Graphic Novel Review - 'Swan Lake: Quest for the Kingdoms' by Rey Terciero (Writer), Megan Kearney (Artist)

A fun, cute and cartoony retelling of the fairy tale and ballet, 'Swan Lake', that also makes references to Tchaikovsky's other works. It's such a romp.

Set in a world actually called Tchaikovsky's Realm, 'Swan Lake: Quest for the Kingdoms' contains adventure, a magical quest inspired by a childhood storybook, sword fighting girls, two divided kingdoms on the brink of war, deceptional reputations of kingdoms and peoples as well as other royal shenanigans, animals - including a swan (of course) and other birds, and a bear, and goblins (whose language might seem alien at first, but is actually just bad abbreviated text! Ha!). Oh, and dancing. And no doubt beautiful music to go with it, but since this is a comic book you may have to imagine it's the original ballet score playing.

There's a lake serpent in there, too.

'Swan Lake: Quest for the Kingdoms' is very similar to another all-ages cartoony princess graphic novel, 'Princess Princess Ever After' by Kay O'Neill; right down to both starring an adventuring young trio consisting of two princesses and a prince. Dillie Rotbart, the sword fighting tomboy, even looks like a light-skinned Amira (and their hair is identical), and Odette Bloom is just like Sadie but with pink hair. Siegfried "Fred" Montrose is the third wheel cowardly prince, who is not really cowardly but a funny and sweet subversion of toxic masculinity (blatantly, amusingly said in dialogue, in this case); a lot like Princes Vladric from 'Princess Princess Ever After', only Fred is a POC, and an adorable cinnamon bun who has a vastly stronger and more dynamic presence in his longer story (and he has a friend who's a bear, Benno). It does seem as though Rey Terciero and Megan Kearney took great inspiration from that comic, not necessarily ripping it off. 'Swan Lake: Quest for the Kingdoms' is its own fun and funny identity, anyway.

Princess Odile "Dillie" of Rotbart is not a villain, a dark mirror, nor a rival of the swan princess like in the original tale. She's a bored, restless, fiery, impulsive young girl who yearns for adventure. She doesn't want to take responsibility and her mother's place on the throne some day (her kingdom is a matriarchy) (side note: her father is a queer and quirky scientist, mistakenly thought by the Bloom Kingdom to be an evil sorcerer; how's that for a subversion?). Dillie is adept with the sword (equalling her four older brothers), and is offhandedly a bookworm. Girl's got layers!

On her quest to break Odette's swan curse and prove her reputedly dour and wicked kingdom's innocence, she learns that heroism means as much about patience, understanding, and using your words, as much as it means charging forwards into danger and using violence, if not more so. Dillie is stronger, kinder, braver, wiser, and more spirited and capable than she knows, as she'll find out. She also has a prosthetic leg, and she named her sword Cassandra.

From a few details gathered above, am I the only one seeing elements of Pixar's 'Brave' to Dillie's character?

Last note regarding Dillie: as well as Princess Amira, Dillie reminds me of Marceline from 'Adventure Time' in both looks and personality...and in her relationship status with a pink princess.

Princess Odette of Bloom is a sweet girl who, since she was a newborn, has unfortunately been under a spell put on her by a mysterious wizard, so that every day she turns into a swan, and every night back into a girl. Her parents are overprotective of her, but she desperately wishes for freedom from her royal cage - to go out dancing, for she dreams of being a ballerina (she seems to be a better dancer as a swan at the moment, due to lack of training).

She and Dillie meet by chance one night, and despite the sheltered kids' rocky start (neither of them have really had any friends before), and the tensions between their rivalling kingdoms, they become friends (how very 'Romeo and Juliet'. Hmm). Then they set out on a quest together to break Odette's curse and save both their kingdoms from declaring war.

But is it really a curse? Is Odette being a swan half the time something to be ashamed of? What if she's not broken and fragile, and doesn't need to change? What if she could use a sword like Dillie? What if she could still be a dancer? What if she could still do anything?

Prince Fred and Benno the bear tag along, providing further comic relief.

The themes of war solving nothing; that not everything is as they appear; that reputations and propaganda are not always true; and that it is a progressive, safe and beautiful thing to get to know each other instead of dividing and isolating ourselves from other places - that's how dangerous rumours and falsehoods fester - that peace is possible - these are brilliant lessons that 'Swan Lake: Quest for the Kingdoms' teaches. Why not dance instead of fight? Why not sing and create stories - create art that frees the soul - instead of lies?

Children are much wiser than adults in solving stupid conflicts, aren't they? "Who knows why people do bad things?", Odette's mother says to her at one point, like she'll be one to talk later. No one should have to start wars. No one should have to die. Proving you are "better" than someone or somewhere else through violence, spawned out of hate, revenge, pettiness and misplaced issues, means nothing. It only proves that you are nothing, and empty and hurting inside.

I have to mention that, yeah, I totally ship Dillie and Odette. There are tiny hints throughout that their friendship may become something more in the future, but maybe not right now. They are both twelve years old, after all. They hug, cuddle, and hold hands a lot - seriously, there is so much handholding between these two, they even do it on the cover! - and there is one image of their fingers lightly touching in front of a heart-shaped cave entrance. I mean, come on!

'Swan Lake' is not explicitly queer like 'Princess Princess Ever After' - it's all in code, like Fred's entire character - but it works well for what it is, so it's not too irritating.

The whole 'Swan Lake' ballet motif that the graphic novel has going for it, with its dancing girl/swan/pretty bird, sword fighting hero, and helpless prince, plus it referencing other fairy tales...there's something else it reminds me of: the anime 'Princess Tutu'. Another deliberate homage? Probably not, probably a coincidence, but I can dream.

'Swan Lake: Quest for the Kingdoms' is far from perfect, as there are a few abrupt plot, character and dialogue inconsistencies, especially at the beginning, that an editor might have helped fix. Speaking of inconsistencies, the very beginning of the book shows how Odette came to be cursed, when she was a baby, when her mother stopped the cloaked wizard halfway through the spell. But it had happened at night time, meaning Odette shouldn't have been a swan yet, so how could her parents have immediately known that there was something wrong - shocking and horrifying, even - with her? Was it a one time thing for the beginner spell? It doesn't make sense, and it should have been another fix from the editor. Was there an editor?

But no worries. It's a fab story with fab art and characters. Woven throughout are important themes and messages. Recommended.

Final Score: 4/5