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spenkevich 's review for:
Grimoire Noir
by Vera Greentea
With summer receding into autumn, I pulled Vera Greentea and Yana Bogatch’s Grimoire Noir down from the shelves during a thunderstorm the other night to revisit this spooky and artistically gorgeous graphic novel. I am a huge sucker for noir aesthetics and plot which this book certainly delivers on But wait, there’s more (to be read in Billy Mays’ voice)! Blackwell is cut off from the rest of the world because its inhabited by witches and ghosts and the story is complete with a fairly rich lore on how they came to be and why only women are able to possess these powers. While a bit light and rushed on plot even with all it’s twists and turns, the artwork more that delivers and this is such a fun ride any hiccups in the narrative are easily glossed over making this a perfect read for spooky season.
The noir elements are delightful here with greyscale art, endless rain instead of fog, loads of depression and a detective in a trenchcoat and fedora aided exclusively by women in his search for his missing sister. Nobody smokes but my noir itch has been scratched and there are plenty of red herrings to misdirect the plot in order for more backstory and worldbuilding to slowly seep in. The book also delivers on witchcraft elements with a mysterious coven, cool powers unique to each witch, and lots of ghosts and dark narrative elements that will creep under your skin. It’s well constructed and a lot of fun.
The story sometimes feels rushed but overall it works. There is a great tension between the two protagonists, Bucky and Chamomile, who were friends until Bucky’s relative jealousy of her witch abilities began to fracture their bond. She aids him in his search for his likely-kidnapped sister, but keeps her distance and functions as a sort of femme fatale for the noir aspects. The flashback scenes of their friendship and their fumbling attempts to reconnect are moving and add another great layer to the already textured emotionally somber and heavy tone of the book. Narrative aside, the characters really drive it and there is a very wonderful and diverse cast for the story to play with, most notably the witches’ coven and a slow-burn side-story about a powerful family from which the coven leader, Matilda, belongs. Luckily all the side-plots converge and the conclusion feels very satisfying and even surprising. A noir success for sure.
What really makes this story fun, however, is the art. Everything is highly stylized and absolutely gorgeous. The landscapes are eerie and detailed and the character designs are outrageously cool. The greyscale art has only small touches of color on occasion, which really pop, suchs as Cham’s piercing blue eyes. The characters are very expressive, the frames feel very fluid, and the art produces such an engaging and eerie tone it is hard to put down yet you’ll find yourself pausing to get lost in the lovely art.
While the story might only deserve 3 stars, 5 stars can’t contain the brilliance of the art and giving this anything less than 4 feels cheap. My 10 year old has been obsessed with this book for 2 years now and is frequently found rereading it under the covers at night. It is quick but lasting, and just a fun-filled ride. Get in the spooky season mood with Grimoire Noir>!
4/5
