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Shades of Magic Vol. 1: The Steel Prince
(Shades of Magic Graphic Novels #1-4)
by
Written by #1 New York Times bestselling author V.E. Schwab and torn from the universe of the Shades of Magic sequence, this all-original comic book prequel to A Darker Shade of Magic is perfect for fans of bloody, swashbuckling adventure and gritty fantasy!
Delve into the thrilling, epic tale of the young and arrogant prince Maxim Maresh, long before he became the king of ...more
Delve into the thrilling, epic tale of the young and arrogant prince Maxim Maresh, long before he became the king of ...more
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Paperback, 112 pages
Published
March 6th 2019
by Titan Comics
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Start your review of Shades of Magic Vol. 1: The Steel Prince

Jul 04, 2018
Victoria Schwab
added it
Set in the years before SHADES OF MAGIC, the young, arrogant prince Maxim is sent to a violent coastal city, where he teams up with a band of unconventional soldiers to face pirates, forbidden magic, and all manner of things.

Oct 10, 2018
chai ♡
marked it as to-read
my main philosophy in life is that if Victoria Schwab is involved, my money will be well-spent

me when this was announced:

me when this cover dropped:

me after reading this:
...more

me when this cover dropped:

me after reading this:



“Here, our story begins…”
I read the entire A Darker Shade of Magic trilogy, and I ended up giving them all three stars. I am absolutely obsessed with Victoria’s mind and worlds, and her characters are truly some of the best I’ve read, but the plot and events always held me back from completely loving them. But when I found out we were going to get to learn more about Rhy’s father (adoptive father of Kell) and the events that lead him to being King, I knew I couldn’t resist. But here ...more

This was fun :) The art was beautiful and we get to explore the character we already knew and loved from ADSOM. That being said, if you did not read ADSOM this will probably be quite disappointing, but I assume this is largely targeted for the fandom.
It felt a bit like a 'bonus' episode of a show you liked. Not in a bad way at all, but I cannot rate it higher than a 3.5 stars as I don't think this would stand by its own. The story was a little cute adventure that's significant but only to the r ...more
It felt a bit like a 'bonus' episode of a show you liked. Not in a bad way at all, but I cannot rate it higher than a 3.5 stars as I don't think this would stand by its own. The story was a little cute adventure that's significant but only to the r ...more

This Review ✍️ Blog 📖 Twitter 🐦 Instagram 📷
A Darker Shade of Magic ★★★★
A Gathering of Shadows ★★★
A Conjuring of Light ★★★★★
Shades of Magic Vol 1 ★★★
★ As you can see from the above ratings, the Darker Shades of Magic series had its ups and downs but I loved the conclusion and since the Steel Prince was mentioned there, I wanted to know who that is and how he came to his position in that series.
★ I love graphic novels and I do read a few of these every year because I mostly spend my reading time o ...more
A Darker Shade of Magic ★★★★
A Gathering of Shadows ★★★
A Conjuring of Light ★★★★★
Shades of Magic Vol 1 ★★★
★ As you can see from the above ratings, the Darker Shades of Magic series had its ups and downs but I loved the conclusion and since the Steel Prince was mentioned there, I wanted to know who that is and how he came to his position in that series.
★ I love graphic novels and I do read a few of these every year because I mostly spend my reading time o ...more

I honestly don't love the art for this, especially when it comes to close-ups of faces and fight scenes, and I also didn't find the story particularly thrilling 🙈
...more

Jul 16, 2018
☆ Mira ✷
rated it
liked it
Recommends it for:
everyone who somehow does not know it exists
20gayteen has been beautiful, but can we talk about 20Schwabteen? Returning to Red London for a new adventure WATERED my CROPS and I am THRIVING out here.
As you all know, Shades of Magic is my main personality trait lately, god bless. It's so exciting to have something new to consume instead of fixating on the same 3 books over and over again. (NOT that there's anything wrong with that, okay?)
Honestly, I was initially disappointed that Victoria Schwab created a new 2018 Shades of Magic series—a ...more
As you all know, Shades of Magic is my main personality trait lately, god bless. It's so exciting to have something new to consume instead of fixating on the same 3 books over and over again. (NOT that there's anything wrong with that, okay?)
Honestly, I was initially disappointed that Victoria Schwab created a new 2018 Shades of Magic series—a ...more

I was so curious to try this graphic novel series since I really loved A Darker Shade of Magic! This is a prequel, set maybe 30+ years from ADSOM, and centres around Rhys' father, Maxim -- aka the Steel Prince. His interest in the other Londons is disapproved of by his father who sends him to a dead-end town to serve for a while and humble him. But Maxim is basically your ultra Gryffindor and he immediately finds people to save. He ends up meeting a wicked Pirate Queen who he has to figure out h
...more

#1: 3/5. Honestly, this was. nothing special? seemed way too short somehow. definitely not enough content for me to form an actual opinion. but hey, it’s only the first issue and I’m just so happy to be back in my favorite universe! excited for more.
#2: 5/5. HELL YEAH! That’s more like it. The writing is so unmistakably Schwab, I’ve felt somewhat. homesick? reading this. I love Arisa and Isra’s characters. Soooo pumped for more.
#3: 5/5. EPIC! Major Avatar: The Last Airbender vibes! A great examp ...more
#2: 5/5. HELL YEAH! That’s more like it. The writing is so unmistakably Schwab, I’ve felt somewhat. homesick? reading this. I love Arisa and Isra’s characters. Soooo pumped for more.
#3: 5/5. EPIC! Major Avatar: The Last Airbender vibes! A great examp ...more

Ok, this was me, a year ago, when i was reading ACOL:

Today, almost a whole year later, i've got the amazing news that THE STEEL PRINCE is actually coming on its way
Wishes come true, don't they?
JUNE, 2018 UPDATE: THAT COOOOOVEEEEEER HAS KILLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED MEEEEEEEEEEEEE MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN ...more

Today, almost a whole year later, i've got the amazing news that THE STEEL PRINCE is actually coming on its way
Wishes come true, don't they?
JUNE, 2018 UPDATE: THAT COOOOOVEEEEEER HAS KILLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED MEEEEEEEEEEEEE MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN ...more

"you're not my type."
"let me guess, you don't like royals."
"i don't like men."
hello isra owns my whole heart. ...more
"let me guess, you don't like royals."
"i don't like men."
hello isra owns my whole heart. ...more

It was basically if the Essen Tasch had blood-bending and I liked it

This was okay. I'm very tired of the trend that they want the pace to be so fast and exciting that points are connected and things don't quite make sense. I feel like I sort of understand what has going on with prince Maxim and I sort of don't know. It might need more frames and more dialogue and, oh my goodness, maybe even more exposition. I think fantasy is losing too much exposition and things aren't set up and I'm tired of it. There can be too much and too little and both are annoying. Let's
...more

3.5
This was a really great start to a graphic novel series! I only wish it were longer, tbh. I can't wait for more!!
...more
This was a really great start to a graphic novel series! I only wish it were longer, tbh. I can't wait for more!!
...more

Feb 14, 2018
rin ( ̄ヘ ̄) read/watch mo dao zu shi
marked it as to-read
i said it 43093069 times but if it has victoria schwab's name on it then i have to read it even if it's a grocery shopping list
...more

This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone but I absolutely loved this. The Steel Prince has everything I want in a graphic novel and more: Victoria's cutting words, badass characters, and beautiful artwork. I can't wait to read the next volume.
...more

I read the first novel, Darker Shade of Magic last year, wanted to re- read it since, but didn't since I remembered everything!! SO, for my O.W.L.s I'm using this beautiful graphic novel for my first Transfiguration subject. (Red on the cover).
I loved it. I miss this world so much, and if I understood correctly, this is about Maxim, Kells adoptive father when he was young. I loved the art, and I loved the plot, but it was indeed short, too short maybe. Now I want to devour the rest of these, bu ...more
I loved it. I miss this world so much, and if I understood correctly, this is about Maxim, Kells adoptive father when he was young. I loved the art, and I loved the plot, but it was indeed short, too short maybe. Now I want to devour the rest of these, bu ...more

I mean I liked it and it was good. I don’t generally read graphic novels but I had this one and I just finished the Darker Shade of Magic trilogy so I thought I would try it. It’s honestly a pretty contained story with very little world building and exposition and everything just happened so quickly? Or maybe that’s just me as graphic novels are much easier to fly through compared to an actual novel. I had fun, really liked Isra’s character and everyone else was fine. 6/10

Mar 31, 2020
Mara YA Mood Reader
marked it as to-read
*major gasp*
WHY
have I not have heard of these?????????!!!!!!! I need need need!!! Ugh the library is closed for the apocalypse noooooo!!! 😭😰😱

V.E. Schwab has penned a graphic novel about Maxim Maresh, one of the ancillary characters from The Shades of Magic series.
I was very excited to read this. The tidbits Schwab dropped about Maxim in the trilogy were enticing. We learned he had a storied past. He fought notable outlaw figures. Somehow he developed an extraordinary control of his powers, which others had not been able to mimic.
Under his reign, a certain magician opened the doors between the worlds to act as emissaries and messenger ...more
I was very excited to read this. The tidbits Schwab dropped about Maxim in the trilogy were enticing. We learned he had a storied past. He fought notable outlaw figures. Somehow he developed an extraordinary control of his powers, which others had not been able to mimic.
Under his reign, a certain magician opened the doors between the worlds to act as emissaries and messenger ...more

'And one day the doors to those worlds will open... ...whether we wish it or not.'
SOOOO GOOD. I'm so freaking glad we are getting more of this world and in comic format because everything about this absolutely smashes 😭🙌👏
Maxim is such a princeling prince so I'm very much here for his journey towards gaining the title of Steel Prince and this definitely was a great starting point. (I also just wanna note what kind of dedication that Maxim wanted Antaris to be found and did 👏)
ISRA, THOUGH. MY FAVE ...more
SOOOO GOOD. I'm so freaking glad we are getting more of this world and in comic format because everything about this absolutely smashes 😭🙌👏
Maxim is such a princeling prince so I'm very much here for his journey towards gaining the title of Steel Prince and this definitely was a great starting point. (I also just wanna note what kind of dedication that Maxim wanted Antaris to be found and did 👏)
ISRA, THOUGH. MY FAVE ...more

Feb 13, 2018
Jackie
marked it as someday-maybe
i haven’t even read adsom but i am SO READY for this graphic novel?? i mean THE STEEL PRINCE??? hello?????? it sounds so promising??

can't wait for more!!
...more

I enjoyed that. It's fun to see Shades of Magic characters again and more of the Arnes. I also liked the art design especially when it comes to the action scenes and the magic. I'm not as interested in Maxim as a young man, but I certainly want to know more about Isra. I have to say that the art for magic totally reminds me of Doctor Strange and I'm perfectly fine with that.
...more


Ummm so don't be deceived by the cover art. The actual art inside is nothing like the cover. It didn't work for me. I did like Maxim buuuuut there wasn't much substance to this.
...more

Feb 13, 2018
Lena
marked it as to-read
AM I DREAMING OR THIS REAL LIFE??????
A GODDAMN PREQUEL GRAPHIC NOVEL ARE YOU SHITTING ME 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱 VICTORIA SCHWAB IS TO BLAME FOR MY QUICK AND PREMATURE DEATH.
Plus, did you know that A Darker Shade of Magic is getting turned into a movie? whaaaaaaaaaaaaaattttttttttt.
A GODDAMN PREQUEL GRAPHIC NOVEL ARE YOU SHITTING ME 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱 VICTORIA SCHWAB IS TO BLAME FOR MY QUICK AND PREMATURE DEATH.
Plus, did you know that A Darker Shade of Magic is getting turned into a movie? whaaaaaaaaaaaaaattttttttttt.
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We Read Stuff: Shades of Magic: The Steel Prince - Fantasy | 2 | 6 | May 28, 2019 08:59PM |
V.E. Schwab is the name Victoria Schwab publishes her adult books under.
Victoria has stated that books published under V.E. Schwab are adult releases and those under Victoria Schwab are YA. ...more
Victoria has stated that books published under V.E. Schwab are adult releases and those under Victoria Schwab are YA. ...more
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Shades of Magic Graphic Novels
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