Prince of Persia was interesting for me to read, as I haven’t read many graphic novels.  I have played the videogame and while I was surprised to find it wasn’t actually based on the videogame, it was still a fun read.  The Persian culture and legend this graphic novel artfully portrays are both fascinating and exciting.  The artwork itself is interesting and uncluttered, but beautifully illustrates the story in immense detail. However, it wasn’t a perfect storytelling.  While there are two plots happening, one in the past and the other in the ‘present’ (roughly 400 years later),  I found the one in the past far more intriguing and interesting; the ‘present’ one wasn’t really that exciting, and actually felt kind of corny.  While this didn’t totally ruin the novel for me,  I was dissappointed that the intertwined plots didn’t feel like two halves of a whole, but rather felt like two stories in one book.  Despite this, it is an easy and exciting read for those who loved the game!

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: 1 mild obscenity, 3 derogatory names, and 1 anatomical term.

Violence/Gore:  Several fight and battle scenes involving injury and death.  This being a graphic novel, all were very bloody and, well, graphic.  A lion is cut in half, several men have their tongues cut off, and another man suffers a severe burn.  There are also depictions of beheadings. The artwork in scenes of violence is very detailed, and in some cases anatomically correct, with depictions of intestines or flying blood. There are threats and several life threatening injuries.

Sex/Nudity: Characters kiss; there are several naked babies; one instance of implied sexual activity; and one very brief instance of sexual activity involving adults, without explicit detail or nudity.

Mature Subject Matter:

Prophecies, murder of children, relationships between step-siblings.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Some characters drink.