Stéphane Fert

 Recommended: yes!
For a dark but loving story, for compelling magical lore, for art that carries an impressive amount of mood with it

Thoughts:
OK YEP I LIKED THIS ONE! But y'all -- that ending -- I need Volume 2 ASAP.

Before getting to the ending though, the journey (literally) of the story was one I flew through. I was quickly invested in the characters and world, which is impressive and critical when you've only got 120-ish pages to tell this first part of the story. To get me to care show more about these characters in a short span was key to how much the rest of it impacted me.

This book feels like hope. That might sound a bit strange, given the perils they face in it and how overwhelming it all seems, but despite the darkness -- of the world, of their situations, even of the art -- there's a lot of love between the characters that brings the light to balance. The art can be formless at times, which makes sense given the nature of mist, and helped establish a feeling of disquiet that mirrored the characters' emotions well.

Favorite panel / scene was when we see more of Grizette's power. I got goosebumps all over and just looked at that page for a few minutes. Favorite little addition is the sound effects like SBOUF that just felt so accurate and made me smile.

One tiny spoiler I guess? Though I would argue it didn't matter at all and came out of nowhere and felt forced --  what was up with Helen kissing Temperance? What?? I'm sus of Helen already but that was even weirder.

Thanks to Europe Comics and NetGalley for a free copy. This is my honest review. show less

When opening up a new graphic novel there are two equally important things I judge it based on. Firstly the art needs to be cohesive, well done, interesting to look at, and connected to the story. Secondly the story itself needs to make sense in the format, have an interesting plot, and characters I relate to and enjoy. This graphic novel hits both marks with ease.

The art is stunning, ties into the plot, and is used to tell us about the world in the story. We can see how the reds and greys show more specifically are used to make plot points clear to us, the readers, while tying the art more to the world being built. I also enjoyed the cozy witch vibes of the world being displayed in the art, seeing old women looks like old witchy women is always a true pleasure.

In terms of story, this graphic novel had a story that took off fast, slowed down a bit in the middle of the first half and then by the midway point was speeding along again. The pace could be more smooth, but it help my interest at all points of the plot. I loved the old witchy women, and Temperance's outsider but lovable persona was easy to like.

All in all I would highly recommend giving this a read if you enjoy cozy, witchy, worlds with a touch of dystopia and lesbianism.

I received and ARC of this book at no cost/for free, I am leaving this review voluntarily and all thoughts and opinions are wholly my own and unbiased. show less