about the book
The daughter of Odin, Princess Ülga is from the remote rough mountain kingdom of Grimmeria. (Think of warrior Vikings with Scottish brogues.) Grimmerians are raised to fight, especially the Frost Giants. The two kingdoms have been at war for ages, but before her death, Queen Friðrika made Ülga promise that she would find a better way to end the conflict.
Ülga has no need to be schooled in princessing, but she could use some help with diplomacy. She mounts her huge woolly mammoth and makes her way to the lowland city of Atraesca where the prestigious Princess Academy lies. Royals from all over go there for their education…all except the Grimmerians. Nobody at the school has met anyone like Ülga.
Dressed in warrior gear, this pint-sized princess has a really big attitude, a massive battle axe, and a sword. On her arrival, she knocks another princess into a dung heap and falls right through a glass window to land at the feet of her new headmistress. Being capable of taking down trolls and beheading ogres does not help her to fit in at all. Not interested in fashion, dances, tea time, or riding unicorns, she is mocked and taunted by all her mean-girl princess classmates who abhor her rough ways. And the worst is Ulga’s very rude and spiteful roommate, the blonde blue-eyed Princess Julifer.
Ülga may be behind in her book-balancing posture exercises, fork-choosing tutorials, and minuet lessons, but this tenacious princess is undeterred.. Uff da! These girly girl royals are about to learn far more than they ever expected!
about the author/illustrator
Ted Naifeh grew up enjoying the spooky Victorian houses and the heavy fog of San Francisco. As a teen he was a goth—not so much wearing the white face powder and heavy black eye liner—more into the mood and the music. He is still into it somewhat, but now it comes out in his comics.
He dabbled in art classes but they just didn’t fill his need. He knew he wanted to draw comics. So basically, he is self-taught, taking inspiration from manga artists and famed Marvel illustrators. He got his start at Innovation Comics and self-published a series. Then the bottom fell out of the industry and he had to look for work elsewhere. He ended up doing video games, but didn’t like working as part of team or having someone dictating what and how he should draw. He says he is “better at working with pen and ink than with people”!
Ted went back to drawing comics and co-created the Gloom Cookie series with Serena Valentine in 1998. He stayed up one whole night making 500 copies of a mini comic and took it to a convention where a publisher saw it and ended up printing it. It was a resounding success, and Ted has been happily drawing comics ever since.
Now he claims to be a “largish mortal just beginning his third decade in the waking world.” He has been making his living for the last decade carefully chronicling The Dark Things. His Courtney Crumrin series has been nominated for two Eisner Awards.
For his graphic novel Princess Ugg, Ted worked very closely with Warren Wicinich, a colorist. Together they used soft watercolors for all the flashback scenes and saturated digital coloring for the rest of the panels, giving the book a really unique look.
Sources:
Author/illustrator website
Author/illustrator interview BD-Theque
Author/illustrator biography & video: Scholastic
Also by Ted Naifeh:
Princess Ugg : 2. Oni Press. 2015.
The Courtney Crumrin series. ONI Press. 2002-2012.
read more!
Mangaman by Barry Lyga
Ryoko Kiyama, a Japanese manga character, falls through a rift from his dimension into the real Western world. The ultimate outsider, he has to try to survive in a typical American high school. It is far from easy, especially when his life is upended by falling in love with Marissa Montaigne, the most beautiful—and misunderstood—girl in school.
Princess Ugg : 2 by Ted Naifeh
Though she has improved her studies at the Princess Finishing Academy, Ülga still doesn’t have a handle on diplomacy or feel any closer to being a real princess. When her other royal classmates are attacked by bandits, she resumes her “bonny wee berserker” warrior attitude to save the doomed princesses.