Castle Waiting

I have collected, read and loved the Castle Waiting stories since their humble self-published comic book beginnings in the mid-1990's. While I thoroughly enjoyed the comics the first time that I read them, it wasn't until I re-read them several years later that I realized a depth of meaning to the story that I had been blind to before. Best suited for younger readers? Hardly. I bought this volume to give to a friend who is discovering "how to be a hero in your own home" at the age of 38. This is an all-ages read, in the best sense of the term. It's a shame that readers new to Medley's work judge it without an awareness of the fact that it was originally published--over the course of ten years--in serialized form, and suffered from the vagaries of a number of different publishers (from Medley's editorial in issue #14, 2002): "...When my former publisher insisted that I interrupt the current "boring" storyline of Jain's moving into her own room at the Castle with "a new storyline, and a new Number One!" I seriously doubted both the wisdom and the motivation of the idea. Nevertheless, I agreed to move up SOLICITINE, which I originally planned to appear in an upcoming story/timeline break, with the addition of the framing device of Sister Peace telling the story to Jain while killing time on a rainy day. Now, I care far too much about my characters and their stories to short-change them for anybody's marketing gimmick, so the story was told exactly as I intended it to be told. In the end, I am very pleased with the way it turned out. I hope at least some of you caught on to the fact that the story was about more than just bearded ladies; and that the beards were about more than just facial hair, as well..." Obviously, some readers won't. I did, and the Solicitine Sisters are my favorite part of the book! Kudos to Fantagraphics for being the publishers to finally do justice to Medley's work, but I do wish they'd labeled this one "Volume I". I'm looking forward to the release of Volume 2 next year.

In the UK we don't seem to have as many comics/graphic novels available. I was really pleasantly suprised by Castle Waiting, the binding is really nice in that it looks like a proper fairytale book. The story was great and there was many little references to childhood stories we all know an love. I just want to know is there any more......?? A sequel would be great!

Linda Medley, Castle Waiting (Fantagraphics, 2006) After I finished reading Castle Waiting, I went online and frantically looked for any evidence that there would eventually be a volume 2. If you take this as a stand-alone book, the ending is the very definition of "unsatisfactory"-- a vast number of questions are left unanswered, complex plots just beginning to tie themselves together, a host of characters whose richness and depth has yet to be explored. As the beginning of a sweeping epic, on the other hand, this is just the ticket, and Castle Waiting promises to be the graphic novel answer to the huge, literate fantasy series that have been taking readers by storm recently. Castle Waiting is the tale of, not surprisingly, a castle, and the host of odd characters who inhabit it. I can't think of a way to even begin explaining the plot of this, as just about anything I could say would constitute some spoiler or another about one or more of the characters, and the characters are what drive this narrative. Perhaps it's more appropriate to say that, while there is a plot to this (in fact, a pretty good number of plots, subplots, etc.), all of them live in the service of letting us get to know Medley's unforgettable collection of characters. The first half of the book gives us an overview of the entire cast; the second focuses on the story of Sister Peace, one of the castle's inhabitants, and how she came to reside there. Medley's motley crew are the finest bunch of malcontents, mysteries, and muddlers I've come across since discovering the wonderful world of Bone, and now that I've read the first book, I'm champing at the bit for the rest of the tale. (The fact that it took medley ten years to draw this one has done nothing to curtail the current erosion of my tooth enamel.) A wonderful book that stands to be enjoyed both by existing fans of the graphic novel and fans of epic fantasy who've never picked up a comic book in their lives. Trust me-- you'll love this. **** ½

Finally! Castle Waiting in a harcover trade format. I've followed this book in serial form for 10 years and it's a joy to have it collected in one thick volume. This was the first comic I gave my then 9 year old sister and got her hooked onto reading comics. She's now 19 and we still enjoy reading Castle Waiting together when possible. The story is not over though, Fantagraphics has put out 3 issues (at the time of this review) of Volume 2 about 100 pgs worth. I recommend you go out and pick them up. You do want to know who Pindar's father is right? (if you picked up the single issues you'd have a clue on one of the back covers--thanks Sis for pointing that out). Or how Iron Henry lost his heart? Or where Rackham came from?

Linda Medley's Castle Waiting series is one of the most best and underappreciated comic series of all time. This volume begins with the story called the Curse of Brambley Hedge, the prequel to the Castle Waiting Series, which puts a clever twist on the story of Sleeping Beauty and does a great job of setting up the main series. The first story arc concerns the flight of a young pregnant woman (Jain) from her abusive husband. She finds refuge in Castle Waiting, a magical castle inhabited by unique characters from various fairy tales. In this first story arc the gang has many zany adventures from escaping bandits on the road to a dangerous experiment with hair dye. The second story arc takes place in two different settings. While most of the gang is fixing the roof, Jain and Sister Peace are inside. Jain asks Sister Peace about her past and the telling of that tale makes up the majority of this arc. Castle Waiting is such a great series, and I'm so glad that Linda Medley has been picked up by a new company and is back at work on the series! Look for the arc three issues to start coming out soon!