God Save the Queen - Hardcover

Mike Carey

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1401203035 ISBN 13: 9781401203030

Publisher: Vertigo, 2007

Synopsis

Mike Carey, writer of LUCIFER, joins forces with renowned fantasy illustrator John Bolton for the original graphic novel GOD SAVE THE QUEEN. Featuring lush, painted artwork by Bolton, this fantastic tale echoes the themes and epic scope of THE SANDMAN and THE BOOKS OF MAGIC.

Set in both North London and the kingdom of Faerie, GOD SAVE THE QUEEN tells the story of a rebellious London teenager whose falling out with her mother leads her to befriend a group of slacker faeries. From the ancient struggle between rival Queens Titania and Mab to a young girl's conflicted coming of age, GOD SAVE THE QUEEN will intrigue and delight mature readers.

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Reviews

In Romeo and Juliet Mercutio compared drugs to Queen Mab, queen of the faeries. In this new graphic novel, rebellious teenager Linda finds out how literal that comparison is. Linda's father has left, and her mother crawled into a bottle months ago and hasn't crawled out. Linda drags a friend out clubbing and plans to "say yes to everything." She meets the magnetic Verian who shows her a whole new high—mixing her blood with heroin. It's only when he takes her to "the border" that she realizes Verian and his friends are from Faerie, and she's unknowingly put herself in the middle of a civil war between Queen Mab and her usurper, Titania. Bolton's fully painted panels are vivid and alluring, at their best when showing the twisted land of Faerie. Carey's story gives equal time to human emotions and the more decadent world of magic and fantasy. Carey (Crossing Midnight, Lucifer) and Bolton (Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall, The Furies) revisit territory already familiar from such series as The Books of Magic, but put enough new spins on it to make this a treat for any fan of the fantastic. (Apr.)
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Borrowing a bit from Shakespeare, this tale is a midsummer's nightmare. While Mab and Titania duke it out in Faerie, Linda, a contemporary London teen who likes to walk on the wild side, gets herself and her best friend, Jeff, involved with apparent squatters. These rough sorts ply a dangerous pastime--Red Horse, which is heroin mixed with the blood of one of the group of those shooting it. Linda's blood seems to be their favorite. Meanwhile, Linda's mother turns out to have a surprise identity of her own, and that brings the world of Faerie and Linda's rough world together, if only after Jeff overdoses in the squat. Bolton's imagery, framing, and colors render the faerie world and London's seamy side with aplomb, thereby extending the horror and wonder of Carey's script. Linda is a changeling with a conscience, and if all doesn't end perfectly, it ends better than Linda could have expected. Francisca Goldsmith
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Edition details

• Publisher: Vertigo
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1401203035
• ISBN 13: 9781401203030
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: John Bolton
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 96