Squire & Knight

Squire and Knight, a graphic novel, is focused on Squire, a clever kid who is the apprentice to blowhard knight, Sir Kelton. When the pair arrive in the quiet little village of Bridgetown, they learn that the townsfolk are being tormented by a dragon. Sir Kelton immediately proclaims that he’ll defeat the dragon and return the town to normal, but Squire has the feeling that something else is amiss. Upon hearing whispers that the town is cursed, Squire begins to research curses in hopes of finding a solution for the town. As he begins exploring, he realizes that what seems like a curse is indeed magic, but that the source is quite different from what he expected.

Squire, himself, is a relatable and sympathetic character; industrious, curious, and with a good heart, he watches quietly as Sir Kelton gets all the fame and glory. When it’s time to save the day, though, he jumps into action and uses his intelligence to figure out what’s happening in Bridgetown. Sir Kelton is a very clearly defined character, very much in the style of Gilderoy Lockhart from the “Harry Potter” series; he’s always bragging about his various adventures and acts of heroism, but, when it comes down to it, he’s the one who required saving. My favourite character, though, has to be the dragon. It must be a challenge to add voice to characters in a graphic novel since there is significantly less dialogue than a typical novel. Chantler manages to do this beautifully, in particular when creating the sarcastic, sassy, stubborn dragon.

This story wasn’t predictable; early on, it was giving the impression that the “curse” was all going to be a misunderstanding, and I was expecting to be in for a Scooby Doo-style reveal where a human was behind everything. When a friendly little skeleton dog showed up, though, I settled in to enjoy the magical elements of the story, and, while, in the end, it was a human to blame, it was not all tricks and cover-ups but rather magic gone wrong.

Overall, Squire and Knight is a quick read with a fun story that will likely appeal to fans of the “Bone” graphic novels or King Arthur/knights and dragons-type fiction.