FIRST TEST GRAPHIC NOVEL

As the only girl in training to be a page, Keladry of Mindelan has a rough year in this graphic adaptation of Pierce’s 1999 novel.

Readers who haven’t experienced Tortall in the original print version may find this sketchy, all-dialogue adaptation hard to follow, but Grayson does proper fan service—even to the point of retaining the crossover cameos from Daine and Numair, mages from The Immortals series. The original’s main strands and themes remain intact as well. The work quickly retraces Kel’s arduous training, her war against school bullies Joren and Zahir, her battles with deadly spidren, and her long struggle to prove to hard-nosed, skeptical schoolmaster Lord Wyldon that girls have what it takes to be knights. Also, in contrast to most women warriors in graphic fantasies, she really does look sturdy enough in Farrow’s clean, solidly modeled panels to compete with taller and heavier male schoolmates. An opening scene and the comprehensive cast list and glossary at the end will help bring readers unfamiliar with this world up to speed. Kel is light-skinned; the rest of the cast, as in the print versions, is racially diverse.

Decent, if not top, marks for a budding hero’s relaunch.