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‘Tangled: The Series – Let Down Your Hair’ – Trade Paperback Review

If you didn’t see the 2010 Disney film, Tangled, then I can confidently say you’re missing out. Of the modern Disney films, it stands near the top as one of the instantly iconic stories produced by the studio. And, naturally, when Disney has a success on their hands, they expand. From the 2010 film came a television series titled Tangled: The Series (or Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventures . . . they change the name of this franchise a lot.), and from that came today’s comic: Tangled: The Series – Let Down Your Hair.

Tangled: The Series – Let Down Your Hair is an anthology of short stories following Rapunzel, Eugene, and their friends on various adventures. The stories are pretty straightforward, but none of them last long enough to overstay their welcome. If you have kids, especially ones who like fantasy, these stories will be engaging for readers. In particular, the stories do a good job of deviating from the usual sort of stories that kids books tend to fall into. Rapunzel has agency and power without ever having to resort to being “one of the guys.”

I had few issues with this series.  Although the comic does presuppose that you watched the television series, frankly, it wouldn’t be all that hard to piece together what’s going on without having watched the show.

The art style closely matches the style from the television series. It’s a unique look that I haven’t seen a lot of comics use. It’s angular and the proportions are exaggerated, but there isn’t what I’d call a “cartoony” look to it. Everything still feels grounded. Personally, I like the style a lot. Rapunzel, and a lot of the 3D-animated Disney characters, don’t translate to 2D well and end up looking bug-eyed or creepy, but this style somehow manages to capture her personality and appearance nicely. Special appreciation should be given to how well the emotion is expressed in the characters’ faces. Even at a distance, Rapunzel’s facial expressions can be read quickly and easily. That clarity is something I often find lacking in comics.

To be perfectly honest, I don’t have much more to say, but I mean that as a compliment. I often study art looking for ways it can be improved upon, so finding flaws comes with the territory. Tangled: The Series – Let Down Your Hair is simple and efficient. It also contains many of the elements I’d like to see more children’s stories using: strong female characters, realistic relationships, addressing meaningful topics, and, above everything else, excitement. The fact that I, theoretically an adult, could find this comic just as interesting a read as any other comic book means that it has well succeeded in being a compelling read for kids. I heartily recommend this comic to anyone with kids, or anyone who likes being a kid again every once in a while.

Creative Team: Scott Peterson (Writer), Diogo Saito (Writer, Artist), Rosa La Barbera (Artist), Roberto Di Salvo (Artist)
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Click here to purchase.

L. N. Conliff, Fanbase Press Contributor

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