A good graphic novel for fans of Arthurian legends, though the illustrations leave something to be desired.

I was drawn to this title after reading the description, seeing it was a story of one of the legendary Arthur's knights. It was a story I wasn't very familiar with which made me even more excited to read it. And, it was told in graphic novel form? Perfect. Other than formatting issues, I enjoyed this story. The art was beautiful, a watercolor punctuated with bold lines. The art was an excellent match to the storytelling. I also appreciated the author and illustrator notes at the end of the graphic novel.

Excerpt from Review: "I enjoyed Yvain: The Knight of the Lion and found both the storyline and the artwork quite entertaining. I think this would be a perfect way to introduce a teen to the legendary Knights of the Round Table that would probably be a bit more accurate than the myths that hype these people into being somewhat above behaving badly. We all know that humans are capable of making mistakes and surely not all of Arthur’s knights could be that virtuous without learning from past errors in judgment. Definitely an enjoyable read!"

I really like graphic novels. There's something about the blend of words and illustrations that when done right really hit home the emotion, the pain...whatever emotion or trial the character is going through. I also really enjoy Arthurian legends so I jumped at the chance to read Yvain: The Knight of the Lion, M.T. Anderson's first graphic novel. While I've liked his other books, this one actually disappointed me for many reasons.

- The panels of the graphic novel were set up like a Medieval tapestry which I thought was pretty cool because it fit the whole theme of the book. However, the drawings were flat and lifeless. They could have been a lot more dynamic than just a man sitting and staring at his drink or a side profile of a man riding his horse. The brown/yellowish colours also didn't do the illustrations any favours.
- There were tons of typos in my version. This will more than likely be fixed before the final version is released but it was hard to ignore them while reading.
- For me, a good graphic novel pulls you in. Even with a lack of space or words, I learn to care deeply about the characters and their journey. Here I didn't feel anything, well I did, but that feeling can best be described as boredom. Sir Yvain could have been eaten by his own lion I wouldn't have even blinked an eye. Character connection is extremely important to me and I was saddened not to have it here.
- A part of what hurt my connection with the characters was how fast the plot progressed. It's a graphic novel, so yes I know that's normal, but it was two pages in and Sir Yvain had already met his one true love. Really?! No build up whatsoever.
- I also took issue with how women were portrayed. None were really anything more than tools to move the story along. All of the women were either bossy or needy. Sir Yvain was always saving women, dealing with women who were written as irrational or having to move around their evil plots. All the bad things that happened to him were because of women.

So, overall this book didn't really add anything new to the hundreds of other interpretations of Arthurian legends. And coming from an author such as M.T. Anderson I was expecting a lot more. I did enjoy reading the author's notes at the end. They explained the original source material and the author's motivation for writing the novel. But other than that, this wasn't for me. If you have read it though I would love to hear your thoughts. Also, I'd love any recommendations for graphic novels based on Arthurian legends. :)

This sadly is just a work of fiction, another graphic novel to me, because I know almost nothing about Sir Yvain or any stories having to do with him. King Arthur I know a little about. As of recently, just purchased a book to learn more about that era. But that is the extent of my knowledge on anything from the Arthurian times and legends.

For my taste, it was not something that really caught my eye, even with the visuals. I felt the love story placed in here was way too quick, even for romance novels this seemed extremely over the top. I understand that things move along pretty rapidly in graphic novels, but it just didn't work for me. I did not enjoy that it seemed the women were either acutely overbearing or absolutely in need of being favored. As well as twisting things to play to their whim.

I was intrigued though by Sir Yvain and whether or not he truly was misunderstood or only playing the victim to get his way. Back to the love story part of this, where does he get the deeply rooted feelings for the Lady of the house? One minute it's all about her beauty and being the best for her, without ever actually knowing her, and then he's madly and deeply in love with her. He's gone for a little over a year, and somehow he comes back devastated by her shunning and ready to die for her.

Even though I didn't quite enjoy those parts of the tale, I did like the determination he had, his perseverance, and his just way of being, even if it all might have been an act. It added something more to Yvain's story and kept me reading a little more. But that was about the extent of my enjoyment with this novel. I might have liked the romance in this book if there had been more to it, or if it wasn't so unbelievable it just didn't work.

I genuinely hoped to be pleased with this novel more for where it was coming from, but I simply couldn't. But there were parts that had tons of potential, where the love could have thrived more. With more time, more pages. Maybe if this had been written as a full novel instead of a graphic novel. I actually liked the concept of it, I think that it would be much more entertaining and a memorable love story if made into an expanded and detailed story. And more time for the characters to grow on us.

***I received this copy from Candlewick Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.***

Yvain is a honorable knight of Arthur's Round Table, he defeats a man in battle and marries his beautiful widow, Lady Laudine. After pledging to return from his wandering ways to his new wife after a year and a day, he loses track of time and finds himself spurned. Determined to win back the love of his wife, he set about to make things right.

Along the way he befriends a lion, saves a local maiden, defeats giants, and fights for his lady's love.

Told in the style of a poetic epic, this is a unique read, illustrated with wonderfully emotive pictures that tell the story where words cannot.

This is a unique read, I enjoyed it from beginning to end, it tells a brave tale of King Arthur's Knight Yvain, who is an honorable man, who knows that he did wrong, and is determined to do everything he can to make it right. Wonderful from beginning to end, this is a beautiful, well told story that comes to life with the illustrations. Definitely recommend for lover of King Arthur's legends.


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An interesting Arthurian tale I had never heard of. There are some difficulties with the graphic novel format. It was not always easy to figure out the order of who is speaking and sometimes there were so many frames, splintered at odd angles, that it was hard to see what was happening in some of them. I enjoyed the notes from the author and illustrator that accompanied the story.

Subtle irony and a faithful reselling, that was unfortunately still a bit bland. The illustrations were poorly constructed (the frames and style mostly), and they were hard to decipher. Not brilliant.

Interesting take on an Arthurian tale, but ultimately didn't grab me. The characters' emotions remain superficial, despite the high-intensity plot and interactions. While this may be accurate to de Troyes' legends, it can make for a frustrating read. The artwork is colourful, but can be somewhat dizzying in the action scenes.

I very much loved this. Other than truly hating reading books through Digital Editions, I honestly don't have a single complaint.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very short graphic novel by M.T. Anderson. I enjoyed his book Feed and I've had the Octavian Nothing books sitting on my shelf for a shockingly long time waiting to be read so I thought a graphic novel by him would be interesting.

Be forewarned that this book follows the classic legend so if you're going into this expecting to actually get M.T. Anderson...you won't. I wasn't in love with the illustrations but they were well done and the three different sections were nice to keep the story moving. I'm not quite sure what was up with the women in the story but it was...different. My favorite part was Yvain fighting the various creatures although the drawings and story seemed inconsistent at some points even there.

I would say this book should be for high school or up because it gets pretty gruesome at times.

This is a fun graphic novel set in Arthurian legend. A nice sweeping art style and cool story line..