a wonderfully illustrated graphic novel on the history of the tudors, henry the 8th and how mary became known as "bloody"
a retelling of her infamous life and evolution, from her "earliest memories" to her death, the unfairness and horror of her position in royalty, and the religious zealous campaign that brutally struck europe
using inspiration of the tudors love for fine arts and dramatized historical documations and quotes, we are taken on a inspiring, dark and heartbreaking journey
*when i say inspiring removing religious bias, she was a 1st born daughter in an extremely sexist world and fought to take her throne, as bad as her dark and murderous ways were, would she have succeeded without bloodshed while her father was murdering women for the sake of a son*

I had a hard time getting into this graphic novel. It is a historical biography told from the perspective of Princess (later Queen) Mary. However, I didn't feel that we were given as much of a glimpse behind the history as I would have liked. I found it difficult to connect with Mary. I wanted to see more of her humanity rather than a dry retelling of events I am already familiar with.

I did enjoy the art style. It reminded me of Erica Henderson's work. I especially appreciated the use of color linking page spreads together to signify scene/setting changes.

Perhaps someone with less familiarity of the time period and events would enjoy this book more.

I was familiar with Henry VIII and Mary Stuart story before but it was a messy mix of the movies and tv shows I’ve seen (Mary Queen of Scots, The Tudors, Another Boleyn Girl and that CW tv show Reign???). I’ve never studied this in school because I’m not British but I’ve always been intrigued by Mary as a historical figure.

This graphic novel has turned out to be so engrossing, a real page-turner. I’ve put on The Tudors soundtrack on Spotify and found myself transported into this world of court intrigues and Mary’s perseverance. Something about Kristina Gehrmann adaptation of this story made it very immersive — we see the common folk’s reaction to different events as the main story unfolds and I found it to be a nice touch.

The art style is easy to digest and is quite eye-pleasing.

As I was close to the end of the story, I found many parallels with Game of Thrones, especially the tv series, and I think that the writers definitely used Mary Stuart as a prototype of Daenerys Targaryen. So many things in common!

This graphic novel raised my interest in British history of the era and made me want to research this period even further.

I thank NetGalley and Andrews McMeel publishing for providing a digital copy of the graphic novel in exchange for an unbiased review!

Thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This graphic novel/biography of Mary Tudor, also known as Bloody Mary, was very well done. The illustrations look like they could have come from the Tudor period itself. Hans Holbein would be impressed! The text is easy to read and understand and does a good job of explaining how Henry VIII screwed over Mary’s mother because she didn’t provide him with a son.

The graphic novel also does a good job of showing how devout and important the Roman Catholic faith was to Mary and her mother, Catherine. They clung to it as the king defied the pope and created his own church in order to marry Anne Boleyn.

The one part that I thought the book lacked was when Mary actually became queen and earned her famous nickname, Bloody Mary. I don’t think that part of the book was sufficient to explain the terror and horror people felt as she took retribution against plotting Protestants. While nearly 300 people were put to death under Queen Mary’s reign, it’s important to note that under her father, Henry VIII, 37,000 people were executed.

This graphic biography a great way to introduce younger people to the Tudor reign. Highly recommend!

3.5
This graphic novel is essentially a biography of Mary Tudor from birth until death. It is good for giving a broad overview of the major events throughout her life, as tumultuous as it was. It also gives some insight into what her point of view may have been when it came to her father, Henry the Eighth. This graphic novel doesn't go too deeply into any of the events that made up Mary Tudors life, but rather gives a brief look into it before briskly moving on. This novel would honestly work well for teaching history. The graphic novel format would likely help students stay engaged while being brief enough that it could be read in an hour. I also liked the art! The art was well done, and it was clear that whoever did the art made sure to do their research into historical fashion. Everything worn by all of the characters was appropriate for the time period they were in.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Rating: 2/5 stars

Thanks to Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is marketed as a graphic novel, but honestly, it’s not. At best, it’s an illustrated book. The visuals don’t carry the story—they just accompany it, and not in a particularly meaningful way. There’s very little “graphic novel” about it beyond the format.

The story itself is essentially a first-person historical recap: “this happened, then that happened,” with little depth or engagement. It feels more like a heavily condensed biography than a creative retelling. And that’s fine for what it is, but as a graphic novel it really misses the mark.

Too much telling, not enough showing—and that’s especially disappointing in a visual medium. Ultimately, it didn’t leave a strong impression, and I didn’t feel the need to finish it.

I really enjoyed this portrait of Mary! The book was incredibly well done and kept me engaged. The format was intriguing and I thought it was well executed. Would recommend to any history lover!

An easy to follow examination of history, though the plot resolved rather quickly without a full examination of her change in mindset. I enjoyed the strategic use of color throughout.

Thank you to Andrew McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a review!

Bloody Mary is a great overview of the life of Mary Tudor, as well as the battle between Catholicism and Protestantism in 1500s England. I had always heard the name, "Bloody Mary" growing up, but never understood where it came from and now I do! This graphic novel is very informative, yet engaging, sharing Mary's story through a gripping narrative that keeps you in suspense. Even though I knew relatively what was going to happen next from history, I was still shocked like Mary in the story when things occurred. The art style is great and well done, but my only complaint is that it was difficult to distinguish from characters occasionally. Especially later in the book, I had a hard time identifying Mary versus her sister Elizabeth as they looked very similar. Other than that, I really enjoyed this novel and learned a lot! It definitely has a lot of religious themes throughout and it was neat to see history from a new perspective.

Overall, I would rate this book a 4/5 stars and recommend it to others!

Tudor era sparked my original love of history! This reminds me of the Young Royal series that Carolyn Meyer wrote. This works well as an addition to the Young Royal and Princess Diaries series and I think would be fun to use as a way to compare three different approaches on Mary Tudor's life. It is pretty comprehensive and I liked the use of primary sources in the graphic novel.

Bloody Mary is a great historical graphic novel for readers who are interested in the life of Mary Tudor. It certainly provides the context necessary to understand many of the events that happened, but this is not for those who are well-versed with the history of the Tudors or the time period. It is a very easy read and the illustrations are unique; not the typical style for a biographical/historical graphic novel. It is a bit more favorable (others have said compassionate in their reviews, which I can agree with) in terms of portraying Mary, but it is not an overwhelming perspective. It shows why she made the decisions she did and did not shy away from the truth.

Thank you Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC!

Very educational and generally well done, also recommended for younger readers who want a historically interesting story presented in a compact and simple way.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

💭 My Thoughts

Overall, this was a great graphic novel. The art style was well executed, and the first half did a great job of laying out the six wives of King Henry VIII. However, I do wish it was longer so that there could be more time to flesh out the "Bloody Mary" aspect of Mary's story. It felt like it glossed over just how many Protestants were persecuted. As a whole, though, I think it did a great job of giving an overview of not just her life but the time in which she lived.

— 2.5 ✷


Not being well-versed in the history of the west, Queen Mary is merely a name to me. I didn’t know anything of what she did or who she was. So this was a really interesting read for me, albeit with no means to know if it’s factual to a tee or not. The storytelling was also precise and engaging, and I loved the watercolours in the art.

My interest waned a bit nearer to the end, so 2.5 stars for me.


Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve always been a fan of non-fiction graphic novels, so I was pretty ecstatic to start this one. Especially one of the most famous people in British royalty.

This book is mostly told on Anne’s POV, which is brilliant. Because we get to be informed and be connected to her as a “character”. While the art style isn’t what I usually vibe with, it is very detailed and colorful. I think this is a great way of introducing some people who are hesitant to read non-fiction books, especially biographies.

While I think this was an interesting and brief look into Mary Tudor's life, I never really feel like I got to know the real Mary. It felt like things were just happening to her and she went along with it in her way.

The art was interesting but it felt like Mary always had the same bored expression and Henry was always angry. I think this is a great book for beginnings of Tudor history.

This ambitious graphic novel covers the life of Mary Tudor, eldest child of Henry VIII, from her childhood until her death. This is quite a lot, including the drama of all of Henry VIII's six wives, the religious conflicts and uprisings in England at this time, the court intrigue, and Mary's marriage to Philip of Spain. As such, the reason why Mary was called "Bloody Mary" didn't get as much weight as it could have. The reader is made to sympathize with Mary, when in the end, during her brief time in power, she executed so many. I found this an interesting slice of history where most historical accounts focus on Henry VIII or Elizabeth I (Mary's younger half-sister).

I am a sucker for English history so this was right up my alley! I am not an expert in Tudor history but to me, this was clear and understandable and accurate. The paintings throughout the book were beautiful. Every page had been colored and painted by the artist and it is wonderful to see! There are additional pages in the back giving more information about the real people portrayed and how the art was created. A wonderful graphic biography!

https://www.goodreads.com/revBloody Mary is a graphic novel biography of Princess Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII (yes, the same Henry with six wives, which the Broadway show Six is based on!) and Catherine of Aragon. The story begins at the start of Mary’s life and follows her through to her final days, recounting everything she endured along the way.

What I enjoyed:
As a history lover, Bloody Mary was an exciting way to dive deeper into her life. The graphics and artwork worked well with the narrative and kept me engaged from start to finish. I appreciated how the book provided facts and clarifications throughout which never left me lost or confused.

The pacing of the graphic novel worked well, and the flow of the storyline had a good rhythm. I felt the length of the novel was perfect for the amount of information that was shared. I read this in about a day and a half which is really quick for me!

What could be stronger:
While I appreciated the facts and clarification throughout the story, I felt that some of the characters were drawn very similar in the way they were drawn so I often flipped back to remember who was who. However, this did not take away from my reading experience and what I learned from it.

Final thoughts:
This was a quick, enjoyable read that I’d definitely recommend to fans of nonfiction and/or graphic novels. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review Bloody Mary!iew/show/7462552933

A great read for those who love tudor history and especially Henry VIII.

This follows the life of his first daughter Mary and the trials she endures throughout her life at the hand of a tyrant. Very well done read and I loved the art!