The St. Louis Review of Comic Books | 2009.07.01

Although select creators and comic books, some of them previously praised here, reward attention, arguably none deal more in delight than Linda Medley and Castle Waiting ($3.95). Fantagraphics Books just released that black-and-white series' 15th issue, which continues to blend the stuff of fairy tales with a domestic comedy centered on the quirky residents of the titular keep. The series also continues to unfold at a pace at once sedate and sprightly: Tolly the dwarf and Simon the giant discuss the death of the latter's father, Simon practices reverse psychology on a baby goat, Miss Prudence (a hilarious toadstool with legs) naps with assistance from a ghost, Mrs. Cully the cook relates the sweet tale of her romance with Simon's father, and…let's see…stork-headed steward Rackham Adjutant's chicken blushes at a compliment. All of the preceding Medley visualizes with clear-line skill and considerable charm, evocative of Harvey Comics at their peak. In her introduction to the graphic novelCastle Waiting―the  457-page precursor to the present title, which, like the preceding 14 issues, remains available from the publisher―no less a light than Jane Yolen dubs Medley's magnum opus "a feminist fairy tale with attitude, heart, imagination, laughter, love, and truth." Indeed. -- Bryan A. Hollerbach