Don't Stop Believin' in That Soulless Heap of Metal: Book Review of Suitor Armor

 

Suitor Armor, Vol. 1 by Purpah

Gratitude

Thank you to Goodreads Giveaways and Crown Publishing for the review copy of Suitor Armor Volume 1 by Purpah, a romantasy graphic novel with knights, sorcery, and fairies.

Description

Lucia is a lady-in-waiting for Kirsi, who will soon be the queen. While she is seen at court as Kirsi’s companion, Lucia is secretly a fairy, and this is a dangerous secret to have, as fairies and humans have been at war for many years. Kirsi is generally wrapped up in her own concerns about her upcoming marriage to the king and looks to Lucia more as a diversion. Both of their lives become more interesting when the court sorcerer brings an empty but magical suit of armor to fight the king’s greatest knight.

As our story begins, Kirsi is at loose ends, not feeling like she can speak to the king, and Lucia finds empty wine bottles outside of her door in the morning. The king does seem more interested in tournaments than his fiancée, preferring to watch knights fight each other. The plot works because Kirsi is too wrapped up in her own problems and oblivious to Lucia to notice that her friend has a crush on the empty armor.

The fact that Lucia is so taken by the terrifying armor—he is not drawn to look kindly—is perplexing and something that a good friend should be cautioning against. Of course, this is not that kind of book, and the suggestion is that Lucia sees something in the enchanted metal that no one else can.

Suitor Armor was originally published on the platform Webtoon, an app on which comic writers can publish their work and comic readers can find new reading material. Comics can be searched by genre as well as by the daily publication schedule. I was unfamiliar with Webtoon before reading Suitor Armor, but it seems to be similar to Substack in that stories can be published in serial form.

The concept is intriguing, as print periodicals have been in rapid decline for the past few decades (nothing new here), but there is something to be said for having to wait for an installment and not being able to binge on media.

Would I Teach This Book?  

There would be some certain advantages to teaching a book like Suitor Armor, which was a serially published comic first. It would offer the opportunity for students to compare reading online versus in print, suggesting a discussion of publication and format. This volume is just the beginning of the romance of Lucia and the terrifying knight, so there is more online to explore.

The discussion of Lucia having a crush on a scary looking metal creature is a different story. I would be remiss not to talk about the trope of the pretty young woman falling for the monster. While I understand that this is a trope that many appreciate and enjoy, I find it troubling because the beauty and the beast pairing is so gendered—the woman must do all the hard work of appreciating the good inside while the male gets both the beauty and kindness without having to “see past” her looks. Admittedly, Lucia does not have the same horror of the knight’s appearance that everyone else has.

The volume does have charm, and the wide-eyed innocence of Lucia would be difficult to dislike. There would be much to discuss if this was part of the curriculum in a graphic literature or genre course.

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