“Cosmoknights” by Hannah Templer is a dazzling explosion of colors that will lighten up your mood, as if disco lights were swirling around or you were witnessing the northern lights (but with way more shades).
Protagonist Pan works at her father’s body shop during the day and sneaks off in the evenings to find her friend Tara. The two are brought together by their shared love of food, music and laughter, but divided by their contrasting backgrounds. You see, Pan is the daughter of a mechanic, while Tara is the princess of their planet, destined to be married off to a random suitor after an upcoming jousting tournament! However, Pan helps Tara run away, which incurs the wrath of the royal family. Consequently, Pan lives the rest of her life quietly working until she encounters two captivating space-fighters who are on a clandestine mission to dismantle patriarchy throughout the galaxy.
The artwork in “Cosmoknights” is a vibrant fusion of bold and lively shades that seamlessly complement the genre-bending space adventure. This tale takes place across multiple planets, in a distant future where paradoxically patriarchal medieval practices still persist, and royalty appears to thrive with unwavering prominence. Despite the slight dystopian nature of the story, there’s some great LGBTQ+ representation.
While protagonist Pan’s personality is still under-cooked in volume one, so far, she is this enthusiastic reliable friend, who knows a lot about machines and still needs to figure out her own place in the world. It’s the space gladiator Cass stands out best. Cass is strong, fierce, with a “never give up” attitude and can kick anybody’s butt and has a solid fascinating back-story. Overall, this was a pretty fun volume, with fantastic artwork!
It’s a 4 on 5 from me. Volume is also available on Kindle Unlimited.
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