Princeless Raven: The Pirate Princess Vol. 2 Free Women Review

Written by Jeremy Whitley
Pencils by Rosy Higgins
Inks by Ted Brandt
Colours by William Blankenship
Letters by Justin Birch
Edited by Alycia Whitely

Published by Action Lab Entertainment

When we last left off with Raven: the Pirate Princess, Raven had just assembled her crew of Free Women pirates and they’ve set off for adventure and to exact revenge on Raven’s family. Given the fact that they’re all newly acquainted with each other, how can they possibly act like the pirate crew Raven needs to carry out this mission?

This series has been an absolute joy to read and because I got so attached to Raven’s story in the main Princeless comic, I thought I would really only care about Raven but writer/creator Jeremy Whitley has proven me wrong. In addition to the main five (Raven, Sunshine, Ximena, Katie, and Jayla), we get introduced to the whole crew and everyone gets a moment to shine. I don’t want to talk about all of them because all of you should get introduced to them by reading this volume but I’ve got to say that each of these crew members have so much personality that Whitley can easily create a comic on each of them. To have that much depth and chemistry in just a couple of issues is a feat and I’m so happy that we have this volume to explore all these personalities and how they all interact with each other.

This volume is great because we get a very organic intro to all the characters. Although they set off for adventure together in the first volume, the second really underscores that they’re still people who don’t really know each other and there’s going to be some conflict. There’s Jayla, whose only child syndrome leads to some nasty attention-seeking attitude problems. There’s the tension between Raven and Ximena (and Sunshine!). There’s Zoe’s annoying panchet for making bad nicknames. With all that how can Raven possibly get her crew ready to face her brothers? Well, you’ll have to read to find out but I can assure you that it’s going to be a fun ride. What I love about this volume the most is how this all-lady crew establishes themselves as being different and better than their sexist, male pirate counterparts. Raven may be the captain but the crew still get their voices heard.

Rosy Higgins and Ted Brandt on art duties really makes this story come to life. Their character designs are spectacular and I’m so happy that the crew members are women of different shapes, sizes, and ethnicities. With Whitley penning their distinctive voices through dialogue and direction and Higgins and Brandt bringing excellent facial expressions and body language, you get a much richer and fuller cast that’s grounded and relatable despite the fantastical setting.

Verdict:
Buy. If you haven’t read Princeless Vol. 3 The Pirate Princess and Raven: the Pirate Princess Vol. 1 pick those up first and then read all of them and this volume too because like I said before, this series is an absolute delight. With a rich cast of diverse and relatable women, you will never find a dull moment. The story flows very organically and though we may not be closer to Raven’s endgame goal, we do get a lot of character development for side characters that could have remained unnamed and side-lined. As a person who prefers great character development to plot, this is a godsend. Have I mentioned how much I love this comic? I LOVE this series! Give it a chance and let it bring a smile to your face too.