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3.24 AVERAGE
3.24 AVERAGE
Vaguely entertaining but goes nowhere. I'd have preferred a more historically accurate account of these amazing women and their fight for our rights. Glad I didn't spend more that £1.99 on the ebook.
Sporting one of the best titles ever, Suffrajitsu has the spirit of a possible "Hark, a Vagrant!" 4-panel writ large, if not quite so pithily amusing.
It is an alt-history imagining of a band of all-female martial arts-trained enforcers for the luminaries of the suffragette movement. These intrepid heroines safeguard their charges from violent police action and other would-be assailants, attempting to ensure that their leaders make it to speeches, rallies, and demonstrations undisturbed.
While it could still veer into one-note gimmick territory, a history-altering twist at the end leaves me hopeful for future issues.
It is an alt-history imagining of a band of all-female martial arts-trained enforcers for the luminaries of the suffragette movement. These intrepid heroines safeguard their charges from violent police action and other would-be assailants, attempting to ensure that their leaders make it to speeches, rallies, and demonstrations undisturbed.
While it could still veer into one-note gimmick territory, a history-altering twist at the end leaves me hopeful for future issues.
A promising start, with good, easy to follow art, and a compelling storyline. I'm definitely intrigued to learn more about the cast as this series continues.
Full disclosure - I am not a fan of graphic novels. I struggled through The Watchmen, immensely grateful when the panels and floating bubbles of dialogue gave way to interludes of plain, ordinary text on which I could rest my eyes and simply read the story. So I was a bit trepidatious when I was asked to review Suffrajitsu, despite the fact that I knew I would love the content.
Full disclosure #2 - I'm a feminist.
Suffrajitsu tells an alternative history to that of the Suffragettes of 1914 in England and the UK. There is a very helpful companion website at www.suffrajitsu.com if you want to either brush up on your history before reading, or learn more about the historical figures after reading. The website also relates the actual events that inspired the graphic novel's storyline.
Persephone Wright quickly engaged me as an admirable heroine, and I was easily drawn into her struggles. The supporting characters were distinct and came to life in just a few brush strokes. (I personally loved the nod to Judith Lee, who has her own collection of adventures as a lip-reading Sherlock Holmes.) The art is vibrant, energetic and cinematic, perfectly suited to the action/adventure nature of the story. The hostility of those on the wrong side of history, the men who attack the suffragettes and who make the Amazon bodyguard necessary, is dealt with most satisfactorily. The victories are hard won, however, which made me root for the Amazons even more.
Twists and turns lead us to a doozy of a cliffhanger ending, when the story diverges dramatically from the actual history of the Suffragette movement. There are some breadcrumbs scattered throughout that may lead to where I think the story is going to go, but nothing is given away.
I had to go back and read it several times to fully absorb it because I so rarely read graphic novels (see above), and I have difficulty following the format. But with Suffrajitsu, multiple readings were a pleasure! If you are a fan, I strongly recommend you pick this one up.
Full disclosure #2 - I'm a feminist.
Suffrajitsu tells an alternative history to that of the Suffragettes of 1914 in England and the UK. There is a very helpful companion website at www.suffrajitsu.com if you want to either brush up on your history before reading, or learn more about the historical figures after reading. The website also relates the actual events that inspired the graphic novel's storyline.
Persephone Wright quickly engaged me as an admirable heroine, and I was easily drawn into her struggles. The supporting characters were distinct and came to life in just a few brush strokes. (I personally loved the nod to Judith Lee, who has her own collection of adventures as a lip-reading Sherlock Holmes.) The art is vibrant, energetic and cinematic, perfectly suited to the action/adventure nature of the story. The hostility of those on the wrong side of history, the men who attack the suffragettes and who make the Amazon bodyguard necessary, is dealt with most satisfactorily. The victories are hard won, however, which made me root for the Amazons even more.
Twists and turns lead us to a doozy of a cliffhanger ending, when the story diverges dramatically from the actual history of the Suffragette movement. There are some breadcrumbs scattered throughout that may lead to where I think the story is going to go, but nothing is given away.
I had to go back and read it several times to fully absorb it because I so rarely read graphic novels (see above), and I have difficulty following the format. But with Suffrajitsu, multiple readings were a pleasure! If you are a fan, I strongly recommend you pick this one up.
Fun and mysterious, because this is only the first part of I do not know how many, and I wonder how it will end the history of these suffragettes absolutely able to defend themselves.
Divertente e misterioso, perché questa é soltanto la prima parte di non so quante e mi chiedo come andrá a finire la storia di queste suffraggette maestre di arti arziali assolutamente capaci di difendersi da sole.
THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND AMAZON PUBLISHING FOR THE PREVIEW!
Divertente e misterioso, perché questa é soltanto la prima parte di non so quante e mi chiedo come andrá a finire la storia di queste suffraggette maestre di arti arziali assolutamente capaci di difendersi da sole.
THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND AMAZON PUBLISHING FOR THE PREVIEW!
The true story is amazing--Edith Garrud really did teach British suffragettes ju-jitsu to elude police arrest and defend themselves, and with her husband, ran a dojo in Soho that served as a center of feminist activities. So I was excited to see a graphic novel adaptation with thinly fictionalized historical figures and this story. Unfortunately, the author chose to remove Edith and replace her with a man, because, of course, no feminist historical narrative can actually have a woman with agency (or dojo) at its center. What was the point of this, other than to piss me off?
'Suffrajitsu: Mrs. Pankhurst's Amazons' takes a stab at an alternate history that seems to work. My review copy was only the very first issue, so at 24 pages, there's only the very beginnings of a story to consider.
It's 1914 in London and women are being oppressed. They can't seem to convince men to allow them to vote, so rather than shrink away, they decide to fight back. Literally. They have an elite secret society of Amazons trained in the martial arts, and they are not taking no for an answer.
It's a clever premise, but it didn't completely blow me away like I thought it might. It's possible that as the story advances it might grow on me, so I'll check back in on it.
Writing by Tony Wolf is promising, and I liked the art by Joao Vieira. I can't wait to see where this ends up going.
I received a review copy of this comic book from Amazon Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this new comic book.
It's 1914 in London and women are being oppressed. They can't seem to convince men to allow them to vote, so rather than shrink away, they decide to fight back. Literally. They have an elite secret society of Amazons trained in the martial arts, and they are not taking no for an answer.
It's a clever premise, but it didn't completely blow me away like I thought it might. It's possible that as the story advances it might grow on me, so I'll check back in on it.
Writing by Tony Wolf is promising, and I liked the art by Joao Vieira. I can't wait to see where this ends up going.
I received a review copy of this comic book from Amazon Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this new comic book.
A nice start to what could be an interesting and exciting series. There's not a lot of depth to the characters right now, but the main character is on her way to some nice development, so there's hope! A strong introduction, should be fun to see what happens next.