Princeless: Short Stories Volume 1 (Jeremy Whitley)

Princeless: Short Stories Volume 1
(The Princeless series)
Jeremy Whitley, illustrations by Various Artists
Action Lab Entertainment
Fiction, YA Collection/Comics/Fantasy
***+ (Okay/Good)

DESCRIPTION: This collection of short stories explores various characters from the Princeless comic series. Included are:
The Thing in the Dungeon - Young Adrienne and Devin find something strange in the castle dungeon.
The Merry Adventures of Young Prince Ash - The boy who would be king undertakes a bet to race through the beast- and elf-filled forest.
The Runaway Prince and The Girl with the Giveaway Ears - Thrown into the dungeon for failing to rescue Princess Adrienne, Prince Wilcome makes a new ally who may be more trouble than she's worth.
The Smiths - The history of Adrienne's half-dwarven sidekick Bedelia.
The Princess's New Clothes - After being "rescued" by Adrienne, the vain Princess Angelica wonders if she could do more with her life than simply look gorgeous.
Nightlight - Melancholy Princess Angoisse, abandoned in a tower in the middle of the swamps, meets a dashing young man with peculiar habits.
Waiting - The waitress Aisha seizes an opportunity when a pair of adventurers and the fugitives they seek arrive at her restaurant simultaneously.
Kira's First Hunt - The wolf-girl Kira participates in a pack initiation rite that takes an unexpectedly dangerous turn.
Girls Who Fight Boys - Adrienne and Bedelia rescue Raven from under righteous Sir Zachary's nose. (Previously reviewed as part of Princeless: Get Over Yourself).

REVIEW: Yes, I know it's been a rather Princeless-heavy review streak this month. I had a Barnes & Noble coupon to burn off... This is the last one for a while, I swear. Anyway, this collection is a mixed bag. Some of these stories are interesting and fun, foreshadowing future developments in the series. A couple hint at possible spin-offs. But others seem oddly pointless, with less of the wit that makes the Princeless series so enjoyable. The changing artists also made it a little hard to track who was who, particularly in The Girl with the Giveaway Ears, and several of the wolves in Kira's tale were difficult to tell apart. Some images were tough to decipher for being so dark, as well. Overall, it's not bad, worth reading if you're following the series.

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