Erstwhile: The Clever Farmer's Daughter

From the random unread comics stack.

Title: Erstwhile: The Clever Farmer's Daughter
Date: May, 2008
Publisher: Strawberry Comics
Writer: Gina Biggs
Artist: Gina Biggs

Gina Biggs adapts the story of the Clever Farmer's Daughter from the fairy tales of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.

The daughter of a poor peasant tries to help her father by convincing him to appeal to the king for some land to farm. The young king becomes impressed with the girl's cleverness, and challenges her with a riddle to solve. If she succeeds, he will marry her and make her queen.

Unusually for the Brothers Grimm, there is are not fantastical and magical elements in the story, and relatively little violence. Velinda (the characters are unnamed in the Brothers Grimm version, but fleshed out and given names for the comic) uses her wits, with a sprinkling of ambition and a touch of ruthlessness to get what she truly wants from the King and secure her own happiness.

This is an enjoyable story to begin with, with multiple plot twists and turns, and Gina Biggs' illustration style is a lovely addition to the tale.

I'm definitely interested in checking out more of this series.

Rating: 8.5/10