Member Reviews
This was a beautifully drawn, if slightly predictable swashbuckling adventure.
I look forward to reading more and hoping to see lots of growth in Maud who has started out understandably young and a bit naive.
'Scarlet Rose #1' by Patricia Lyfoung is an adventure graphic novel about a young lady who doesn't want to fit the roles that others want for her.
Maud lives in a time of beautiful dresses and swords and carriages. She idolizes a young bandit named the Fox. One day, her father is attacked and Maud loses the life she had. Her grandfather is rich, but wants Maud to be a lady and marry. Maud wants to ride horses and fight with swords. She also wants to meet the fox, so she dresses as a bandit named the Scarlet Rose in order to meet him. This leads her in to trouble.
It's a pretty good adventure story. The twists and turns are pretty easy to see coming, but I think it's a fine graphic novel for young readers. The art could be better, but it doesn't detract from a fun story.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Papercutz and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
After her father is murdered, Maud is shipped off to Paris to live with her grandfather, a French noble. She is forced to relearn everything to become a noble herself, but instead she daydreams about The Fox, a masked vigilante living in Paris. Infatuated with him and the hero she believes he is, Maud decides to become a vigilante herself, called the Scarlet Rose.
Scarlet Rose is the first book in a series of graphic novels by Patricia Lyfoung. I can't decide exactly what I think of this book. The main character, Maud, is naive and predictable, making her the perfect character laugh at. She misses the obvious and becomes infatuated with a stranger even while she throws herself in avoidable danger because she is untrained. Still, I admire her spirit. Even though she gets beaten down, she jumps back up and keeps going. She is innocent and has a good heart. She is very willful, though, and does whatever she must to get her way, her way which she believes is right and good. It isn't always. So I admire Maud's tenacity, but I get a little frustrated with her many foolish decisions.
One thing I did like was the graphics. They were very pretty, with a color scheme and unique style I admire.
Overall, I would give this book three stars because it is exactly in the middle of my likes and dislikes. If you enjoy stories of strong women and Robin-Hood-like stories, I think you might enjoy this graphic novel.
I received a complementary copy of this book. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for sharing them.
This graphic novel is a lot of fun. Maud is learning sword fighting. When her father is murdered she is whisked away to Paris by her unknown uncle. She is there is continue her adventures and solve her father's murder. The story is exciting and moves along quickly. The artwork is good and suits the story. Enjoy following Maud on her adventures.
Maud discovered her father murdered and vowed to avenge him. Then she discovered she had a grandfather in Paris. While he tries to "civilize" her, she dresses up as a masked robber - emulating The Fox - and continues her search for her father's murder. Plenty of adventure, escapes, houses being ransacked, and romantic swooning. It will be interesting to see what happens next.
i'm intrigued by the combination of French culture and heavily manga influenced storytelling in this book. The result is a fairly straightforward plot with odd cultural and visual references that I didn't always understand. And I wasn't thrilled by the protagonist's tendency to swing wildly between social ideology and the simple desire to impress a guy.
This comic book is a retelling of 'Robin Hood'. It follows the story of a girl whose father is murdered. Once that happens, she decides to become like Fox (a Robin Hood wannabe).
The art is simple, yet colorful. Sunsets and night time scenes are beautifully portrayed.
The story is really simple, it doesn't feel new or inovative.
The characters are bland. Maud is a naive little girl and Fox is one sided. They don't feel real at all.
A fun, swashbuckling graphic novel set in 18th century France. When social justice warrior Maud's blacksmith father is killed, she vows to avenge him. After learning that her father's killer can be found in Paris, Maud agrees to live with her grandfather, a wealthy count who also lives in Paris. Unfortunately, her grandfather's plans for Maud mostly involve molding her into a proper lady, when all she wants to be is a Robin Hood-like highwayman like her hero/true love, The Fox, stealing from the rich and giving back to the poor. So she puts on a mask and becomes the Scarlet Rose, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. Except there's some shady stuff going on with a diary Maud's father insisted she protect at all costs, some secret knight's templar treasure somewhere in the Ottoman empire...
Highly entertaining.
It was enjoyable & it would be actually pretty great I think if I was ten. As it is, I'm just kind of disappointed.
It's only the first issue of the series so we didn't learn too much and we're left with a kind of a cliffhanger. Well, a pretty obvious one but still, it's the thought that counts I suppose. So this is pretty much a story of a girl who admires a Robin Hood kind of vigilante. Her father was a smith & teaching her to fence since she was little and after his murder, she sworn to avenge him. And then proceeded to become a vigilante herself, much like her Hero. There are also some mysteries surrounding her father & black characters who want her dead. So plot twist, this should be pretty entertaining.
Only it's so fast-paced, it's incredibly hard to actually care about any of the characters, including Maud. Everyone feels a little bit flat & one-dimensional and I would even venture to say that most of the characters are rather a caricature of a single trait the author chose to describe them. This leads of course to their actions being very dramatic and while Action & Drama in a story are a good thing, we want them based on something at least a tiny bit rational. Here the characters do one dramatic thing after the other and then explain their motives to others as if that's the only way to convey them to the readers as well.
Like I said, it's a pretty good comic book for younger audience!! I actually like the main idea and will probably check out at some point how it further develops.
How can it end there!!!! UGH CLIFFHANGER!
This story follows Maud (18 years old) who, inspired by a bandit known as The Fox, becomes a vigilante known as Scarlet Rose. Seeing and slashing the face of the villain who kills her father, she declares revenge and lucks out when she learns her grandfather is a count in Paris, where she hopes not only to find her father's killer, but also meet The Fox. She runs into a few hiccups along the way as we also learn more about her father's earlier travels and the reason for his murder.
I truly enjoyed the story. As all graphic novels go, it was way too fast. Not just the page length (give me more!!), but also the scene changes. Then again, I am more used to manga which is laid out like a novel. Perhaps, comics just go this fast!
The art style was a little rough for me, but I thought it added character and warmth to the...well, characters. ^_^ I was really getting into the characters and enjoying the story.
I hope to read more of this in the future!!
I picked up this book mainly because of the cover but the synopsis also seemed pretty exciting. The book begins with a short prologue and then leaves for the action showing The Fox doing their robberies and giving money to those who need it. Soon after I met Maud, a fun and adventurous girl who was raised by her father who did not want her to be one in the crowd and taught her to use the sword, to read and write. But one night, she witnesses the death of her father and promises revenge.
Of course you can not remember Robin Hood and Zorro. This idea of an avenging face of the poor, vigilante and warrior.
I really liked the traits but I wanted more pictures on the board or a less superficial text to better pass the emotions and the central message. The main characters are passionate even with certain childish attitudes for the age which in fact made them more cute.
I was crazy with the end and I am already curious to know how this adventure will continue.
Scarlet Witch is a comic that seems to skew younger than I anticipated. Very nice artwork, but it does remind me of other comics for middle grade and younger.
I was not overly impressed with this graphic novel about a girl who decides she wants to be the Scarlet Rose so that she can take from the rich and give to the poor, but mainly so she can meet The Fox, who does the same thing.
A little too predictable and maudlin. It was cool that she was adept at sword play, but her passion for wanting to meet the Fox got a little bit obsessive, and oh yeah, she wants to avenge her father.
Not memorable, or exciting, but perhaps for younger readers, who have not read smash-buckling stories before.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
Maud's father is murdered by an assassin looking for a book containing the secret to a great treasure. Maud swears to avenge her father's death, and wants to join a bandit named the Fox, who steals from the rich to give to the poor. Maud has to move in with her aristocratic grandfather, who only wants to control her and force her to marry a nobleman. Maud becomes the masked Scarlet Rose, and works on her fencing skills so she can become a highway bandit, and get one step closer to her father's killer.
The plot is predictable and full of Robin Hood tropes. The characters are boring and obvious. The writing is blah. The artwork is okay, but nothing special. It's not horrible, but it's not good either. I've read worse, but I've also read much better.
Everything is just so predictable and boring. Every single reaction from every character is exactly what you expect it to be. Oh, she doesn't want to wear pretty dresses and go to fancy balls and get married? No kidding, what a surprise. I didn't need half a chapter to explain that.
Oh, her grandfather is all angry and gruff because she isn't a proper young lady? Wow, never saw that coming.
Oh, that nobleman guy that she likes just happens to secretly be the Fox? My God, I never would have guessed. Especially since he's the only other male character under 60 in the entire book. *rolls eyes * BORING.
Tropes everywhere. Nothing original or interesting!
The dialogue is painful to read, because it explains obvious things. "We must send for the doctor!" "No, we can't afford one. We already have barely enough to live on."-pg.10.
Boom, the Fox shows up with some money he stole from rich people. Wow, what a great bunch of dialogue. I'm so glad that they explained clearly that they were poor and sick, and that I was forced to read it with my eyes. My brain is so engaged in this story right now. NOT really.
The only good part of the book was when she fell into the pig pen! haha! I liked that part. Her pretty yellow dress got all covered in mud and it was delightful. Mainly because it wasn't boring!
Disclaimer: I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts and are not influenced by anyone.
This is the English translation of the original French graphic novel. Set in France before the French revolution, it tells the story of Maud, an 18-years old girl who has been taught to fence by her father, the village's blacksmith, and is very much a tomboy. She is fascinated by the daring escapades of "The Fox", a Robin-Hood-like bandit who robs the rich and donates the loot to the poor. One night another bandit attacks their home and kills her father while attempting to steal his travel diary. Our heroine then learns that her father was a noble who married against his family's wishes and since Maud"s mother had died long ago, she is sent to her noble grandfather who intends to take care of teaching her how to behave in society with the goal to marry her off. Maud resists her grandfather's attempts to tame her until she meets a charming young count with more qualities than meet the eye...
Adventure and romance in the best tradition of period dramas, this graphic novel is fast paced, intriguing and boasts a very pleasant art, I highly recommend it and can't wait to read the next installment in the story
An intriguing refresh to the classic robin hood tale, a young maiden grows affections for a debonair brigand in the midst of a family death and scandal.
The comic was nice and an easy read. The story and art were simple but still enjoyable. I would have like a little more surprises as the plot was quite predictable.
I would recommend this comic for teens.
A fun enough romp with a headstrong heroine, with more bravery than brains. She has heart, though, and is romantic to her core.
After Scarlet experiences a traumatic run-in with an evil villain, scrappy Scarlet dreams of meeting the Fox, a highwayman who steals from the rich and helps the poor. She is way too crazy about him, and takes some risks to help him without even knowing him!
This was a fun start to a story but maybe a bit too soap opera-y for me. I liked the main character and I liked that she stood up for what she believed in didn't let people push her around, but also her weird devotion to The Fox could get really creepy really fast now that he's an actual person in her life. I'll have to wait and see how that all plays out I guess. Also while the art is good, the anime/manga style is just really jarring to me when it's used in something that isn't manga so that might be something to consider if you're thinking of trying this.
Thank you Papercutz for the copy via NetGalley.
This Graphic Novel is fun, easy to read, and has a good sense of humor.
It starts with the murder of Maud's father, a past revealed to her and thus she travels to live in Paris. Her huge crush on a bandit calling himself "The Fox" has lead her to a conclusion of becoming a bandit herself - Scarlet Rose.
Guilhem is quite cute but I can't really tell of his age based on the drawings. Their facial expressions are right and I love how they change to impossible human faces to exaggerate an emotion.
I believe the english translations have just begun and I can't wait to read the next installment. This is my first Graphic Novel series so I'm not very familiar with the slang. Is it called an 'installment', an 'issue' perhaps?