Heartless Prince by Leigh Dragoon (review)

Nineteen years ago, an infant Evony was taken in by the royal family of Gallea after her town was slaughtered by witches and their familiars. Now, those creatures are breaching Gallea’s protective barrier, and when Prince Ammon is attacked, Evony knows she must hunt down the witch behind the assault to prevent the prince’s transformation into one of the witch’s minions. Fortunately, Evony’s got some mad fighting skills and a knack for sniffing out supernatural creatures, but nothing could prepare her for the secrets revealed in her quest and the sacrifices needed to save the prince. On the surface, this graphic novel has a direct and familiar storyline, but visual clues in the art allude to far more going on in Gallea and with the evil forces that plague it. A soft palette and gentle curves flesh out the scenes in or near the palace, while deep shadows and jagged lines begin to creep in as Evony ventures farther out into the forest; the tree-like familiars, with spiky edges and deadly branches, are especially terrifying. Fans of the eerie menace of Asher and Freeburg’s Piper (BCCB 1/18) will find similar chills and triumph here.