Sailor moon, Harry Potter vibes.
Racism.
Magic.
The kkk.
I really enjoyed the Illustrations , they are very vibrant and lively.

Pros:
-great social commentary
-adorable art style
-fast paced plot and likable characters

Cons:
-would’ve liked more topics to be more delved into
-would like it to be a series rather than stand alone

I wasn’t a huge fan of this. However I am not going to rate it because I am not the intended audience, being a white woman the intended audience I believe is young African Americans. I felt the story highly revolves around race, which again nothing wrong with that but I was thinking it was going to be more about magic and adventure!

I am putting a 2 star rating just to send this in. But again, I am not star rating it on goodreads.

Thank you for this arc!
I loved the art Style and the premise of this graphic novel but unfortunately it did fell flat for me. I loved the racial discussions however, sometimes I felt the jokes were over the top.

This graphic novel had a great art style and was a quick, easy and fun to read. Some parts I felt needed more explanation and came across as wiite rushed. Other than that, I liked this graphic novel and hope to see more of it!
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

<img src=https://media.giphy.com/media/ZCr4nXIN7wx3FvGeEc/giphy.gif>
I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is hilarious and brilliant! Had me laughing and wishing for more.

St. Ivory Academy opens its doors to its first black wizard, Tom Token. And as life has showed us before, the whites don’t take it too well. Things start getting creepy, the white-ies go mad, and this is all just another ploy the white men set up?

First and foremost, DJ Kirkland did an amazing job with the illustrations. The story was so good and the jokes? AGAIN. FUNNY AF. Daniel Barnes is a genius. The way they combined humor and talk about racism and stereotypes about Black people. Everything about <b>The Black Mage</b> is amazing. It shows us how we often think of how we are "advancing" as a society while still maintaining the racism and oppression. Heck, check the reviews and you'll see at least one person saying it's racist towards white people *insert a laughing emoji here*. I cannot wait to own a physical copy of this book (and hopefully that beautiful hardcover)!!

An interesting graphic novel twist on the popular school-for-magicians stories, though one I’d recommend more for adult readers than kids.

This graphic novel was received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A young black man is invited to a so-far whites-only magic school in the US, finds out he wasn’t the first black mage to attend the school after all, roots out horrific secrets, and lives to tell the tale.

I was really hoping for something more nuanced, based on the synopsis of this graphic novel, but in the end found the story thought-provoking. The art was cute and did work well in anime-style, especially the fight scenes. I did like the crow being named Jim and found the ghosts of Harriet Tubman and Fredrick Douglass intriguing. That all said, I wouldn’t say that the story broke new ground, and I did find some of the story very over-the-top. For parents thinking of this as a possible read for their children, I advise reading it first. I do think readers with a grounding in history and current politics will probably get a lot more enjoyment out of the story than younger children.

I really enjoyed this quick graphic normal. The story was super interesting and I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen. I loved how history was weaved into it, and I loved how the good guys overcame what they were experiencing. The illustrations were beautifully done as well. I will definitely recommend my students read this story. Thank you for providing a review copy!

I received this graphic novel from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

What in the actual fuck did I just read. The battles were epic and superduper WOW, the close-ups when things got tough were great, there was magic, there was glitter, there was an awesome art. But the whole black stuff and racism and KKK stuff? It just weirded me out and I felt very uncomfortable reading this. I don't even want to write a review for this.

Given it a 2 stars for the epic scenes and the art, but oh so many stars NOPE for the rest.

Thank you Netgalley for providing this ARC for me in exchange for an honest review!

This graphic novel was a quick, easy, and fun read for me. The art was pretty and nice to see as well and definitely made the story more enjoyable to read. Some parts did feel a bit rushed to me and some things needed to be explained more, such as the magical system involved throughout the story. Other than that, I liked this graphic novel a lot and hope to see more of it!

When Tom is accepted into St. Ivory’s Academy as the first black mage in its historically white populace, he expects to be treated different, but he was unprepared for how different that is.

This was action packed and really delved into overt racism that happened historically as well as currently in our society. I really enjoyed the art and most especially the story line. I just wish there was less of the fighting scenes because they take up the majority of the comic and I wanted more of the storyline and characters and less of the “boom”, “wham”, “pow” sound effects with a flash of light on the page and not much else. Overall I am excited to read more in this comic series and am just hoping for less of the fight scenes.

actual rating: 3.5

This was maybe a bit too simplistic or 'on the nose' at times but it was funny and entertaining and I liked the main characters and the art style. At first I thought it was a bit much that ALL the wizarding stuff had synonyms for white in their names and that the main character was literally named 'Token', but this book REALLY leaned into the satire aspect of its plot and ultimately I think that was a good thing. I would have honestly liked for it be a little bit longer so we could get more depth in the characters, but it was a fun quick read and definitely got its message across.

*3.75 stars
Graphic novels aren't my typical read, but I saw this book everywhere, and when I saw there was a chance to read it from NetGalley, I couldn't help myself.

A very important read about racism was taken from a different and magical perspective. The graphic novel format makes it easier to read and can even be geared to younger readers to learn more about this topic. The writing is highly influential and the artwork is stunning. It truly felt like a Harry Potter and Dread Nation mix with the institute of magic and fighting the evil that comes to hunt them.

This graphic novel was not afraid to go where it needed to go for it to be impactful. With magic being such a loved topic in fiction and racism such a prominent and important topic in our world, having the two collide is so well done in The Black Mage. The visual side with it being a graphic novel really adds to its impact, because we are actually seeing these people experience these issues. Overall a great read and very well done.

This was an adorable graphic novel reminiscent of Harry Potter. I enjoyed how the bad guy resembled the 'KKK' and that the novel brought to light other racial issues, however, I did think it was very heavy handed. I wish the author would have given the reader more credit and trust to pick up on racial inequality without using typical stereotypes that seemed almost harmful. It was enjoyable and I think students on the younger side will really enjoy it.

Thank NetGalley for giving me this copy for review. This in no way has affected my opinion.

This is my third or fourth comic book and the format didn't suit me. I didn't realise reading the fonts would be this much of an issue. Sorry I couldn't read and review it.

- 3 Stars -

Thanks so much to NetGalley for letting me read an eARC of this graphic novel!

Tom Token is the first black student to be admitted to St. Ivory Academy as part of the school's "Magical Minority Initiative." But he notices that something is off when he gets there, and he quickly realizes that the school's Initiative has more sinister motives.

The narrative discusses racism through a beloved trope: magical boarding schools! There are also elements of historical fiction grounded in the Civil War. The art was also amazing, and it's influenced by iconic stories like Harry Potter, Final Fantasy, and Sailor Moon.

However, I'm really on the fence about this graphic novel. The concept is so interesting, but the pacing was too fast, which made the plot fall flat for me. When there were reveals, they lasted mayyybe a few pages, and the ending had me disappointed.

I was thinking that maybe this would be a series, but the ending has me thinking it will be a standalone, which adds to the underwhelming plot. If it becomes a series, then I could look past this condensed plot, and would have rated it higher, because it becomes essentially an introduction to the tone, setting, and direction for a series (and this story would make for a really cool series!).

Overall, I wanted more plot and character development, but this is absolutely worth reading. I recommend it!

I received an eARC of this graphic novel through Netgalley, in exchange for my honest review.
The Black Mage was such a fun, easy to read graphic novel. Loved the art and the colors. The story was easy to follow, the topic was great and I really liked how it was treated.

[Tinny spoilers ahead]

I loved the main character from the first second. Despite being the first black mage accepted in the prestigious St. Ivory Academy, he kept his cool and remained the same. Also, the way he stood up to his bullies, not backing down or doubting himself was a nice touch. Was also impressed by the fact that Lindsay, Tom`s buddy – the person in charge of showing him around, was an honest and decent person, and stood up for him despite what everyone else was saying without doubting any second she was doing the right thing.

The school`s atmosphere was very nicely described, but it would`ve been nice to find out more about the classes and students lives at the school, the history of the school and it`s other traditions. And maybe more about the ghosts`past and the other students.

It was a fun short story and I enjoyed reading it .

I enjoyed that the story addressed racism with obvious and subtle references. There was character development but perhaps the plot could have been stronger. The illustrations were very good.
I give it 4 star.

Aside from its gorgeous art style, I'm not a fan of this comic. The pace was inconsistent, mostly too fast and too full of action packs, few scenes were jumping from one to another without any explanation, and I don't think I really get the plot and where it's heading. The main character was the chosen one since the first page and there's no backstory about him or how he ended up at an all-white wizarding school. The faux Hermione wasn't that interesting either and feels one-dimensional.

Thank you Oni Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Final Rating— 2.5/5