by Hannah Templer
volume one
Cosmoknights was such a joy to read, I read through the whole thing in one sitting – and was still hungry for more! This gorgeous, creative and unapologetically queer comic from Hannah Templer is an absolute must for fans of She-Ra, Legend of Korra, and On a Sunbeam.
Cosmoknights follows Pan, who helped her best friend and princess Tara escape off-planet from a Cosmoknight tournament that would see her married off to a stranger. Five years later, she runs across Cass and Bee, who are also helping to liberate princesses from a similar fate!
First of all, Templer’s art is absolutely stunning. The space scenes – particularly Pan’s home planet with two moons – are gorgeous, but just as captivating are her exciting Cosmoknight matches (fans of Transformers and other robot stories will love this). The characters are so solid aesthetically, with light kinetic lines, great expressions and everything is consistent throughout. I loved the futuristic element that effectively communicated the world without going overboard – with nice details like an energy-force heel for a robotic leg.
While Pan is the typical protagonist through whom we get to know the larger world, she is spunky and easy to root for. But the real shining stars here are Cass, with a compelling backstory (she reminded me a bit of Scorpia from She-Ra, in the best way), and Bree, who is more of a mystery and I hope we get to know her better in the next volume (which I want immediately). These are grounded, authentic characters whose queerness is central to their identities but never once decorative or inauthentic. The dialogue is fantastic and Templer – like in her art – rarely has to rely on exposition, and organically world builds in a way that many veteran writers still can’t tie down.
Cosmoknights is grounded in authentic and lovable characters, a unique and compelling story. While they’re informed by values of inclusion and equality that can be summarized by “space gays smash the patriarchy in space,” the values are never explicitly front and center for their own sake. (Similar to the other comics/shows I mentioned, and Schitt’s Creek also comes to mind.) This is what makes Cosmoknights such a well written and satisfying story; in lesser hands it could have been so easily mismanaged.
teeny spoiler question! The announcer for Cass’ tournament says the winner will have the “honor of claiming the throne,” but how can they when Cass has four older brothers? Does the tournament supersede heirs by birth? Again, this is a small nitpicky question, I just assumed all the princesses in the tournament were single daughters.
Huge thank you to the I Read Comic Books group on Goodreads for the nudge to read Cosmoknights. It’s already a favorite of the year. Hannah Templer, you are now one of my favorites! I can’t wait to have Cosmoknights on my shelf and get my paws on volume two.
Reading Art 