Unfortunately I didn't connect with Squire like I hoped to. So much about this comic is really well done. I loved its themes of its resisting colonial forces and I'm almost always down for spunky kids fighting bad guys. However I think Squire had a few rough edges that made it fail to connect for me.

Firstly its pacing. This could be an age thing but I found the story slow to start. I, as the audience, immediately understood that the empire our protagonist, Aiza, had joined up with was evil. However in story it took our characters what felt to me a very long time to come to that realization. This could have more impact for younger readers less familiar with these tropes but for me it just made the first half of the book a drag. 

Another thing that could be because of my perspective as an adult but I was much more engaged with the adult characters than our child protagonists. Aiza's mentor and former knight, Bassem was a definite standout. His world weariness the the face of experiencing and participating in the ravages of empire was really well communicated in a small amount of pages and left me wanting more.

But despite the few snags there was still a lot to love about Squire. Sara Alfageeh's art is stunning I especially loved the warm colors that swept through the pages. The friendship dynamic of Aiza and the rest of the would-be knights was also very fun. Seeing how each character responded to the realization of the wrongness of the project and the different pressures weighing on them to join the army was fascinating. 

I would probably read more of Squire. Its ending leaves the door open for more stories following these characters. But I would say this story is best for the younger crowd.