A review by quilly14
Castle Waiting Vol. 1 by Linda Medley

3.0

This is the first collection of Linda Medley's indie comic series from the mid to late 90s. In it, the residents of a castle wake up after being asleep for 100 years in a variation on the Sleeping Beauty story. The aforementioned beauty runs off with her prince, but some of the others remain, and turn the castle into a refuge for anyone who could use it.

I first read about this series in the early issues of Wizard magazine. It's the same place I first heard about Cerebus the Aardvark, and Bone(which became one of my favorite series). After years of thinking I should try this one, I found a copy at the local used bookstore.

"Light" is the word that comes to mind when I read this. That's not to say insubstantial. It just feels more like taking time to hang out with some fun characters than a big story. As such, I think it would have read better as single issues. 30 pages once a month would work a lot better for me than 450 pages all at once did. It's similar to tuning into your favorite sitcom once a week vs. binge-watching an HBO drama. Sadly, I missed my chance for that.

That said, these ARE fun stories. Hobgoblins cause mischief, there's a butler with a beak and there's an order of nuns who all have beards. It's a fun escape, and it's appropriate for most ages, I think.

I recommend this, if you want something fun. Especially if you enjoy fairy tales.

Castle Waiting has been on hiatus for many years. But I was happy to read that Linda Medley is working on it again, and has finished at least 150 pages of a new volume. She has a Patreon going, if you like this and want to see more.