Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale

Rapunzel’s Revenge
Shannon and Dean Hale

Hale, Shannon & Dean. 2008. Rapunzel’s Revenge. Illus. by Nathan Hale. New York: Bloomsbury, U.S.A. ISBN: 9781599900704.

The story of Rapunzel is a well-known classic brought to the present by the genius of the brothers Grimm. Shannon and Dean Hale bring it to graphic novel form in a spaghetti western fractured fairy tale book. In this retelling Rapunzel is a cowgirl at heart. She finds out that her “mother” Gothel, is not really her mother at all, but a magical witch. After discovering her real mother and many other secrets, she is locked in a taller than natural magical tree, with no way to escape until her hair grows long enough to lasso down. Along her escape route she meets up with an outlaw named Jack who travels with her on their adventures. Among other adventures Rapunzel and Jack are kidnapped, locked in jail, attacked by wild beasts and a sea serpent, and battle the evil sorceress Gothel. Since Rapunzel is a fairy tale at heart, the ending of this tale is a happy one with evil vanquished, love found, and family reunited.

The protagonist Rapunzel is easy to identify with for young girl readers. She is a strong, smart female out to right the wrongs that have been perpetrated against her. As the story goes on the reader begins to root for her and care that she gets out of the sticky situations that seem to be creeping up on her. As the main character Rapunzel has her namesake to live up to. Unlike the traditional tale, here Rapunzel takes matters into her own hands and rescues herself. Rapunzel’s ability to use her hair as a weapon in no way takes away from the believability of the character herself.

The plot of this graphic novel centers around the genre of bildungsroman, or psychological growth, of the main character. Here Rapunzel is tested mentally, physically, and emotionally as she tries to regain a life that was lost. Her journey takes her from what was once the comfort of home to jungles, deserts and oceans that hold no familiarity. In a graphic novel there are two ways to describe the setting, through the comic strip illustrations and the dialogue bubbles. In the case of Rapunzel’s Revenge the setting is mainly set through the illustrations. Vivid color and a mix of different sized squares allow for set up and take down of each individual scenario that the characters are engaged in. The details of the graphic novel illustrations are an integral part of the story as there is little narrative to accompany the spoken dialogue of the characters. Since this setting is a fictional fantastical place the illustrations have to show that, and here they do. There are elements of familiarity mixed with mythological to create a place that readers can identify with on the lip of their imaginations.

The theme, by and large, in Rapunzel’s Revenge is good versus evil. Righting wrongs and putting good back on top are the main themes. Rapunzel has to do these things not because she is the hero, but because she is innately good and her true nature knows nothing different. Her life has been a sacrifice, all though she does not realize this until she finds her real mother. She is now done with sacrificing and the story can center on the hope that exists for her regain what she had previously sacrificed. The style of writing for a graphic novel has to be succinct and clear as there is less time for character development and background. The Hale’s do an excellent job of this by using a character, like Rapunzel, that reader’s might already be familiar with. Written in first and third person, the reader gains a perspective of how the characters think and act by their thoughts and spoken words. Each character also has a very distinctive voice. Rapunzel’s voice changes over the course of the graphic novel. Beginning with an obedient and careful voice, as Rapunzel encounters more in her life her voice begins to change and the reader can see the transformation of the character.

Review for Rapunzel’s Revenge tend to focus on the combination of illustrations and words that work together to create a story that is larger then life.

From Booklist“This graphic novel retelling of the fairy-tale classic, set in a swashbuckling Wild West, puts action first and features some serious girl power in its spunky and strong heroine. Young Rapunzel lives a lonely life, never knowing what lies beyond the high garden walls of her mother’s royal villa until one day she climbs the wall to see what’s on the other side. When she finds that the world outside is a dark place oppressed by her mother’s greed for power and uncovers the real secret of her own birth, she is imprisoned in a magic tree tower. In her years of captivity, she learns a lot about self-reliance and care for her exceptionally long hair, and eventually she is able to escape, vowing to bring down her mother’s cruel empire. Hale’s art matches the story well, yielding expressive characters and lending a wonderful sense of place to the fantasy landscape. Rich with humor and excitement, this is an alternate version of a classic that will become a fast favorite of young readers.” Tina Coleman

From School Library Journal Starred Review
“This is the tale as you've never seen it before. After using her hair to free herself from her prison tower, this Rapunzel ignores the pompous prince and teams up with Jack (of Beanstalk fame) in an attempt to free her birth mother and an entire kingdom from the evil witch who once moonlighted as her mother. Dogged by both the witch's henchman and Jack's outlaw past, the heroes travel across the map as they right wrongs, help the oppressed, and generally try to stay alive. Rapunzel is no damsel in distress–she wields her long braids as both rope and weapon–but she happily accepts Jack's teamwork and friendship. While the witch's castle is straight out of a fairy tale, the nearby mining camps and rugged surrounding countryside are a throwback to the Wild West and make sense in the world that the authors and illustrator have crafted. The dialogue is witty, the story is an enticing departure from the original, and the illustrations are magically fun and expressive. Knowing that there are more graphic novels to come from this writing team brings readers their own happily-ever-after.” Cara von Wrangel Kinsey, New York Public Library

Awards won for this graphic novel are: an ALA Notable Children’s Book, a Cybils Award, an Indiebound Next Pick, YALSA Great Graphic Novel for Teens, and YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults. Many other awards have also been given to this graphic novel.

For those that really enjoyed Rapunzel's Revenge, there is a second one in what looks to be a series called Calamity Jack. This time the story is told from Jack's perspective, with Rapunzel along for the ride.

With the burgeoning of graphic novels as a serious form of literature there are many ideas for classrooms and groups to do as activities. Using a well-known fairy tale character and giving her a new lease on life in graphic novel form is a trendsetting idea. There are many fairy tale characters to go around so each person could pick one and make an alternate tale and put it into graphic novel form. On large cardboard each person (or group) could animate a scene from their work.