Champion of the Rose

🌹 An anti-colonial epic fantasy manga series

🏳️‍⚧️ A queer coming of rage

🗡️ Gladiatorial combat in a grand coliseum

🍷 Catholicism-inspired blood magic and a Dying God

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In the arena, where life is cheap and spectacle is everything, Rey must decide what kind of game he’s willing to play.

As the largest kingdom in the Known World, the Empire of Sagrada is built on the keystones of conquest: gold, glory, and the Dying God. But when Princess Rosa unexpectedly finds herself the next heir to the throne, she is determined to change Sagrada for the better—until her father announces a glorious tournament of gladiatorial fights and blood magic, with Rosa’s hand and her throne as the prize.

In a desperate bid to win her own hand, Princess Rosa chooses Rey, a trans swordsman from the colony of Himala, as her champion in her father’s tournament. Kidnapped by Sagradan conquistadors and raised as a fighter, Rey is equally desperate to win his freedom and return to Himala with his partner, Teo. But, haunted by the past and his own quest for revenge, Rey is soon caught up in the destructive spectacle of the games, where the cost of power is blood and the true prize is yet to be revealed.

A bold reenvisioning of the colonial history of Spain and the Philippines through an epic anti-imperialist fantasy about fighting for freedom in the face of empire.

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Praise for Champion of the Rose: Volume 1

★ “Mangaka Aquino and Duran draw heavily from the history of the Philippines being colonized by Spain as source material for their fantasy setting, yet this is a rich, treacherous world all unto its own.”
—Booklist starred review

☆ “Champion of the Rose may be the upcoming queer Filipino fantasy comic of your dreams.” —The Philippine Star

☆ “Unflinchingly anti-colonial… immersive and inventive.” —Adobo Magazine

“Masterfully drawn and written.” —Lee Knox Ostertag, award-winning author of The Deep Dark and The Girl From the Sea

“Action packed and gorgeously illustrated.” —Maia Kobabe, award-winning author of Gender Queer

“This is a turbo-charged rollercoaster of a book, and rooting for Rey and Rosa had my heart in my throat as the stakes rose and threats started to stack up. Angry and exhilarating in all the best ways!" —Rye Hickman, co-creator and artist of Buzzing and The Harrowing

“Grand, utterly gorgeous, and bursting with life, Champion of the Rose is an incredible retelling of Filipino history through a medium and story that transforms the past into an epic fantasy that keeps you absolutely enthralled.” —Riotbones, author of Strange Cases

“An amazing and thrilling manga to read from beginning to end.” —Richard Mercado, author of Coming Out Perfect