Name: Melissa Railey's review of Ladycastle #1 by Delilah S. Dawson
Item: Ladycastle #1
Rating: 4
Author: Melissa Railey

Delilah S. Dawson

When King Mancastle and his mighty vassals ride off on crusade, the women left behind are not at all put out—that's a lot less armor polishing for them to do. Of course, when the men get themselves eaten by a dragon and leave a curse that attracts monsters to the castle...well, the women take umbrage with that. Now the blacksmith's wife Merinor is King, Princess Aeve is the Captain, and the only remaining (and least capable) knight Sir Riddick is tasked with teaching the ladies of the castle how to fight, defend, build, and do all manner of noisy things the men had been doing while the women assumed they were just drunk. Novelist Delilah S. Dawson (Star Wars: The Perfect Weapon, As Wicked as She Wants, Wake of Vultures) brings her first original series to comics, and is joined by breakthrough illustrator Ashley A. Woods (Niobe: She Is Life) for a rollicking fantasy adventure featuring women reclaiming their lives on their terms.

Ladycastle #1

Melissa Railey

"When all the men in Mancastle get eaten by a dragon, the women take over. Now the blacksmith's wife Merinor is King, Princess Aeve is the Captain, and the only remaining (and least capable) knight Sir Riddick is tasked with teaching the ladies of the castle how to defend against all manner of monsters"--Provided by publisher.

Ladycastle

Mollee Clingenpeel

I loved the concept of this story, a kingdom that is completely ruled by women? Sign me up! However, I feel like it could have been done better. The forced "best friend" relationship between Aeve and Merinor? Ummm that could have easily and should have been a romantic relationship! I ship it for sure and I was annoyed by how much the author forced the "oh we're just best friends" aspect. I don't know if this changes in future volumes or not, but I probably won't continue with this series. I was also against the song parodies. It just annoyed me. I also don't really like when there is "music" in books because I don't know what the melody is, so if I didn't recognize the song I was confused. Overall I think that this book just really fell flat for me. With something that could have been so amazing I was really disappointed.

Abi Baker

Listen, I am totally here for this concept.
I'm kinda sad that it's only a miniseries but I hope that means there's going to be zero filler and I just get to see ladies being badasses.

So, Ladycastle starts in a place called Mancastle, where basically it's super patriarchal and ladies are either locked up until they're married, or they're already married. 
That all gets flipped and turned on it's head when the king and all his men die in battle, and a new king needs to be chosen. Of course this gross dude thinks that because he's a man, he's the one who should be the king. Mancastle is cursed, and only the true king can lift it. The true king is also the only one who can lift a sword, and guess what, the true king is not the gross dude.

No, it's Merinor, who has in the past just been thought of as the blacksmith's wife.
But no, Merinor is now king. Her husband has died, so she's the sole blacksmith too. And oh yeah, on top of being a woman, she's also black.
Thank goodness.

She changes rules, renames Mancastle to the better suiting Ladycastle, and gives women new rights to do more i.e. lets them cut their hair and have whatever job they want (as long as it contributes positively to Ladycastle) AND lets them train to be knights.

Honestly I can see this comic being a truly great feminist work of the year, and I'm so damn excited for the following issues.

Moth

shelby mosel

Emily Walker

Alexis 

Final issue! In order to free Gwyneff from an evil knight, a champion must win three challenges!

Ladycastle #4

The next wave of the curse descends upon Ladycastle: harpies!

Ladycastle #3

The women of Ladycastle finally feel like they're ready to fight, just as the next wave of the curse hits and werewolves descend upon the castle for a howling good time!

Melissa Railey &
Ladycastle #1 by Delilah S. Dawson

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Melissa Railey &Ladycastle #1 by Delilah S. Dawson

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Join the club

Melissa Railey &
Ladycastle #1 by Delilah S. Dawson