Estranged is a graphic novel series written and drawn by Ethan A. Aldridge.
"Edmund" and "the Childe" were swapped at birth. Now Edmund lives in secret as a changeling in the World Above, his fae powers hidden from his unsuspecting parents and his older sister, Alexis. The Childe lives among the fae in the World Below, where being a human makes him a curiosity at the royal palace.
But when the cruel sorceress Hawthorne seizes the throne, the Childe and Edmund must unite on a dangerous quest to save both worlds—even if they’re not sure which world they belong to.
The first book was originally published as a webcomic before being published by Harper Collins Publishers; it has since been taken down, but two short prologues can still be found here
. A second story, titled Estranged #2: The Changeling King, is due out in October 2019.
This comic provides examples of the following tropes:
- Abusive Alien Parents: The fairy king and queen are a fantasy version of this. The Childe's prequel strip has them send him against a monster just for funsies. And when the Queen later shows up after turning back to her original form, she's just as cruel towards her biological child.
- Armor-Piercing Question: When discussing why Edmund (Cinder) didn't reveal himself as a fairy to his parents, he states that he wanted to protected his parents. Hearing that, the Childe asks if it's the child's job to protect the parents. Edmund becomes is left speechless.
- The Evil Princess: Hawthorne is an Evil Princess. Granted, her brother was a jerk too, but she also wants to eliminate both of his potential heirs.
- Forced Transformation: Hawthorne can turn people into rats.
- Freaky Is Cool: While Edmund seems pretty uncomfortable about Alexis' seeing his true form, she replies that it's oddly "pretty."
- Golem: Whick is a golem made of wax. He can only move when his wick is lit.
- I Choose to Stay: The first book ends with Edmund, now calling himself Cinder, choosing to rule the World Below.
- Interspecies Romance: Between a fairy woman and a human man. And in the sequel, between a High Fae boy and a Faun boy.
- "It" Is Dehumanizing: The fairy king and queen refer to the Childe as "it."
- Meaningful Name: "Edmund's" original name was Cinder. His magic is mainly based around fire.
- Milholland Relationship Moment: Edmund lives in fear of what his human family will say if they ever figure out that he's not their real child. He's practically moved to tears when Alexis finds out and, while certainly shocked, quickly decides that he and the Childe are both her little brothers.
- Never Given a Name: The Childe, at least by his fairy parents. He's kind of bitter that Whick was deemed worthy of one while he wasn't. The first book ends with him taking his birth name, Edmund, while fairy!Edmund returns to the World Below.
- No Infantile Amnesia: Fairies apparently don't have any, at least, which is how Edmund knows his origin. Alexis is pretty grossed-out when he admits that he can remember his actual birth.
