Just Lasso the Nearest Tree

Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale, and illustrated by Nathan Hale.

What happened?
Rapunzel has always been curious about life outside her walled castle, where she lives with her mother Gothel. So on her twelfth birthday, she sneaks out for a look. Turns out that Gothel kidnapped her from her birth parents because they stole some measly leaves, and Gothel is also a sorceress wrecking the farming of anyone who doesn't pay her taxes.

Confronting her "mother" with this, Rapunzel is quickly thrown into a lonely tower. For four years Rapunzel can only wonder if she will ever get out, until her hair grows long enough to lasso around the nearest tree. Having escaped from the tower, Rapunzel vows to find her real mom, and hopefully take Gothel down in the process.

What did I like or not like?

The Wild West setting was a visually interesting place to tell the story, and having Rapunzel's hair work like twenty feet of rope (or whips depending on the situation) was also a fun idea. Adding some action to this story, Rapunzel and her partner, Jack, fight off bandits, giant sea serpants, and eventually take the fight to Gothel herself. Along the way, Rapunzel deals with selfishness, doing what's right, and sticking up for the little guy. This graphic novel had plenty of the elements of the classic tale, but told them with an interesting new twist.