Review by C.J. Bunce

Fantasy comes in all sizes and shapes.  This next fantasy world began as a Webtoon and it has now made its way to its first collected volume, a hardcover storybook called Suitor Armor, by the writer-artist who goes by the name Purpah, available now from Ten Speed Graphic books here at Amazon.  It shares much with Katie Cook’s similar format and art-styled fantasy book Nothing Special.  This is fantasy for young adults, coming of age stories that pull from the tropes of fairy tales past.  The artwork is bright and colorful, feeling like classic animated fantasy from Saturday morning cartooons, and the story a sweet introduction to this world that blends the vibes of A Knight’s Tale with Beauty and the Beast.

Kids who grew up with the two girls in Frozen or the stepsisters in Ever After and Ella Enchanted will appreciate the two stars of the book, Lady Kirsi, daughter of the king, and her lady in waiting, Lucia.  Readers will probably be left wishing there was more banter between the two, as Kirsi has a modern gossipy presence you might see played on screen by Kristen Bell or Rose McIver, and Lucia is more reserved, like Melanie Lynskey in Ever After.  Lucia has good reason to hold back her feelings.  She has something to hide.  She is fey, a child brought to the castle by the king after some battle in the girls’ youth.  Only nobody knows she’s a fairy–she straps her wings back under her corset.  And this is a world where man and fey are at war.

Grown up, Lady Kirsi is pursuing a marriage to a man she has spoke little with, and during a joust she encounters something different.  A mage has created a competitor who looks something like a demon, and is basically an empty, enchanted suit of armor.  What actually is the “Suitor Armor” of the title?  It’s apparently this fellow, who doesn’t even speak… at first.  Lucia seems taken with the attention of this character, and together they stroll through pages of the book very much like the characters of the Disney Beauty and the Beast.   

This twenty-page preview from the publisher is a great representation of what readers can look forward to in the first volume:

But this is only the first volume, so readers don’t get very far past the key characters and some potential suitors for the women of the tale.  The book collects episode 1 through 17 of the webcomic.  This edition includes new content not found with the webcomic, a bonus storyline with backstory of a squire in the story, as well as some of the creator’s development concept images.

It’s an attractive and engaging blend of fantasy, sword and sorcery, fairy tales, and adventure, with artwork that may conjure classic Don Bluth fantasy animation.  For young adult fans of fantasy and magic, Suitor Armor is available now here at Amazon.