3 Dead Princes: An Anarchist Fairy Tale

Princess Alexandra, aka Stormy, is having a rough life. Her father is going on a business trip, and the aggressive neighboring Oosarians want her to marry odious Prince Mercurio. When Mercurio assaults Stormy and she accidentally kills him, she flees the castle, the threat of war, and a prophecy that she will kill two more princes. At its best, the story inhabits that delicate zone between sincerity and self-conscious mockery of fairy tale tropes, but Nobacon can't sustain the balance for long, and the pretension-puncturing aspects of the narrative, such as a princess who volunteers at the library, are at odds with the dramatic tension of prophecy and attempted rape. Marketed to adults, the slim story and Alex Cox's cheerful but sketchy illustrations might do better with teens. (Oct.)