Boom Studios books are hit or miss for me, there is no middle way. This time, I could not get into this. I did not care at all about what this book is giving me, the artwork was different than I expected it to be. I believe, that main issue was I did not read anything else, that is somehow connecter to this, I believe to others who read all tie-ins and whatever is the part of it, it was really great.

It's hard to turn a book into a graphic novel and bring something new, but by shifting the perspective slightly away to Quentin and to Alice, those who found Quentin distasteful as a POV character will find it easier to slip into the narrative. Alice is a wonderful character and I'm glad to see her front and center in this retelling.

This is an exceptional graphic novel. The ART was so good. Story line was so easy to read. 

I really don't want to discuss the plot since this is a graphic novel and I consumed it in one sitting but I do want everyone to discover this story on their own terms. It's intricate. It's breathtaking. It's heart-pumping. I was completely riveted to the pages. 

Thank you to NetGalley and publishing company for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I'm not usually a big fan of dark-fantasy graphic novels but this story was compellingly told in text and in art (the art is good but not amazing.) I had a hard time putting down this book and bought several copies for our library system's adult graphic-novel collection.

This is a book where you really have to be familiar with the source material, which I am not. It seemed like I was missing a lot of the story. 2019 was a year for witch comics and this fits the bill though.

I'm a fan of generally any retelling and especially Alice in Wonderland has interested me a lot. This graphic novel was a really nice addition to my reads, and the story was told beautifully in this book.

This was a beautiful edition for any fans of The Magicians.  The artwork is lovely and the story was quite interesting.  I think any fans of Alice should check this one out.

I loved the drawings and I loved the background story about Alice! It's just beautifully done and I devoured this book.

This was fine.
  I was very excited to read it, The Magicians being one of my favorite book series of all time, but this graphic novel just felt completely unnecessary, it just retells the first book but in Alice's perspective, and it doesn't expand more on her character, on the story.
  The art style was ok, it wasn't the best but it wasn't a favorite of mine.
  Despite my criticisms, it was still an enjoyable read because I just really love this story.

I really enjoyed Lev Grossman's trilogy The Magicians, and I found Alice's character to be one of the most fascinating. So I was really glad to be able to read this graphic novel, which allowed additional insight into Alice! The story was interesting and complemented the series well, and I think using a graphic novel as the medium to portray Alice's story was a nice touch. The images were also beautifully drawn and complemented the story well.

Thanks NetGalley for this incredible ARC, in exchange for an honest review.  Classic Grossman, beautifully rounding out the trilogy with a peak into Alice, arguably the most fascinating character he’s created (that’s probably just for me).  The unfolding of her character was really like finding a fresh Twinkie in your work cubbie, when you’ve forgotten your lunch, oddly satisfying.  Of course the story was amazing and Sturges created stunning artwork.  I’m quite pleased with this and look forward to sharing.

Telling the story through another character's eyes has been done before in the literary world, with little actual success. Changing the medium to graphic novel helped a great deal, along with the wonderful writing of this.

This graphic novel tells the original Magicians' story through Alice's perspective. It has all the main events from the trilogy which I loved, but it brings a new angle to the story, and I must say I really missed this character. The art was not spectacular, but nice enough. Perfect for fans of Magicians books and TV series.

I couldn't even get through this story. The art was not at all what I expected. After reading the beautiful world created by Lev Grossman I was disappointing to not see the world I had imagined.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher BOOM! Studios for allowing me to receive this ARC in exchange for an honest review! 

The Magicians Original Graphic Novel: Alice’s Story
By Lilah Sturges, Lev Grossman
Overall there was nothing that was bad about this graphic novel but unfortunately I felt the same for it as I did for the original novel, and that is just meh. I for whatever reason just do not connect to this world, characters, or story. On paper, it has everything that I should love, hidden magical world, adult urban fantasy, magic school, etc. It for some reason just feels drawn out with characters that I personally just do not like at all and I know that plenty of people do love it. The art was great and that is always a positive when it comes to graphics work!


3 Stars!!

The first book of Lev Grossman's <i>Magicians</i> trilogy told through the eyes of Alice.  Just to be clear, this is based on the novel, not the TV show so there will be some minor differences with the first 2 seasons of the show.  Typically, comic adaptations of novels aren't very good.  I was happily surprised with this one.  Sturges does a good job of reengineering the story to tell it from Alice prospective.  Some elements, such as much of what happens to Julia, are left out because that's Quentin's story, not Alice's.  

For those of you not in the know, the Magicians is sort of a darker version of Harry Potter mashed up with <i>The Chronicles of narnia</i>.  Our main characters are going to college to become magicians.  Most of them are also obsessed with the books about Fillory which they eventually find out is a real place.  Fillary is clearly a darker version of Narnia.

Bak's art is solid.  It has a less refined Peter Gross feel to it.

Although I do prefer the telly show to the actual novels, I really enjoyed seeing the characters we know from Alice's eyes. She's really developed from the person we saw in the first book. And I especially liked seeing past events in this comic with her brother Charlie. 

The artwork was also very pretty. 

My main problem was that the plot was rather lacking and slow. I'd definitely recommend it to fans of the books and show though, who want extra content and background on Alice.

Thank you Netgalley for a review copy of this book.

Unfortunately, this was not my kind of thing.  The drawings were OK I guess but the storyline had no rhythm.  Perhaps it is because I had not read any others, I'm not sure but didn't float my boat so to say.

I was able to read this graphic novel early thanks to NetGalley. I will admit that I only read the first book in the Magicians trilogy and really did not care for it. I just could not get past how whiney and ungrateful the main character was... But I found the one redeeming quality of the book was Alice. She was this universe's Hermione: smart, tough, and easily lovable. I was excited to see that she got her own venue to tell her side of the story set in the Magicians wold. Honestly enjoyed her viewpoint much more than Quinten's...

I requested The Magicians: Alice's Story even though I'm unfamiliar with Lev Grossman's series and the television show. I know both are popular... but this graphic novel is what finally piqued my interest. I thought it would give me a good feel for the characters and the setting, and I was intrigued by the promise of magic and a mythical world.

Unfortunately, the story felt long and was unexciting. We see what Alice was like as a child, observe her relationship with her parents, watch her obsess over an unresolved issue with a sibling, and then witness her time spent at school. Things picked up when the group went to Fillory, but it was also unimpressive. I felt like certain aspects of this story could've been left out to make this a quicker read, but the details started to feel tedious after awhile. I'm sure it was an interesting story for people familiar with the series, since they're already acquainted with the characters and the setting, but I would not recommend this for someone just starting out.

If you are familiar with this series, did you expect the ending? I thought it was rubbish and unnecessary. It made me angry. I did enjoy how everything eventually connected, but I felt like a lot of bad had to happen before something good came out of it. 

An interesting story, a peculiar setting, and unique characters make up The Magicians: Alice's Story. I may try the series at some point in the future, and that might make me like this one more. As it stands, it was mostly enjoyable but ultimately unremarkable.

Originally posted at Do You Dog-ear? on September 7, 2019.