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A review by jmbz38
Mystik U by Alisa Kwitney
3.0
Mystik U explores themes common to teenage coming of age stories but it does so through the lens of the DC Universe's magical characters. It is a deep dive into the DCU's magical community and there were many characters that I, even as a long time reader, did not recognize. However, the reader doesn't need to know who any of the characters are to get wrapped up in the story. The storyline follows several college freshman who are attending a mystic academy in order to learn how to control their magical abilities. Along the way the characters learn about themselves and share many humorous and touching moments.
The story features an intense opening and ending connected by a character driven narrative. This narrative starts from Zatanna's perspective and then expands to include the other main characters. Kwitney's dialogue really helps ground the story, even as other worldly events begin to unfold. Each character has a unique voice and their words are very believably written. These are supernatural characters who sound like normal humans. Considering that most dialogue in comic books is over the top and dramatic, this realistic language helped make all the characters even more relatable.
My biggest complaint with Mystik U is that some story elements are not explained very well. The biggest example of this being, its never really explained how the prologue fits with the ending. The timeline of events between the prologue and body of the story is also not laid out in the clearest way. This graphic novel was written to appeal to younger readers than myself, so maybe I'm just focusing on the wrong things. Yet I would have found the story much more satisfying if these moments were connected by a more solid through-line.
I really enjoyed the art in this book. The design of some of the characters is really creative. Seeing some of these mystical characters dressed as hipsters, instead of their traditional costumes, was hysterical. Every page also features unique panel layouts. This makes the story feel very dynamic, even during the dialogue heavy scenes. Norton does a great job capturing the character's emotions and highlighting the small moments they share with one another. I also liked Norton's choice of color palette. The colors he uses give this graphic novel a very youthful feel that perfectly matches the tone of the dialogue.
Despite my complaints about certain story elements, Mystik U is a very cool graphic novel. I love that it features strong female characters and is geared toward a younger audience. One of my biggest complaints about the mainstream comic book industry is that most titles are written to appeal to old white men. Yes, this demographic buys a lot of comic books, but comics now enjoy a very diverse readership. Its great to see that DC is beginning to tell stories that appeal to this wider audience. Its a trend I'm looking forward to seeing continue in the years to come. A trend started by Mystik U.
The story features an intense opening and ending connected by a character driven narrative. This narrative starts from Zatanna's perspective and then expands to include the other main characters. Kwitney's dialogue really helps ground the story, even as other worldly events begin to unfold. Each character has a unique voice and their words are very believably written. These are supernatural characters who sound like normal humans. Considering that most dialogue in comic books is over the top and dramatic, this realistic language helped make all the characters even more relatable.
My biggest complaint with Mystik U is that some story elements are not explained very well. The biggest example of this being, its never really explained how the prologue fits with the ending. The timeline of events between the prologue and body of the story is also not laid out in the clearest way. This graphic novel was written to appeal to younger readers than myself, so maybe I'm just focusing on the wrong things. Yet I would have found the story much more satisfying if these moments were connected by a more solid through-line.
I really enjoyed the art in this book. The design of some of the characters is really creative. Seeing some of these mystical characters dressed as hipsters, instead of their traditional costumes, was hysterical. Every page also features unique panel layouts. This makes the story feel very dynamic, even during the dialogue heavy scenes. Norton does a great job capturing the character's emotions and highlighting the small moments they share with one another. I also liked Norton's choice of color palette. The colors he uses give this graphic novel a very youthful feel that perfectly matches the tone of the dialogue.
Despite my complaints about certain story elements, Mystik U is a very cool graphic novel. I love that it features strong female characters and is geared toward a younger audience. One of my biggest complaints about the mainstream comic book industry is that most titles are written to appeal to old white men. Yes, this demographic buys a lot of comic books, but comics now enjoy a very diverse readership. Its great to see that DC is beginning to tell stories that appeal to this wider audience. Its a trend I'm looking forward to seeing continue in the years to come. A trend started by Mystik U.