Beauty is not the first title Kerascoët and Hubert have collaborated on. Previously, they created Miss Don't Touch Me, a comic which I've yet to read, but have heard nothing but good things about.
Beauty focuses on Coddie, a young girl whose life changes forever when she accidentally releases a fairy from a spell. Having previously been regarded as something of a pariah in her village, due to being unattractive and smelling of fish, she's now perceived as enchantingly beautiful, with every man in the village falling for her. Unfortunately, the men's lusts and the jealousy of the women, forces Coddie to flee the village. She's rescued by the local lord and becomes his mistress. For awhile, everything seems fine, but Coddie soon finds herself dissatisfied with her new lot in life and, influenced by the fairy Mab, begins to about an even brighter future. Meanwhile, the king's sister Claudine is worried about the influence her brother's new wife has on him and on the Kingdom. Having learned of Coddie's beauty, she sets a plan in motion to make her the new queen...
With Beauty, Hubert has crafted a very engaging saga, populated by a cast of memorable characters; from the brutish Northern king, to the cunning Claudine and others, they all manage to engage and propel the story forward. In the beginning of this post, I mentioned that the characters of Beauty are more fleshed out than those in Beautiful Darkness and this is true. While there are a few characters that remain the same true out, others grow and develop as the story progresses. Being the protagonist, Coddie is unsurprisingly, the one that gets the most character development and not all of that is of the positive kind. While initially presented as a sympathetic character due to her being ostracized, later events reveal more of Coddie's flaws, which may lessen the reader's sympathy for her somewhat, but serves to make her a more well-rounded character.
All the events of the story, good and bad, are lovingly depicted by Keracoët's highly appealing artwork.
One thing I found a bit odd is the fact that Coddie's beauty only seem to affect men. I'm guessing that there are no lesbians or bisexual women to be found in Beauty's world? There is a minor male character that turns out to be gay though.
Still, that's a minor quibble and doesn't really change the quality of this comic. If you're not familiar with either Hubert or Kerascoët, than Beauty is an excellent introduction.
With Beauty, Hubert has crafted a very engaging saga, populated by a cast of memorable characters; from the brutish Northern king, to the cunning Claudine and others, they all manage to engage and propel the story forward. In the beginning of this post, I mentioned that the characters of Beauty are more fleshed out than those in Beautiful Darkness and this is true. While there are a few characters that remain the same true out, others grow and develop as the story progresses. Being the protagonist, Coddie is unsurprisingly, the one that gets the most character development and not all of that is of the positive kind. While initially presented as a sympathetic character due to her being ostracized, later events reveal more of Coddie's flaws, which may lessen the reader's sympathy for her somewhat, but serves to make her a more well-rounded character.
All the events of the story, good and bad, are lovingly depicted by Keracoët's highly appealing artwork.
One thing I found a bit odd is the fact that Coddie's beauty only seem to affect men. I'm guessing that there are no lesbians or bisexual women to be found in Beauty's world? There is a minor male character that turns out to be gay though.
Still, that's a minor quibble and doesn't really change the quality of this comic. If you're not familiar with either Hubert or Kerascoët, than Beauty is an excellent introduction.
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