearly left the wider vision of her main character unexplored, an empty template to be plugged into whatever's needed at the time. And that drags down the product as a whole.
If you're a reader who doesn't have a problem with any of that, then you should enjoy Bold Riley without much reservation. But to me, it's a way of saying, Weathington could do better. And hopefully does, elsewhere. -
pseudo-indian (? based off how riley looks in the first chapter i'd guess sri lankan but it felt like they were trying for india with the culture references) sword and sorcery fantasy, following our heroine riley as she cures her travel itch by way of journeying across the land in search of adventure. the art varies -- i liked whoever they had drawing the first chapter and the ending but i wasn't wild about some of the stuff in the middle -- but generally stays at least servicable. my only real criticism is the ending doesn't feel like an ending. perhaps weathington wanted to leave herself the option of writing a second volume?
3 stars -
Rilavashana takes on a bold journey that was once only relegated to men in epic. A distinctive Indian feel makes this a setting worth investigating. Riley herself may be called bold, but she embodies courage and wisdom more so. She helps others, is forgiving, and is a lover of women. Even with such wonderful material to work with, it falls short. Various artists are used, so there is no consistency from story to story, and although it has the feeling of the journey in epic, it has little purpose beyond that. One further note is that due to the mature content this is for adults only.
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I bought this comic because it promised to combine this lovely, colorful graphic you can see on the cover and the myths and tales from Indian culture.
Well, the second one did deliver and I really liked that since I don't have many occasions to read about this culture and it seems fascinating.
As for the graphic - the comic is split into several stories that combine into one journey and each story is drawn by a different person and well... some of them were kind of strange and not exactly what I'd like. Still, it was worth the money. -
Great graphic novel! Riley is an awesome female character. My one complaint, and it is a personal thing, that I wish it was the same artist throughout the novel.
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This is written in a sort of classic adventure style, with a prologue and then 5 different short stories, all illustrated by different artists. In general, the art in this book was quite a disappointment since the cover is so pretty, but the cover artist doesn't illustrate any of the stories. Instead, the art inside ranges from bad to okay. This is especially apparent in the prologue, where everything from the art to the lettering and the writing, really gives off the impression "okay, this is someone trying their hand at comics for the first time, and not being very good at it yet". The quality of both art and writing does improve in later stories (the lettering never does, and sometimes it clashes very badly with the art style...), but it's still far from an accomplished work.
The individual stories are:
0. Prologue
1. The Blue God
2. The Serpent in the Belly
3. The Strange Bath
4. The Wicked Temple
5. The Golden Trumpet Tree
"The Wicked Temple" is the best of the lot, and also has an artist who clearly knows what they're doing, and sports a lot of dialogue-free pages in recognition of the fact that this is the best artist in this book. I also liked "The Serpent in the Belly" for its classic fairy tale plot, and it has decent art too. 3 is short and kind of pointless. The prologue and the first story just look bad, which made me go through them quickly. The last story is a bit confusing, and I'm not sure I agree with some of its plot choices and the idea of ending the story on this note. -
I HATE that the main character's name Rilavashana was shortened to Riley because her white, european tutor couldn't pronounce her original name.
If you're going to name your character a long name and then CHANGE it, then maybe just name her Riley from the beginning. jeez.
The writing overall was not good. Some of the comics had good art. This felt like a half done web comic that somehow got published into a book.
I DO like the concept of a brown, lesbian warrior princess character. Too bad the stories weren't any good though. -
I expected something different.
The story weren't so bad but I didn't like the fact the art changed every chapter. For instance, I completely disliked Konstantin Pogorelov's art. The panels were very confusing, in my opinion and I couldn't understand what was going on.
The setting is confusing, as well. Some stories seem to be set in India, while others have a distinct South American flavor.
And yeah, Bold Riley sleeps with too many women... -
Some of the art isn't a good as the writing, but it's a fun way to spend an afternoon with a princess having adventures and seducing ladies.
Full review here:
http://www.loveinpanels.com/the-legen... -
WOW! SO good! The adventurous, charming Bold Riley traverses her world, helping others, outsmarting tricksters, and falling in love with beautiful women. These comics feel like ancient tales and fresh folklore all at once, and I hope that Weathington continues to write more of them!
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A book I was always looking for yet never expected to find. Lush and enchanting.
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Generally pretty enjoyable, I just wish the art had been a little more consistent since I wasn't fond of some of the styles.
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A pretty solid adventure story with LGBT characters and good character development
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A truly captivating saga, I really look forward to reading more in this world. Bold Riley has such a spark of energy and interest.
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Lovely story and great artwork telling various adventures of Bold Riley as she travels her world full of love and danger.
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So glad I found some single issues by chance and went investigating for more! Such fun fairytale vibes and unabashed queerness. We love to see it
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Some of the stories were fine. Some of them were kinda boring.
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Rich and cool illustrations. I loved the adventures that Bold went on; I would definitely be a damsel in distress if she was going to come save me, lol.
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I didn't connect well with the character probably because it was in a short story style with different illustrators drawing each story. Because of these reasons, it didn't give me a sense of being complete which is something I crave in the books I read. I enjoyed some of the artwork, some weren't my cup of tea. I would love to read a long paced adventure where we get to know more about Bold Riley because she is a fresh character with room to grow.
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Individual parts of this book rate as high as five stars for me, but I've got to take it as the whole.
The story:
Each separate piece of the story stands well on their own. I do wish they'd been more connected. For example, once she left home, she never thinks of her parents or siblings again, nor do they make any attempt to contact her. That felt odd to me. The only attempt to tie two of the stories together is in the last two stories, but the transition is very abrupt. At the end of "The Wicked Temple," Riley cheerfully leaves her god-bird friend behind and rides off to another adventure; at the beginning of "The Golden Trumpet Tree," the injury she'd received is killing her and her horse is dead for an unknown reason. There's nothing at the end of "The Wicked Temple" that implies her situation is that dire, and what on earth happened to her poor horse? The story doesn't say!
I also have to protest the ending of "The Golden Trumpet Tree." It's a really sweet story, but look, I'm sick and tired of tragic queer narratives. This isn't because I demand happy endings, but rather because there is a harmful trend of LGBT+ characters only being allowed to exist if something bad happens to them. Writers, stop burying your gays! I promise, nothing bad will happen if your leading lady gets to keep her girlfriend! The LGBT+ community has seen far, far too many stories that end in heartbreak. You're not being creative or original; it's just a cliche at this point! I'll continue to scream this from the heavens until the dead gay lover stops being a thing. We're a long way away from that, unfortunately, and so I continue to scream.
The artwork:
Most of the artwork in this book is gorgeous! I LOVED the art for "The Serpent in the Belly" and "The Golden Trumpet Tree," especially. GORGEOUS! So vibrant and full of life!
...And then there's "The Wicked Temple," which, uhh?? I guess some people might like that style? I found it to be very messy, and it was difficult to see what was happening in the action scenes. It was devoid of the color that is so, well, BOLD in the rest of the stories. It's just blah. Blah Riley. No, no, go back to the strong flowing lines and the vibrant colors!
In summary, there were a few disappointments and the book could have used some more cohesion, but I did enjoy reading it. I really enjoyed reading a graphic novel featuring a smart, brave woman of color! -
I wanted to love this book, but it fell a little flat for me, from Jane Espenson's intro through to the end of the book. I wasn't really sure what the point of the story was and the characters weren't developed enough for me to enjoy them as anything but plot twists or exercises in diversity.
I appreciate having a queer woman of colour as a badass heroine, but I would have enjoyed the story more if it were either more tied to Indian culture or not at all associated with any culture from real life. It might have been better if it was more obviously a fantastical period of time not tied to history as we know it. The context of the story needed a bit more work for me to really get into it.
That said, some of the stories in the book were fun to read, and it was so great to see something sex-positive, queer, and racially diverse in the panels. I didn't like all the artwork--the harem one was particularly difficult to get through--but it was cool to have different artists' perspectives.
It was definitely just "okay," though. I'd have it in my collection, and I'd recommend it to adults who are specifically looking for something like it, but it's not going to be my go-to recommendation just for comics, books starring queer women, or books starring people of colour. -
REVIEWED ON
BOOKLIKES
A graphic novel, or a series of comics, about an Indian princess who goes by the name Bold Riley. A restless spirit, she leaves the palace as soon as she is old enough to set out and see the world. She is not simply a rich girl on a very long vacation, though- quickly pulled in to situations with Indian gods and spirits, pranks, traps, danger, and people who need her help. She is a girl on a mission, even as she wanders and goes where the wind leads her. She is a hero.
This book is split into a few parts, separate stories and adventures narrated as legends. Each one has its own separate are style, as if you have suddenly stepped into a completely different world as the stories progress. They actually do seem to be reminiscent of different art styles depicting places that in the real world would correspond to different countries and continents. They are beautiful, unique and wild. I loved them.
Stories of bravery, love, sacrifice and kindness- topped with some creepy demons, sword wielding, blood and gore.
An empowering type of story, very enjoyable, very recommended. -
So, I got this book completely on a whim. I was looking through our Previews catalogue at work and just happen to glance at the listing for this; then I did what I always do. I fell in love with the cover art. I know, I know. Bad Shannon! But this time it didn't fail me. Bold Riley is a female fairly tale hero that spends her days defeating monsters, saving innocent villagers, and making all the ladies swoon.
I really like the fact that it's written in a way that reminds you if reading all the stories of princes saving the damsel in destress, but with a princess taking charge and waiting for no one. My only complaint is that it is written without an ending! The graphic novel is composed of short stories detailing Bold Riley's adventures that could really be placed in any order, sans the prologue. However, the last story leaves poor Rilavashana down-trodden and broken hearted; and then that's the end of the book. I really hope Leia Weathington has more stories up her sleeves, or I'm going to be extremely disappointed. -
Weathington gives us a story out of an alternate eastern mythos. Princess Rilavashana SanParite begins her life of adventure to follow her heart. These small stories tell parts of a larger tale that leaves me wanting more. I want the next adventure, the next story.
Riley uses a combination of her knowledge and training with a sword to get through each adventure. The potential to explore the world is great, and Riley is a solid canvas to work with: capable of dealing with thing but also capable of learning as she goes.
Each chapter is illustrated by a different artist, which was a new thing I had not experienced before in a single volume. I found Konstantin Pogorelov's art for "The Wicked Temple" the most expressive of mood in loose sketch and water colors.
It is a worthy book for any collection.
