Have you ever seen a film - or read a book - and thought, "This has everything"? In hindsight it is an absurd and childish phrase. Because no story that has ever been told has "everything" in it, for nothing is so varied and good that it could please everyone. Even the word "epic" means different things to different people. But after finishing 'Rapunzel's Revenge' - created by the wife-and-husband team Shannon and Dean Hale - I found myself thinking exactly that, while also dealing with a tidal wave of emotions.
'Rapunzel's Revenge' has it all - action, adventure, drama, comedy, romance, a strong female lead, magic, animals, a diverse cast of characters (including strong little people), a mother-and-daughter/son theme, redemption, slavery, starvation, kidnapping storylines, prison breakout storylines, and of course, a revenge plot. Tell me if I'm missing something, because it could be that this comic book has a little something for everyone. Even though it looks to be a Western with a fairy tale twist, it could easily earn a place in any number of genres.
Before I get into the characters and their roles in this fairy tale retelling, I'll talk about the Rapunzel tale itself and its impact on popular culture.
It seems that it is only recently in the 21st century that Rapunzel has begun to shine as brightly and continuously as her long locks. In Kate Forsyth's brilliant 2012 novel, 'Bitter Greens', we are taken back to the fairy tale's origin in Italy in the 17th century; in a story called 'Petrosinella' by Giambattista Basile. This is later retold by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de la Force in France. Hence was spawned other retellings.
In most versions of 'Rapunzel', a witch kidnaps the poor peasant girl as a punishment to her father who, three years previously, took rapunzel leaves from the witch's garden to feed the girl's mother, who was pregnant and craving greens at the time. The witch locks Rapunzel in a tower and lets her hair grow to about twenty feet or more. A prince or male traveller will come to the tower when Rapunzel is in her teens, and whether he dies or is saved by Rapunzel's tears once she's free depends on the retelling. In Disney's popular 2010 film, 'Tangled', Rapunzel is a princess who is kidnapped from her parents as a newborn, because her hair contains magical properties from a flower which Mother Gothel had used to stay young (or attractive middle-aged at least). Inside a hidden tower, Mother Gothel lets Rapunzel's hair grow in order to use its magic to keep herself immortal, for if the hair is cut the magic will be lost forever. Rapunzel's love interest, who climbs her tower prison/home on his own, without her hair, is a redeemed thief.
So interest in this particular fairy tale has perked up over the years. I myself have caught the bug, especially since it seems that many good stories and adaptations have come out of it. And as a result it's become one of my favourite fairy tales. Thus, when a certain comic book based on the tale came up on my reading radar (plus hearing its good reviews), I knew I had to get my hands on it. I never liked the Western genre (I find its entries to be very samey and dry and overtly hyper-masculine), but I was nevertheless willing to give 'Rapunzel's Revenge' a try, and I kept my expectations fairly low.
I regret nothing.
(Except stupidly getting orange juice all over my copy of 'Bitter Greens', but in hindsight that's got nothing to do with this review.)
'Rapunzel's Revenge' is one of the best graphic novels - one of the best reading titles, period - I have ever read. I know my range in reading comic books isn't very wide, but it's the truth. The fact that I'm not even a fan of Westerns but still think highly of this comic says an awful lot. I should give more titles a chance.
The protagonist herself is, obviously, Rapunzel. I love her to bits. She's sheltered, kind, shy, anxious, but also curious, adventurous, brave, bold, daring, thoughtful, selfless, funny, and very adaptable - she's all the things that make human beings so complex and awe-inspired. Aside from her red hair she isn't conventionally attractive and is never sexualised (although that might be because she's supposed to be only sixteen).
Rapunzel in this retelling starts out as a rich girl living in a lush, fertile castle with Mother Gothel. But when she turns twelve, she climbs the wall surrounding her home and finds out that Gothel has slaves working in mines. One of the slaves is her real mother. Rapunzel discovers the truth behind Gothel's business - the witch uses her growth magic to suck the lands dry of vegetation, and the inhabitants are at her mercy. The young girl, when she refuses to go back home after seeing all this, is sent to live in a tall tree prison in a forest as a punishment by Gothel. Growth magic provides Rapunzel with food and also makes her hair grow at a fast rate (probably unintentional on Gothel's part... or is it?). Four years later, the heroine is finally able to escape by using her hair to swing to another tree, and then climb (well, fall actually) back down to earth. Her journey begins and she's on a mission to stop Mother Gothel's tyranny and rescue her birth mother.
So in this version, not only does Rapunzel not need a man to climb her tower and be used as a plot device to help free her, but she has a set goal in mind once she is free. And that goal is to grant the same freedom for her real, living mother, and bring justice to the witch's evil reign over a country. Rapunzel is not just a cowgirl, she is an all-around action girl with hair plaits for lassos (developed through doing activities in her tree prison out of boredom and loneliness) . She does pretty much everything by herself.
Except she also gains a travelling companion.
Jack is a crossdressing thief looking for money to fix his mother's house. He has magic beans. And a goose he claims can lay golden eggs (this hasn't been proven yet). I was wary of this guy at first, because it seemed like he was just another bumbling male sidekick character, who exists sorely to make the action-oriented female lead look competent by comparison. Feminism is supposed to help both genders display equal amounts of strengths and weaknesses, after all. But he is hilarious, and has excellent dialogue exchanges with Rapunzel. Jack is her opposite in every way, including them coming from different backgrounds. He has wonderful character development, and he and Rapunzel are sweet together, so I don't mind that their relationship ends up being romantic.
I knew the romance was coming, but not necessarily because they're opposite-gendered partners and so must be a couple. No, it is because they are genuinely good together and change each other for the better. Rapunzel learns about trust and that there are good people in the world through Jack, and vice versa.
There's just one thing that is worth putting into question: How old is Jack anyway? He looks considerably older than Rapunzel's sixteen years.
Jack's goose Goldy doesn't do much, and Mother Gothel as a villain is pretty one-note, due to her not appearing in the comic much. However, she is very intimidating when she does appear on-panel, and we are told her backstory in the middle of the story. She does more with her growth magic than just make plants grow and die; she can make other things - even people - grow too... Even Gothel's soldiers and henchmen are given distinctive personalities and likeable traits.
I've already mentioned that 'Rapunzel's Revenge' is very diverse in its cast, and their dialogue - as well as the artwork - clearly shows they are in a wild west setting. However, it seems that Rapunzel, the main character, is the only Caucasian-looking person in the graphic novel. I guess what would make 'Rapunzel's Revenge' any better is if Rapunzel had the same ethnicity as any of the other characters (does a retelling featuring a Black Rapunzel exist anywhere? If not, I might write it in one of my own stories, because wouldn't it be awesome?). But oh well, her personality more than makes up for this (and who doesn't love red hair, seriously?).
All in all, I freaking love 'Rapunzel's Revenge'. Fun, touching, sad, thrilling, witty, and should be used as a teaching guideline on how to write what is called a "strong female character" (hint: in a way you would write any hero who is also a human being). Spread the word! Have it more well known!
The artwork by Nathan Hale (no relation to the authors) also fits very well with the setting. It is just cartoony enough that - like the mishmash of genres - it makes the book appealing to a variety of audiences.
A beautiful, five-star masterpiece, and I look forward to lassoing the sequel, 'Calamity Jack'.
(Will Jack be as interesting a main character as Rapunzel, however?)
Final Score: 5/5
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