Pankhurst's Amazons

I was lucky enough to be offered an advance copy of the first installment of SUFFRAJITSU, a three part graphic novel by Tony Wolf and Joao Vieira, for review. In early twentieth century Britain the phrase “the battle of the sexes” took a literal turn when, after forty years of peaceful protests failed to gain women in the UK the right to vote, the suffragettes under Emmeline Pankhurst lost faith in words and began taking action. SUFFRAJITSU is an alternative history based on the true story of Pankhurst and “The Bodyguard,” her elite security force composed of kickass women trained in the martial arts.

A solid grounding in the actual events of the day makes for an excellent springboard into a tale of international intrigue and adventure. There’s a big twist in the first issue that moves the story from canonical to alternative history. I can’t tell you what it is, but I can tell you it left me breathless.  The artwork is fabulous, the storytelling tight. My greatest disappointment is that since I received the first issue early, I now have a longer wait than most for the next. SUFFRAJITSU debuts January 2015.

Learn more about the project here: http://suffrajitsu.com/