Graphic Novel Review: The Golden Age Book 1 by Roxanne Moreil and Cyril Pedrosa

Posted on January 25, 2022 at 6:34 am by Gene Ambaum

The Golden Age Book 1 by Roxanne Moreil and Cyril Pedrosa. English translation by Montana Kane. First Second, 2021. 9781250237941. 224pp.

Princess Tilda’s father has just died, and nobles are arriving for her coronation. she’s saying goodbye to her father when her little brother arrives with soldiers and announces that many of their father’s vassals have pledged allegiance to him, and that Tilda will be sent into exile. Luckily her childhood friend Bertil and his master Tankred (a disgraced noble) rescue her. They are chased through a dark and colorful forest where Tilda is wounded and begins to have visions. She heals at a hidden compound where women who live peacefully, hidden from the world, though they also seem to be preparing for a fight.

At the end of the book, Tilda, unsure whom she can trust, seeks something hidden, a treasure secretly left for her by her father. It may be the key to regaining her throne, though that seems unlikelier than ever as peasants have revolted against the nobles, and violence is imminent.

This is the first of a two book series, and the second book was just published in the U.S. The writing is great, but it’s Pedrosa’s art, and particularly his colors, that make the book something special. Pick up a printed version of the book to see how spectacular they look.