Shades Of Magic: The Steel Prince Vol. 1 (Graphic Novel)

Loved it! I love VE Schwab and this was a super fun and quick read! great illustrations! Highly recommend this if your a fan!

It's about time I got back into this series! No better way to get back into it than reading the graphic comics of the time before the 1st book.Absolutely love the art and the story.

“Here, our story begins…”I read the entire A Darker Shade of Magic trilogy, and I ended up giving them all three stars. I am absolutely obsessed with Victoria’s mind and worlds, and her characters are truly some of the best I’ve read, but the plot and events always held me back from completely loving them. But when I found out we were going to get to learn more about Rhy’s father (adoptive father of Kell) and the events that lead him to being King, I knew I couldn’t resist. But here I am, still surprised that I ended up giving the prequel graphic novel series start three stars.Maxim Maresh is only a prince in this brand-new graphic novel series, but he is the sole heir and the king in waiting in Red London. Yet, he wants to be so much more than that, and he wants to prove that he will be capable and earn his rightful place as king one day. Maxim and his family are also people of color, with obvious dark brown skin, but it is never stated what ethnicity in this made up alternate historical London. And he has earned himself the title of The Steel Prince because of his magical affinity with steel.But in this bind-up, Maxim gets involved with pirates, and magical tournaments, and figuring out who he wants to be. Yet, this first volume barely mentions the parallel Londons, which (to me) is the coolest part of this world, completely. And then with this elaborate magic system finally being visualized, it just felt clunky, and like it missed the mark completely on something that could have been groundbreaking.“You fight like a royal. Like the weapons are made of wood. Like no one means to hurt you. But this is not London, your highness.”But my biggest problem with this graphic novel was honestly the art. Trust me, it kills me to say this, but I just never grew to like the style of this book. And especially with something as cool as the world of ADSOM, I feel like an artist really could have turned this into one of the most aesthetically pleasing series of all time, especially with red, grey, black, and white having such a pivotal role in this world. But I don’t have an art degree, so don’t listen to me. I’m just stating what I would have liked more for this story! The artist is still very talented. And if this is your favorite art style of all time? You are valid.I still really enjoyed this bind-up and I can’t wait to see where the story goes next. I hope we get to see more cameos of characters we love, too! And if you are already a fan of VE Schwab and this breathtaking world, I bet you will absolutely love this addition! Content and trigger warnings violence, blood, and torture.

Great fast-paced story with beautiful (and easy to follow) visuals to really bring the world of "A Darker Shade of Magic" to life! I can't wait to go back and re-read the series now that I have different visuals for how the author herself envisioned it to be.The only "complaint" I have is that graphic novels can be read quickly and I'm dying to read the rest of the series! Victoria Schwab had quickly become my favorite author with this and her Villans series, and each bit of her work she puts out (especially the Shades of Magic series) is top notch in story telling - and now visual content. I really hope she and her publishing company consider continuing graphic novels beyond this mini backstory series of Maxim.

I must be one of the very few who did not like the art, or to be more precise the way the story was delivered through the drawings. This world is very magical and interesting and volatile, and for me it didn’t translate through the drawings and the transitions from each frame. It was missing a lot of V. Schwab-ness. It was missing the magic that makes this world exciting. I will probably buy the succeeding books still with the hope that the storytelling through the art improves.

I’m so excited to have this graphic novel in my hands. The artwork is gorgeous, the writing fascinating and to read Maxim’s story is a dream come true. I need all the things from the Shades of Magic world. V.E. Schwab is my favorite author and she writes pirates so well and Isra is a character I didn’t know I needed much like Lila. I also loved the villain, she’s so dramatic and horrid and I kind of love her for being her awful self.

Shades of Magic was one of my favorite reads, and this had been in TBR pile for a while. I finally gave it a read, and I loved it. It was so visually stunning, and I was thrilled to learn more about the Maresh family!

I'm in love with all things Schwab. VE Schwab to be exact. This is a great introduction to King Maresh, back before he's a king. We're talking Maxim Maresh, future king of Red London. This is a lot of fun and my first venture into comics/graphic novel-y reading. Love it! Thanks for bringing this medium to my reading list.

Rhis book is truly gorgeous. Not only is Schwab's writing and wordlbuilding precious, but the art is just "blow 'em out of the water" incredible. If you loved the ADSOM trilogy you'll love this prequel where you get to see deeper into the world and some known characters, as well as being able to flood your senses with this amazing world and how it's portrayed both in word and image!And if tou don't know what ADSOM is, read this and you'll definitely want to find out!

It was really interesting to see Maxim as a young Prince in this comic, as opposed to the King we see him as in ADSOM. Any comic set in this universe was always going to be a must-have for me, and I'm excited to continue seeing Maxim's evolution in this series. Plus, the artwork was snazzy!

I'm not very familiar with the Shades of Magic books, but I liked the previews and the art was attractive.It's not a perfect story, and I'll admit that it started a bit slowly, but it was a fun read, and I am looking forward to the next part.The characters grew on me, and I liked the setting. I'm not sure if this is the same in the books, but I'll probably pick them up if they're as fun as this.

Great. Doesn’t disappoint!

InhaltZweihundert Jahre sind vergangen, seit die Welten auf magische Weise voneinander getrennt wurden. Das rote London wird von König Nokil Maresh regiert, dessen Sohn, Maxim Maresh, zu seiner Unzufriedenheit geradezu besessen von den anderen Londons ist. Um ihn auf andere Gedanken zu bringen, schickt er Maxim auf eine militärische Exkursion. Das Ziel: Verose, besser bekannt als die Blutküste, eine gefährliche Hafenstadt, berüchtigt für ihre Probleme mit den Kriminellen der Welt. Bereits kurz nach seiner Ankunft sieht sich Maxim Kriminellen und Dieben und Betrügern gegenüber. Schlimmer noch, die berüchtigte Piratenkönigin Arisa, die von Gesetzlosen und Soldaten gleichermassen gefürchtet wird, ist gerade im Hafen angekommen!Meine MeinungDa ich dem Fandom Shades of magic komplett erlegen bin - ich habe die Trilogie geliebt und fangirle immer noch davon - war es für mich klar, dass ich zu The steel prince greifen würde. Auch wenn sich meine Erfahrung mit Comics auf meine Kindheit beschränkt, und ich schon längere Zeit nichts mehr in englischer Sprache gelesen habe.The steel prince respektive die Shades of magic-Comics widmen sich Maxim Maresh. Dem Mann, den wir als König aus der Weltenwanderer-Trilogie um Kell und Lila kennen. Hier wird seine Geschichte erzählt, wie er zu dem König wurde, der er heute ist.Die Zeichnungen in The steel prince sind düster, hart und doch wunderschön. Die ganze Aufmachung ist wirklich ein Traum! Zwischen den "Kapiteln" finden sich jeweils noch seitengrosse alternative Cover zum Comic, vorne und hinten im Buch weitere Ausführungen zu den Charakteren.Da ich wirklich schon lange keine Comics mehr gelesen habe, hatte ich jedoch teilweise Mühe, der Geschichte zu folgen. So gibt es vor allem Rückblenden, die nicht als solche gekennzeichnet sind, die mich besonders aus dem Lesefluss gerissen haben. Ich weiss nicht, ob das gängige Stilmittel in der Comicwelt sind, oder ob das hier einfach so ist, aber mich hat es teilweise etwas aus der Fassung gebracht, weil ich es nicht verstanden habe.Ansonsten ist die Geschichte spannend, aber kurz gehalten. Ich hätte mir ein bisschen mehr gewünscht, alles ist wirklich nur kurz angebunden. Ich denke sogar, als Buch wäre die Geschichte mega spannend! So ist es eine nette Ergänzung zu der Welt, die V. E. Schwab geschaffen hat, die mich aber nicht 100 % überzeugt hat.FazitEine tolle Ergänzung zu der Shades of Magic-Welt, die die Geschichte um König Maxim erzählt. Tolle, düstere Zeichnungen erzählen eine etwas zu kurze Story. Ich freue mich dennoch schon auf den nächsten Teil.3.5 Sterne