Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Squire

This should be required reading for EVERYONE. I need more people to read this because it was such a gut punch and I’m just here trying to make sense of all the things I read. There is just so much packed into this graphic novel that it’s hard to get my thoughts in order to make a coherent review. Especially when my thoughts were just a revolving door of “WTF?!”, “holy shit!”, and “colonialism is an absolute bitch”. Seriously, my inner monologue was one giant swear word generator the entire time I was reading. Squire is honestly one of the most eye opening stories I’ve ever read and it’s getting a solid five stars. Please, please read this!

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princessrory's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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talonsontypewriters's review

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adventurous hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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some_random_person_hi's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful informative sad

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

With the section 'Squire and History' at the end of the graphic novel ~~bc my reading comprehension is poor enough to be mostly unable to pick up on subtext unless if someone points them out to me~~ as added context, the themes were really well executed and the storyline is quite well done. The characters also did stuff/ reacted in ways that made sense and the art popped off the page. A sequel would be really cool.

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thevampiremars's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I was really excited to read Squire – so much so that I preordered the book and now hold a first edition copy in my hand. While I did enjoy it, I feel like it’s lacking something that I can’t quite put my finger on.

I know other readers adored the artwork but I personally found it to be a bit hit-and-miss, especially early on. For every beautifully intricate illustration of an ornately decorated dagger, there is a panel with wildly out of proportion figures and a background so empty it looks unfinished and forgotten. I understand the need to draw quickly and efficiently, but I can see the art was rushed and there were mistakes, like

Aiza putting on a bandage to cover her tattoo (major plot point!) only for that bandage to be missing a couple of pages later.

The characters are well-developed but the worldbuilding isn’t as rich and robust as I’d like it to be. Though the Middle Eastern influences are clear in the aesthetic choices, the history and the culture of Bayt-Sajji and its colonies lack depth. Likewise, the anti-imperialist message needed more weight.

At first I was annoyed that General Hende was the chief antagonist. It felt like an easy out – our heroes defeat the Big Bad and so we get a nice and tidy conclusion to the story while not properly addressing the colonial power that’s supposed to be the focus. But, upon reflection, I think what they did with Hende works quite well. She represents Bayt-Sajji. Her demise can be read as parallel to the eventual fall of the empire, in that she wasn’t defeated by a gang of plucky young heroes, she was defeated by her own hubris and her self-destructive refusal to stand down. I suppose you could argue that Aiza represents Ornu, in that she’s the catalyst to that downfall. There’s a satisfying contrast between Hende refusing to give up and Aiza proudly announcing “guess I’m a quitter” at the very end of the story.

On the topic of symbolism, I really like the way that olives were used to represent healing. It’s a recurring motif that’s deceptively simple. The little botanical drawings quietly interrupt the pacing, making the action and the dialogue pause for just a moment as healing takes place. Details like this make me tempted to give the book a four star rating, but I’m sticking to three and a half.

Squire isn’t bad but it could have been better. Both the art and the writing needed further development. I can’t bring myself to give it a higher rating because it feels so incomplete. I’ve seen other reviewers wondering if there’ll be a sequel and while the idea that every piece of media needs to be transformed into a series frustrates me to no end, I do understand where this yearning/speculation is coming from. It does feel like there should be more. Squire is similar to Locatelli’s Persephone in a lot of ways – good and bad. Persephone’s execution was just a tad better.

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