Cosmoknights

Five years ago, Pan helped her best friend (and maybe crush?) Tara escape an arranged marriage. A Princess on the planet Viridian, Tara's fate was to be "won" by a Cosmoknight in a futuristic duel (this is the year 2169, after all), and then married off to the Cosmoknight's "sponsor" (read: highest bidder), who gets a royal title in the bargain (or, more likely, just further consolidates the power and wealth of the 1%). Pan's life was underwhelming before The Incident, but now she's a pariah on her small planet, adrift and without purpose. That is, until the night Bee and Cass show up on her doorstop.

Known in the ring as Bull, Cass sustained some pretty serious injuries in the last match. Luckily, Pan's mom runs an underground medical show more clinic. But when these two queer, badass women Cosmoknights move on to the next planet - and match - Pan stows away on their ship. She's convinced that she's found her mission in life - namely, helping them free the princesses they've "won." But a shadowy, pink-haired woman is hot on their tail, with an offer they maybe can't refuse?

COSMOKNIGHTS is all sparkly, fiery, rainbow feminist fun. The artwork is vivid and gorgeous but the real draw is the queer AF vibe and burn-it-all-down, fuck the patriarchy, riots not diets, radical revolutionary spirit. (Insert the "So you're an anarchist?" "You say that like it's a bad thing." panel here.) I live for Cass, Bee, and Pan's impassioned monologues, and Cass's backstory is just *chef's kiss* perfection. show less

When Pan was a teenager, she helped Princess Tara escape from the typical fate for princesses in their galaxy - being the prize awarded to the winner of a tournament of knights. Now an adult, she runs into two of those knights … but they’re secretly fighting to set the princesses free. Pan stows away on their spaceship and joins their cause. She runs afoul of a mysterious half-cyborg woman who wants to help them but can’t be trusted. And she learns her childhood friend might still need her help.

Really great! I loved the slow reveal at the beginning that the girls live in the future and have hoverboards and spaceships and stuff. Thrilling, even though it’s not really a secret (it’s in the name, duh). The story of a princess who show more saves herself from her fate and then disguises herself to save her sistren feels so classic, even though it’s full of robots and mech suits and queer people. I really loved it and I’m definitely going to read more.

This book can be read online (albeit awkwardly) for free on the series website: https://www.cosmoknights.space/book-one show less

Cosmoknights is everything I could ever want in a graphic novel. Gorgeous art, an interesting fast-paced story, and some fantastic world-building. The blend of futuristic sci-fi with elements of classic fantasy is so refreshing and so fun to read! I've never heard of Neo-Medieval as a sub-genre, but I would love to read more like it! I really adore Pan, and I'm rooting for her on her journey to find Tara. It's clear her quest to find Tara will be the over-arching storyline, and likely will follow the classic "Hero's Journey" plotline, but I'm still very curious how it will play out. The world-building was also very enjoyable to me, even though some of the intricacies on how the royal families work within society eluded me. Like, I show more understand each planet has its own royal family, but are the planets like their fiefdom? Is there a main royal family that all of these other families answer to? I assume it will be answered at some other point. The illustrations are gorgeous! I'm in love with how pretty this novel makes space look, and I love how colorful they make space seem. Also, the artist is excellent at drawing things like mecha suits and spaceships, it all looks so good. The pacing of this first volume is also done very well. Normally, the first volume of most graphic novels or manga series likes to cram a bunch of information about the world and characters in the first volume. It usually leaves the first volume feeling rushed, and like you've been sped through a bit too fast. But not with this series! The first volume is evenly paced, and never felt like it was just shoving exposition at my face. The character writing for all of the characters is great so far as well. I'm equally interested in all of their stories and how each of their characters will evolve as the story goes on. Excited to read volume two! show less

Damn, these characters are cool. I really like the strategy of beating the system at its own game. The colour scheme of this futuristic world is so pleasing, and I was really impressed by the lettering of the sound effects and how they almost become part of the setting itself. Very cool all around. Can't wait for book 2. 

I knew almost nothing about this book before cracking the cover, and I was pleasantly surprised by how engaging it is.

In 2169, a ragtag group of LGBTQ+ individuals comes together to fight a medieval-style patriarchy that has knights in high-tech battlesuits fight it out in battle royale jousts for possession of princesses. This volume offers a satisfying hunk of story while leaving me wanting more, much more.

Cosmoknights is a well-thought out graphic novel with a combination of plenty of cliches and fun twists on old ideas. The art style is reminiscent of "Archie" but is well refined. Many of the scenes are drawn to reflect the plot and emotion which helps to provide a more immersive experience. For example, there is a scene towards the beginning of the book in which one of the main characters states an opinion strongly. The scene is a full-page drawing that shows the main character in full-body view and a strong stance, while the other main character she is speaking to shows half of their face in a close-up position. This creates tension in the scene for the reader and provides an engaging moment while progressing the storyline. Pandora show more "Pan" is a relatable character with plenty of ambiguity to allow for growth over the storyline. While there doesn't seem to be a(n) established antagonist(s) in the first book, we are shown multiple scenes of fighting, violence, and tension towards our main characters. It is obvious that the artist/author drew inspiration from plenty of other works but not in a way that would impact the story negatively. Scenes from films such as "Star Wars", "Ready Player One", "Ender's Game", and even "Brave" from Disney are adapted into this graphic novel in a way that it could connect the reader to other works. The graphic novel does not lack the detail or depth of a novel and provides enough of a stop for readers to desire to continue to the next Book. While the "elevator pitch" on the back of the book states "beating the patriarchy at its own game" the feminism in the novel doesn't overpower the story despite the lack of male characters. Some story bits need to be connected to the larger universe that seems to currently float in the space of the story which causes the reader to possibly lose them. For example, the introduction of Pandora's parents leaves something to be desired. It feels a little disconnected and forced. show less

Immaculate art, exhilarating action, and endearing characters make this a scifi adventure worth anyone’s time.