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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
This graphic novel had a ton of potential. There was a lot of great build up, and I liked the message. The art was beautiful and I really wanted to love this. However, it felt a bit rushed and the ending really left me hanging. I wanted more to the story, and more in this series, but I don't think it is a series.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War
Moderate: Torture, Transphobia
A glorious and refreshing fantasy tale! I picked up Witchy as it was recommended by Nimona creator Noelle Stevenson and my gosh I am impressed! It was so great to read a fantasy world where all the societies, fashion and customs are based on Asian and Oceanic cultures. It was like Avatar: The Last Air Bender only better and more magical. Ries is a fantastic storyteller.
The central premise of Witchy is that a Witches' power is determined by their hair length. It follows Nyneve, a reluctant and bookish protagonist as she grapples with the challenges of coming-of-age in a society she feels strongly disconnected from.
The art is beautiful, the characters are wonderfully evoked and the worldbuilding is some of my favourite ever. Can't wait for the next volume.
The central premise of Witchy is that a Witches' power is determined by their hair length. It follows Nyneve, a reluctant and bookish protagonist as she grapples with the challenges of coming-of-age in a society she feels strongly disconnected from.
The art is beautiful, the characters are wonderfully evoked and the worldbuilding is some of my favourite ever. Can't wait for the next volume.
Witchy by Ariel Slamet Ries is a fantasy graphic novel about choosing your own destiny.
Hyalin is a magical kingdom where the witch’s powers are dependent on how long their hair is. But if your hair is too long, and you are too powerful, they will burn you to death. The young adults have the chance to showcase their powers and can get conscripted into the military guard to protect the lands, which is viewed as a great honor!
Our main character Nyvene hides her true hair length behind a charm, and is often bullied because of her short hair and (lack of) magic skills. She is also very, very stubborn, and that is why I like her so much.
I must say that I wasn’t completely thrilled with the ending, so I immediately went online (witchycomic.com) and read Chapters 5 and 6. I’m so glad that I did! We get so much more development of Nyvene’s character.
I really enjoyed the diverse cast of characters, the world building, and the themes of the story. I hope there is still more to come!
CW: loss of a parent, transphobia, misgendering, bullying, suicidal ideation
LGBTQIA+ rep: queer South Asian female MC, Chinese/South East Asian trans female, Australian-Indonesian nonbinary or genderqueer author
Hyalin is a magical kingdom where the witch’s powers are dependent on how long their hair is. But if your hair is too long, and you are too powerful, they will burn you to death. The young adults have the chance to showcase their powers and can get conscripted into the military guard to protect the lands, which is viewed as a great honor!
Our main character Nyvene hides her true hair length behind a charm, and is often bullied because of her short hair and (lack of) magic skills. She is also very, very stubborn, and that is why I like her so much.
I must say that I wasn’t completely thrilled with the ending, so I immediately went online (witchycomic.com) and read Chapters 5 and 6. I’m so glad that I did! We get so much more development of Nyvene’s character.
I really enjoyed the diverse cast of characters, the world building, and the themes of the story. I hope there is still more to come!
CW: loss of a parent, transphobia, misgendering, bullying, suicidal ideation
LGBTQIA+ rep: queer South Asian female MC, Chinese/South East Asian trans female, Australian-Indonesian nonbinary or genderqueer author
Cute enough story but honestly felt myself more drawn to the characters who stayed behind than the mc. Will look out for future books in the series, but don't have any particularly high hopes for this series as a whole. (Indie comics are letting me down rn, I've read a bunch recently and only found bad/meh ones. Back to Marvel I guess?
Love the world building and compelling character designs!! I gotta find volume 2!!
I love when I pick up a graphic novel and, within just a few pages, know that I’ve found a new favorite series to follow (at least, I’m assuming it’s going to be a series, based on the ending). Witchy takes place in a magical world where each person’s power is dictated by the length of their hair. Having watched her father burned when she was a child due to his hair being deemed too long by the government, Nyneve spends her life hiding who she is in hopes of going unnoticed by the army.
The art style in this is fun and light, but the plot has a lot of nuance and subtle heaviness to it. There’s an oppressive militia/government, a lot of hurting children and families, and something suspicious going on in the way the kingdom of Hyalin’s history is steadily being rewritten and erased. There’s also a ton of gorgeously effortless diversity, including characters of color, casual queerness, a trans girl, and more.
Between the cast of characters, the plot, the world-building, and a certain snarky talking raven, I loved Witchy a whole lot, and I really hope I’m right in my expectations of a sequel, because I definitely need more time with Nyneve and her friends in the kingdom of Hyalin.
Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
The art style in this is fun and light, but the plot has a lot of nuance and subtle heaviness to it. There’s an oppressive militia/government, a lot of hurting children and families, and something suspicious going on in the way the kingdom of Hyalin’s history is steadily being rewritten and erased. There’s also a ton of gorgeously effortless diversity, including characters of color, casual queerness, a trans girl, and more.
Between the cast of characters, the plot, the world-building, and a certain snarky talking raven, I loved Witchy a whole lot, and I really hope I’m right in my expectations of a sequel, because I definitely need more time with Nyneve and her friends in the kingdom of Hyalin.
Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
so i can't truly review this as a whole story because only chapters 1-6 are out so far (i think only 1-4 are in the physical version, but i was reading it online and using this to count it on here) but i'm really enjoying it so far! i'm not the biggest fan of fantasy — esp fantasy where it's like a whole new world/society — but this was fun and i like the characters and writing. also, the art is so pretty. looking forwards to the rest of this story!
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Rep: trans female side character, potential queer relationship, talking animal companion
This is DEFINITELY the first in a graphic novel series & im interested in seeing where this story goes
This is DEFINITELY the first in a graphic novel series & im interested in seeing where this story goes