Princess Ugg #2
Written and Illustrated by Ted Naifeh
Colored and Lettered by Warren Wucinich
Cover by Ted Naifeh
Oni Press
Release Date: July 16, 2014
Cover Price: $3.99

Ulga, the only heir to the mountain king, Thorgrim of Grimmeria, has bested warriors and giants in combat, but now faces her toughest challenge yet: princess school. In Princess Ugg #2, written by Ted Naifeh, Ulga begins her princess training and it proves to be quite the uphill battle.

Naifeh does a fantastic job on so many levels in issue two. The narration is told in typical fairytale fashion, but from the voice of a Norseman storyteller, helping to guide the reader along Ulga’s physical and emotional journey. The dialogue remains true to character; in fact, I found myself reading Ulga’s accented barbaric dialect out loud, and enjoying every moment. In terms of connecting with Ulga, Naifeh makes sure that his readers feel defeated along with Ulga when she can’t hold a utensil correctly and proud when she proves her classmates wrong.

Similarly, Naifeh’s illustrations perfectly encapsulates Ulga’s culture shock, as we bear witness to her clumsy and heavy-footed attempts to adjust to the “ideal” princess life.

While I could definitely see this as a story straight out of Disney – its humor and strong female characterization driving the plot – it does poke a bit of fun at the archetypal princess stories of old, in which a princess awaits a rescue from a prince. Ulga is strong in her own right, more so than likely any prince who’d take her hand.

Princess Ugg #2 is a great addition to what is turning out to be a very entertaining series. Check it out!