This was an emotional collection of short fairytales with beautiful artwork and messages! Each one provided an important message that should be read by all! With so little said in each, I never felt the messages were heavy handed, and I wouldn't be surprised to find each reader getting their own message from each story. I felt some form of emotion, usually different, from each one: betrayal, hopefulness, acceptance and more.

When I initially received the widget for this graphic novel, I took a quick skim to check out the artwork and fell in love. I knew I had to read each story in detail and find out what these pastel-soft art style were telling. The colour pallette and character design reminded me of Stage Dreams immediately, which shouldn't have surprised me since that's also their work. It also had a similar feel to Come Back and Across A Field of Starlight - heartwarming with beautiful artwork and messages. I highly recommend this set of queer fairytale stories, with my favourites being The King's Forest, The Goose Girl, and Hsthete!

This graphic novel was a quick, interesting read where the illustrations caught my attention and the small fables held it. I really enjoyed Gillman’s take on these stories and the talent she has to create them for readers.

It is interesting that while these short fables have a lesson to impart, they are still left open-ended for the reader to interpret a small part (or the whole) ending. We get the chance to make it what we want which I find liberating and freeing.

This is an anthology of unique fairy tales! These all feel like stories you'd read in a collection of fairy tales alongside The Frog Prince and Rumpelstiltskin. Many of these stories ask questions about things readers don't ask questions about. Like, why can't the king share the magic flowers? Why is the knight so devout to the point of self-sacrifice? If you love the twisting of traditional story conventions, this anthology is for you! I love Gillman's colored pencil art style. I really haven't seen an art style like theirs before. It really needs to be stated that these are colored pencils, because there are a couple of parts where I forgot it was colored pencils because I didn't realize you could compose some of the panels that Gillman did with pencils. "Hsthete" was my favorite of the stories!

I don't think I realized how touched I was going to be by this collection of fairy tale comics. Gillman, with their lovely art and way with words, has reached into tradition and turned it on its side, queering fairy tales. Brilliant. Can't wait until my library's copy comes in.

I received this book from TBR and Beyond Tours/publisher in exchange of an honest review.

1. The art It was just absolutely stunning! I really love Melanie Gillman’s work (been following them on Twitter for some time) and that was also one of the reasons for myself to pick up this book and hope that I could review it! They really has a soft and pretty style.
2. The stories The stories were just wonderful. I love how we had a prologue and an epilogue. I enjoyed all the stories and was totally into them. I think my favourite ones were the ones about the suitor followed by the mermaid x the old woman.
3. The romance/LGBT + feminism (OK, maybe this is 3 reasons, haha) There are so many cute romances and I was just rooting for everyone to get their happy ending in one way or another. Like the girl with the cold suitor, that turned out in a way I hadn’t expected but totally loved. I absolutely loved how we didn’t have, and I hope I am saying this right, I am so sorry otherwise, we don’t have your typical princes and princesses or standard characters at all. The princess don’t all wear frills or look all dainty. The knights aren’t all male or have fancy shiny hair. It was just such a breath of fresh air. Don’t get me wrong, I love myself some frills and fancy dresses, but this was even more perfect. I definitely fell in love with the princess in the goose story and the knight in the story about a hole in the heart/protecting people.
I loved the feminism. The strong girls vibe. The we don’t need a knight to protect us. We don’t need magic or sparkles to find our luck (though I definitely, at the moment at least, wouldn’t mind some sparkles or magic to feel happy). The side characters are also important. The old woman and the mermaid story was just so sweet!
4. The classic fairy tale vibe Despite these being way more modern and feminism/queer-filled, they just had that feel as if they were really old classic tales. Often with retellings it just feels real modern, new, shiny, but with this one I didn’t have that, and I adore that!
5 How we see people come back: Haha, this may sound a bit weird, but with that I mean that in later stories we may see characters we met earlier. Like we meet the Goose Girl and her family and people in the story about the knight who was searching for something. I just adore it when stories connect. When the country and lands we visit are all in the same world, the same universe.

I would HIGHLY recommend this book!

This was my first experience with Melanie Gillman's works, and after experiencing "Other Ever Afters" I can safely say I will be ordering their entire back catalog for my middle school library in my first order this year. I do not have the words to describe how exquisitely "Other Ever Afters" is illustrated. The drawings come alive on the page and help create an atmosphere where readers can feel completely immersed in the stories they are taking in. The stories themselves are so timely and so wonderfully imagined. Gillman does a remarkable job of giving center stage to characters who are often relegated to playing a bit part in someone else's story. They tackle stereotypes head-on, twist well-known fairytale tropes in ways that make the reader reconsider every "happily ever after" they've ever taken for granted, and give wonderful queer representation in these stories that some children will never have experienced in their fairytale readings.

This will be a book that will be impossible to keep on library shelves. We will need multiple copies, I will recommend it again, and again, and our students will love it. When you've read as many middle grades and young adult novels as I have, you can just tell when a novel will be a hit, and this one has all the makings of a new classic.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children's for the chance to review an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

Short and so very sweet. This graphic novel reimagines many of the classic fairy tales to include more diverse and inclusive characters.

Characters

Even when I read graphic novels or comics, I love when stories have interesting characters. All the characters in Other Ever Afters were amazing, and they each had their own backstory and personalities. In the same story, a character would go from fun and light-hearted to heavy, and this shows Melaine Gillman’s style, and how they can bring the reader into the stories through their characters.

Stories

Other Ever Afters was a collection of stories featuring LGBTQ+ characters, and I enjoyed all of them. I had three favorites, which were: The King’s Forest, Goose Girl, and Hesthete. The King’s Forest was a cute story about two girls and the flower that brought them together. I love flowers, and forest vibes, so this story spoke to me on a personal level. Goose Girl followed a princess who wanted to marry a peasant girl, and the story talked about class dividers. As a fan of mythology, Hesthehe was my favorite in this collection. T could feel the main character’s anxiety and Hesthehe’s love for the bride was so sweet, and I loved them as a couple.

Art

The art style is something I love seeing in Graphic Novels, and the art style Melanie Gillman uses in Other Ever Afters is adorable, and so sweet. I love the use of light and dark colors in all the panels. A graphic novel relies on the art style to tell the story and Other Ever Afters works in tandem with the writing to tell the story.

Romance

Other Ever Afters was filled with sweet romances with LGBTQ+ characters a the helm. I love seeing queer characters in stories, and the romances found in these stories were so interesting.

Recommended for/ Enjoyment

I enjoyed Other Ever Afters so much! Other Ever Afters would be recommended for fans of Graphic Novels, especially with LGTBQ+ characters.

This was super cool! It’s exactly what the title says it is, and it works really will. This won’t be a super long review because there’s not a ton to this book, but I really liked it. The art was really lovely and light, and the subversive stories were really cool. My favorites were Hsthete and Goose Girl, but they were all great. I feel like these were not only feminist and queer and full of other great representation, but also pretty anti-capitalism, which was cool. Overall, this will bring any reader joy, and I think would work really well in class based on fairy tales and/or retellings.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for the ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #NetGalley #OtherEverAfters


First things, the artwork is stunningly gorgeous. The first story is so cute, but it seemed to end on a cliffhanger and I didn't like that. The other stories seem to have conclusive endings. I still love seeing old fairy tales updated. These were quirky and queer and lovely fairy tales. Very quick read and very enjoyable. I can't emphasize enough how much I loved the artwork.

I adored this graphic novel. The art is beautiful. The stories are intriguing. I loved the queer twist of the fairytales. That ending was great! I just wish some were a tad longer because they felt abrupt. I will still be recommending!

Thank you Netgalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This graphic novel is beautiful in more ways than one. The stories themselves were wonderful to read. I especially like the amount of sapphic representation, since that is less common in media. Each tale was sweet, and I liked how the introduction and the conclusion connected to each other, and also to the stories themselves. Each page was also breathtaking to look at, and I was incredibly impressed to learn that it was hand drawn with colored pencils. This is a great book for children to read, but it is also wonderful for people of all ages to enjoy.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Other Ever Afters

Author: Melanie Gillman

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: Sapphic characters, people of color main characters, plus size characters, trans character

Recommended For...: young adult readers, graphic novel, LGBT, fantasy, queer, retellings, fairy tales

Publication Date: September 20, 2022

Genre: YA Graphic Novel

Age Relevance: 13+ (illness, gore, violence, death, poverty)

Explanation of Above: There is some illness depicted in the book. There is some gore with blood and violence shown with weapons. Death is mentioned and shown in the book. There is also extreme poverty shown.

Publisher: Random House Graphic

Pages: 240

Synopsis: Once upon a time . . . happily ever after turned out differently than expected. In this new, feminist, queer fairy-tale collection, you’ll find the princesses, mermaids, knights, barmaids, children, and wise old women who have been forced to sit on the sidelines in classic stories taking center stage. A gorgeous all-new collection in graphic novel format from a Stonewall Honor-winning author and artist.

What if the giant who abducted you was actually thoughtful and kind? What if you didn’t want to marry your handsome, popular, but cold-inside suitor? What if your one true love has all the responsibilities that come with running a kingdom?

Review: I really liked this short anthology of queer fairy tale books. I love the overarching story theme and I loved how diverse the book was. The book did well to keep the ton of the fairy tales and to also have important life lessons in them. I especially liked the trans analogy one and the one with the flowers. The book was also beautifully illustrated. I also think it could be good for children younger than the intended audience, as it was overall sweet and had very little graphic details.

The only issue I had with the book is that it ended really short. I think it could have fit in a few more stories and offered a bit more LGBT aspects to it.

Verdict: It was great! Highly recommend!

A very quick short read. It was alright for the length it was, but I would have prefered it longer, I felt like I got no time to spend in each story. I like the colors and aesthetic

This is a fantastically illustrated collection of queer retellings of classic stories. The art style gives it a whimsical and wholesome feel that only adds to the quality of the stories.

I loved that even though the stories were now being told through a queer lens, they weren't inherently romantic, but instead just gave the stories a queer main character. Almost all of them had me tearing up from some kind of emotion and I would love to read more of these if they were ever created!

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

This book was beautifully illustrated - and while I enjoyed the stories in it immensely, the illustrations are really what made it come alive for me. I truly enjoyed the twists that Melanie Gillman gave these classic fairy tales and I found Other Ever Afters to be a delightful, quick little read.

Wow just wow. That was such a powerful reading. Each story was unique and left me questioning the world around me or wondering just how I can make it better. Amazing, a must have.

Other Ever Afters isn't my first time reading Gillman's work, but while these stories are missing some of the expansive satisfaction that their other work has. Many of these stories were written/drawn/developed as part of 24 hour comic challenges and that origin is still clear in their quick story arcs, the way some of them end right at the most interesting point, and in stories where some worldbuilding or exposition would be best if not delivered through fairytale narration. That being said, the art is beautiful, and Gillman's ideas are good ones, reworking many a classic story and inventing new ones with the help of old tropes. Perhaps it's not groundbreaking in this way, but a welcome addition to the genre.

I enjoyed the twists on these classic fairytales. They were beautifully done and they were consuming I never wanted to stop reading.

5 stars

Fans of fairy tales, graphic novels/sequential art, and modern updates will likely join me in adoring this speedy and fulfilling read.

Gillman mixes art and storytelling to create a compelling revamp of the enclosed tales, and the LGBTQIA+ focus is just one of the many elements employed here to make this collection especially engaging and memorable. The introduction and conclusion - as well as the final note - also create a clear sense of unity and messaging about expectations for feminine folks and hopes for the institutions that keep trying to hold us back. As much as I loved the individual tales, it's really this attention to the overall package that I am finding most endearing in retrospect.

Between my Great Myths and Legends and Children's Literature courses, I am constantly reviewing and teaching new versions of fairy tales from all over the world and across time, and this is one of my favorite finds yet. I'll absolutely be recommending it to students for the long haul and to anyone who appreciates sequential art and fairy tale retellings in general.