This was complete miss for me. "Championess" is a cool concept and the art is fantastic but the actual writing wasn't great. This was more of a surface level book and, no matter how much back story it adds, it doesn't hit right. I found the main character to be completely unrealistic. Growing up the way she did, you would think she would understand the concept of earning money for survival. The fact that she is refusing to intentionally lose a fight, even though her sister is going to jail, is baffling. My last problem is that this was paced very slow. I didn't think a graphic novel about Victorian women boxing could be boring but here we are. I'm going to say it one more time, the art is beautiful. The characters are unique and show human emotions very well. I'm interested to see what other work this illustrator has worked on.

"I think I heard someone chanting "Show 'er, Liz"
He was actually saying "Show us yer tits", but I'll not ruin my sister's night. "

This book was nice. It was interesting story about boxer Elizabeth Wilkinson. The plot was okey, but the art was amazing. Also enemies to lovers trope. It was a quick read, good to binge it in one sitting. Story based on true events. 4/5⭐

Thank you NetGalley for providing digital advanced copy in exchange for honest review.

I really enjoyed reading this! The illustrations were very beautiful, the dialogues witty and pertinent, approached a lot of important topics (race, gender, a woman's place in society, etc ) in a way that was original and made you want to keep scrolling through the pages. My congratulations to the authors and illustrator for their lovely work.

4.5* and I might change this to 5* once I have time to think it over. This was so so good and I adored it.

The story was fast-paced and incredibly engrossing. The dialogue was snappy and hilarious and it really worked with the narrative and story. I adored the characters.

This graphic novel is delightful and humourous but it tackles a lot of difficult subjects like race, identity, gender, and broken relationships and it handles it all wonderfully and delicately. The artwork is also stunning and suited the story perfectly.

I was absolutely delighted by this.

Championess is a punchy, emotional graphic novel based on the real-life Elizabeth Wilkinson, a female boxer in the 18th century. Little is known about the real Elizabeth, so the authors take the opportunity to make her half-Indian, with a white-passing sister and an urgent need to earn enough money to save her sister from debt.

It's a rapid-paced, intense journey through the London slums. The only problem I had was wanting more - a bit more backstory about Elizabeth's parents, about Stokes' background, a bit more detail to Elizabeth and Hannah/Joanna's rivalry. But there is plenty of emotional depth to the story even without those additions.

When I first picked up Championess, it was entirely based on the dynamic art that adorned the cover. The art only continued to impress from there. Incredibly action packed and emotional, while also being filled with witty banter, this story is everything you never knew you were looking for.
The graphic novel follows the story of Elizabeth and her sister Tess, who are living in a rough area of London that protects debtors from debt collectors looking to imprison them. Elizabeth fights in bars and back alleys in an effort to become a paid fighter in a real ring, an effort she believes will bring in enough money to pay off her sister's debts.
The author's use of time passage and flashbacks in unlike anything I've ever seen in a comic before, and worked wonderfully, not only to tell the back story of the sisters, but also to create a sense of urgency and stress that keeps the reader riveted and engaged. The story tackles so many aspects of society, including poverty, racism, internalized prejudice and racism, misogyny and sexism.
The art is engaging and stunning; the story is gripping and flows beautifully.

I don't know why but this book took me forever to pick up. I'd open this book to the first page where Elizabeth is in the midst of a brawl and I'd just not have the will to continue reading. So I'd put it aside for something else.

THIS WAS A MISTAKE!

This book has everything!
Sweet wholesome romance? yep.
Enemies to lovers? Yes!
Badass Women? Most Defenitely!
Engaging Story? It is Incredibly!

This is one of my favorite books I have read this year, by far.

It looks like it was first published in 2019 and is being republished? I got the graphic novel via Negalley and was intrigued by the provocative front cover of a historical-looking lady who is wiping blood off her face during a fight of some kind.

The Netgalley edition didn't have end papers so I didn't get anything related to the summary that was that this is historical fiction, based off of a real woman. In the story, the woman is a British Indian who lost her father to the gallows (and her mother to illness soon after) and is trying to keep her fully-"white" British sister Tess from the workhouses because she's a debtor. But Elizabeth is a scrapper and wants to make some money off her boxing even though she's a woman and being jerked around by some hoity-toity men though she meets another man who knows a thing or two about discrimination. Together they team up.

The story is powerful and demonstrates many of the inequities of the time and location whether it be gender or economics. It looks to be done in graphite which lends a gritty quality that I enjoyed.

thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book for this honest review!

this was an excellent historical graphic novel, based on the real-life elizabeth wilkinson! the art was beautiful, and showed liz's journey in boxing very well. i liked the choice to write her and stokes as people of color, especially as an indian girl myself- the way she and her father were treated in london felt true to life.

This was a really cool graphic novel! I don't know much about any sort of boxing or professional fighting but this was still a really cool book to read even without that initial interest. I enjoyed learning about a kickass woman I didn't know about before. I also really enjoyed the art. It felt very real. I would definitely recommend this for a sports lover but also for someone who just enjoys a good story about a woman fighting to find her place in the world and prove herself.

Thank you NetGalley, Kelly Zekas, Tarun Shanker, and Legendary Comics for sending me a free ARC copy of Championess in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't know anything about Elizabeth Wilkinson prior to reading this graphic novel and I found the story to be exciting and engaging throughout. It was inspiring to read about the character's strength and perseverance in working towards achieving her goal of being a paid and well-respected boxer. I felt for Elizabeth and Tess regarding their tough situation in the story and kept me wanting to read on to see where their stories ended up. The illustrations were awesome!

Very interesting graphic novel. The premise hooked me and I really liked following Liz around. I don't know if she was that much of a likeable heroine to follow but I did like the story, although it felt dragged a few times. The art was nice too. I liked the themes explored in this book such as racism and sexism and thought that it dealt with it very well.

I hadn’t heard of Elizabeth Wilkinson prior to reading this graphic novel, and I’m glad I got to learn about her. It was a cool story and I really enjoyed getting to read it in a graphic novel format. I felt the art helped depict her story in a unique way.

Championess is a heroic comic take on a true story, adapted to visual form. I loved the centering of a strong female character, and the art is appealing.

2.5 Stars. This graphic novel just failed to keep my interest. I appreciate the art, but the story just wasn't for me. I didn't care about any of the characters. Based on the other rave reviews, I'm guessing this is just a me problem.

5 stars

Part historical fiction, part sports drama, Championess is a wonderful graphic novel highlighting the little known world of 18th century women's' bareknuckle boxing. From the first panel, the action never stops and it is an absolutely rollicking ride to the very end. The characters were wonderful, the social commentary was handled incredibly well, and the art really helped to bring me into this world. As someone trying to get more into graphic novels in 2021, this was a spectacular affirmation of that goal!

Thank you to NetGalley and Legendary Comics for a copy of Championess in exchange for a fair and honest review!

Thanks to NetGalley & Legendary Comics for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

This follows Elizabeth in the 1720s struggling with her sister to escape debt, she tries to take odd jobs here and there but her main interest is boxing.

Just to be clear, this is a graphic novel about a very real historical figure, but since this is the 1720s, there's not a lot of information about Elizabeth herself so most of this is made-up drama. This is fine, but I just wanted to let people know it's not a textbook nor is it exactly 100% accurate.

The artwork was extremely expressive, especially in the eyes, it was great to see in the pages. Even the backgrounds were fleshed out in great detail that helps capture the 1700s aesthetic!

Elizabeth's story is tragic but I like how it's still hopeful and inspiring. I don't usually read sports stuff but I really enjoyed the boxing in here as well as Elizabeth's motivations for continuing to box.

Great story!

4/5
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Championess By Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas is a fun action-packed graphic novel that's about strength and having ambition despite all the odds that are against you. I was so excited to learn that this graphic novel was based on the incredible true story of Elizabeth Wilkinson who's tough and preserves throughout the span of this story. The artwork is beautiful and I was in awe of it every time I saw it. I definitely recommend this graphic novel to people who are looking for something that will grasp their full attention right from the start.

Story Description:
It's the 18th century in London, boxer Elizabeth Wilkinson fights in hopes of earning enough money to pay off her sister's debt. However, the only way she can earn enough money to pay off her sister's debts is by getting trained by a famous boxer James Figgs. The only issue is that he refuses to train her because she's a woman. In order for him to take her as a client, Elizabeth publicly challenges another woman to a fight claiming that she's being trained by Figgs. This graphic novel conveys the real-life challenges that Elizabeth faced in her life and this story isn't just about boxing, it's about the racism and sexism that Elizabeth must face whilst she tries to earn her way to the top.

Overall Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this graphic novel and it was such a joy to read. I had never heard of Elizabeth Wilkinson before and I'm so glad that I was able to learn about her life throughout this story. She's such a strong person and I admire how she fights to overcome the racism and sexism that she faces throughout her life. The illustrator Amanda Perez captures the characters so well and I loved the illustrations during the fight scenes. Amanda really conveyed how strong and powerful Elizabeth was during the fight scenes and they were my favorite parts of this story. Also, can I just say that I love Stokes with my whole heart. He's so amazing and I loved the dynamic of how Stokes and Elizabeth both make each other stronger. The only issue that I did notice with this story was how the flashback scenes were randomly placed at times. We'd be reading a present-time scene and then all of sudden we'd have a flashback scene and it could definitely get confusing at times when reading. But overall I really did enjoy this story and I would definitely recommend it. Once again I just want to say thank you to NetGalley, the authors, and the publishers for this ARC.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

Lizzie had to overcome racism, sexism and browbeating herself to get her due in the rind. A wonderful story about tenacity, family and being true to one's self. I look forward to the next installment of this story.

This graphic novel is supposed to be based on Elizabeth Wilkinson, the first woman professional boxer. The thing is, not much is actually known about her, other than, well, that she boxed, and won, and had sponsors and stuff like that.

So this whole graphic novel is just based on the fact that she existed, and boxed. All the rest of it is totally made up, and I do mean totally. The premise of the reason, in this story, for her taking up boxing was because once she learned it, she figured she could make a living at it.

Oh, and she had to get out of debt so that her sister wouldn't be sent to debtors prison, and could get married, and did she lived in squalor, hiding from the debt collectors?

Oh, and she is half Indian, and her father was hung for being a highway man.

So, a bunch of stuff is thrown in here, totally made up, to write the story.

But, on the other hand, it is an interesting way to present Elizabeth.

So, if you like dramatic stories of barehanded boxing, then this might be something you would like.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>