This was a different comic book than what I've read so far, but it was a great change in reading and art style.

I absolutely adored the fact that the women in this story were all powerful, strong, independent, brave and truly capable of saving themselves. At times it felt like the girls got out of sticky situations too easily, but they managed it and I loved seeing that. Misty was a pretty cool heroine, even though I found that her beliefs at the very beginning of the story were too simplistic. I felt as if she thought that attacking the enemy was easy and that her father wasn't doing it because he wasn't brave enough. I liked that she got a wake-up call and that she saw exactly what would happen if she were reckless enough to go into this battle blindly. At the same time though, I liked that, when offered the chance to escape Badlug she didn't take it, because she had friends that needed saving and because she also made a promise. She was bravest than I would have imagined. The secondary characters are also very interesting. This book actually has a pretty diverse group of characters, and I liked that fact.

The story itself is a pretty classic one, with the pretty princess being kidnapped by the evil king, the only twist being that Misty is her own white knight. I thought the ending was a little bit too rushed. I would have wanted for the story to drag out a bit more. That being said, I keep my fingers crossed for some twist in the story, if there are going to be more installments in this story.

Another main difference between this comic book and what I've read so far was the art. The colors were much brighter, more vivid, and there weren't as many shadows as I have come to expect. But I really liked how each character had their own individuality. I never got confused or thought that they looked too similar, like they could all be related, which is a feeling that some comic books have given me in the past. I liked the fact that the panels weren't too crowded.

I also loved that at the end of the volume the authors show how their process in creating this story was, both from the narrative perspective, and from the illustration's perspective. I love it when comic books include such sections.

All in all, Another Castle: Grimoire was a pretty interesting, light read, and I am going to hope that we're going to get the next part of the story (and soon).

This goes in the DNF pile. I tried. I read the first two chapters (it only has 5) and can just not get into it. Our princesses has been stolen and is being imprisoned and forced to marry a skeleton like creature to give him control of her kingdom. She keeps waiting for her bumbling prince to arrive with a powerful sword that she can use to save herself. I like the idea of a princess who does not want to marry for the good of the kingdom. Someone who wants to fight alongside the knights. I like the feminist wannabe that is this princess. But at the same time she is a whiny, waiting for something to happen next girl. I just don't care for it. Plus it seems like you start in the middle of the story. But after checking, this is book one. So why is there so much missing.

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I really didn't expect to get much from this, but it was childish fun. It'll actually be a good comic for a young audience, more savvy than generations past about the truths behind the Disney Princess nonsense. It's using every genre beat and trope to subvert a very few, however, so while it could have been a heckalot cleverer, it's enjoyable for all its recognisability. Strong female characters (well, at least one character is strong-ish), a good call for democracy – and a great BBG to enjoy (that's big beautiful gorgon, to you).

I really enjoyed the book as a fresh take on the "princess in the castle" trope as indicated in the title. The art fits the story perfectly, and the overall pacing of the story is on point as well. I also really appreciated that they acknowledge the power vacuum that would exist if the villain is overthrown, particularly in a land of "bad guys".