Castle Waiting

Castle Waiting by Linda Medley  457 pp.

Originally published as the first 12 issues of a comic book series. This graphic novel begins with a twisted version of the Sleeping Beauty tale which is the basis for the bramble covered castle where most of the action takes place. The story centers on a young pregnant woman named Jain, who escapes her abusive husband and is given refuge in the hobgoblin infested castle among a curious mix of human and animal/human characters taken from various fairy tales. The castle is an outpost for the unloved, unwanted, and those just needing to hide from the world and the perfect place for Jain to give birth to her not-quite-human baby. As the story progresses there are flashbacks and stories within stories that add depth to the tales. The idea of a group of bearded ladies creating an order of nuns devoted to showing the idiocies of men is just one of the story lines in this well-done collection. I look forward to reading the second volume.