Such a lovely graphic novel with witches. I've loved the worldbuilding and the characters! The plot was intriguing and I'm so happy I got to read it!

Sooo I'm probably gonna be yelling about this for the rest of my life, but it's fine. It's fiiiiiine.

In a world where your magic is determined by the length of your hair, Nyneve is desperately trying to hide her own, which, due to family history, she knows makes her entirely too powerful. Things get a bit out of hand when her diligent hair-do is forced out of its confines during the yearly conscription process and from there it gets a bit dark and a bit existential. Also, here's a crow named Banana. It's so much better than I'm making it sound, I promise.

The art is a story all on it's own (the author and artist is not afraid of colour and I <i>love</i> it) and while I love the story itself, I could just look at the illustrations and be satisfied. I gather they're not to everybody's taste, and that's fine, it's not a style I've seen a lot and it did take a moment to get used to it, but don't let it discourage you from reading this gift. It's worth it.

I'm currently on a graphic novel roller coaster and this so far is my favorite! The world setting and magic system are always something I focus on in these kind of plots and I love the one in this book! The art style is spectacular especially the backgrounds and the coloring of the whole novel! I also love how the population/cultures are mixed and the way it feels natural.

In this book, the length of your hair is what decides how much magic you have. But if your hair is deemed too long, then you can be seen as a potential threat to the kingdom and will be witch burned. Nyneve, our main character, witnesses the burning of her father and since then have hated the system and fears she might end up dying too. During the conscription which is where they choose who's joining the Royal Guards, she tried to sabotage her team so that she wouldn't be chosen but in the end, she was. What she does next is what makes the novel so much better and jumps the plot further. I can't wait to read more of this!

I found out that there are some trigger warnings in the website so check it out if you want but everything is mostly mild.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with the digital copy for an honest review.

THIS 👏 IS 👏 SO 👏 FREAKING 👏 GOOD 👏

With that being said, it's safe to say that Witchy is one of my favorite comics this year! The story started with a pretty intense scene. It's definitely a great way to lure you in and make you sympathize with the main character, Nyneve. I think I'm in love with almost every aspect of this book. The plot was intriguing, the world-building was amazing, and the characters were charming (even Banana the Crow has so much personalities!).

This comic reminds me so much of many things that I loved! Nyneve reminds me of Harry Potter, of course, who tried her best to stay grounded even though she's (most likely) the chosen one. The 'longer hair = greater power' bit reminds me of Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones. The witch's assessment reminds me of American Horror Story: Coven. That one scene where Nyneve released her braid to show Batu and Prill that she doesn't want to join the assessment not because she's afraid she will lose, but because she knows that she will win, reminds me of Luna from The 100 where she's basically saying the same thing, and I swear, I got massive goosebumps.

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

Final Rating — 5/5

A nice discovery!
In this universe, the magic power is determined by the length of the hair. The most powerful are enlisted in the guard of the kingdom but those with too long hair are killed because considered dangerous for society.

This was the case of Nyneve's father, whose death pushed her to hide her long hair.
But when her secret is up-to-date, Nyneve must choose: join the guard who killed her father or flee?
I enjoyed discovering this plot, and especially this magic, rather original.
The characters are endearing and this famous crow and it's banana's history intrigue me a lot ... To see later! ^^

It was good but I felt it was lacking something. Maybe if I see it developed more, story wise, in future issues I would be more interested in continuing the series.

The art style of Witchy is really interesting - while it's perhaps sketchier than some comics I've seen, there's a vivacity to the drawings which is really cool to see. You get a real sense of motion and fluidity in the way characters' actions are drawn, and the colours are really wonderful.

The plot is exciting and explores deep themes underneath its relatively simple storyline. I loved the diversity of the characters, in terms of race, gender and sexuality, and the commentary on ability through hair is fascinating. I did think it ended abruptly, but I know this is only volume 1, and I've read further in the online webcomic, so I'll be excited to see volume 2, when it's ready!

Witchy is a graphic novel that tells us the story of Hyalin, a land where the length of a person’s hair determines how powerful their magic is. When the Emperor felt threatened by the length of a witch or wizard’s hair, he would burn them to maintain the kingdom without rebellions. However, that was before he had been defeated, and now, though the new ruler seems honest and just, he too might be hiding some dark plans for the land of Hyalin.

The concept for this graphic novel is incredibly original, the magic system and the history of the land and people, was all really fascinating to read about. But unfortunately, I felt that something was missing. I wasn’t able to connect with any of the characters and the plot didn’t grip me completely. Though the magic system was pretty original and interesting, the plot wasn’t original at all and that surely influenced my enjoyment of the story.

Nevertheless, though this might not be a new favorite, I am glad I gave it a go.

Happy Reading,
Jabnia

This was right up my alley! The art style was absolutely gorgeous and the story arc really addicting to follow! Cannot wait to get more of Nyn's story.

Nyneve lives in a world where the length of your hair determines your path in life. Nyn doesn’t want to face the same fate her father did and decides to take matters into her own hands. Full of witches, magic, darkness and rebellion, this novel is sure to ignite the minds of more mature readers. The theme of this book goes even deeper than what stands at the surface. By the end you will be wishing there was more as the unique characters begin to unfold before your eyes.

I LOVED IT !
I felt so invested in the story, thanks to the characters, who are amazing and well-developped. I really appreciated the diversity of representation ; I also loved the political intrigue. I can't wait to read the rest of the story !

I received this from Lion Forge via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

CW: Death of a parent (in the past), bullying

Witchy takes place in a kingdom where your hair length determines how powerful your magic is. The longer your hair, the more powerful you are. But if your hair is perceived as too long, you’re considered an enemy of the kingdom and are burned for it. We follow Nyneve as she deals with being forced into a path she doesn’t want and resenting the kingdom for killing her father because of the length of his hair.

For whatever reason, the art was really not my thing. I think it might have been the colours chosen as well as I found the lines to look a bit sloppy.

I think the premise is a pretty cool one and I did enjoy what we learned about the world. However I found I didn’t really understand much about the world, and made it a bit confusing as to why certain things were happening.

The characters did have clear motivations which I enjoyed, but I don’t think any of them will leave a lasting impression on me.

I really appreciated how diverse this graphic novel was. There are multiple people of colour as well as a trans girl.

There were quite a few humourous moments that definitely lightened the tone.

Whilst reading I did enjoy the plot, but this volume only just scratched the surface of it and it wasn’t enough for me to feel like continuing.

Overall, this did nothing new for me but was a quick and fun read for the most part.

I went into reading <i>Witchy</i> by Ariel Slamet Ries intrigued and with very little by way of expectations. A story that followed a young girl in a society were the magical prowess one has is directly related to the length of your hair, where if your hair was <em>too long</em> you would be executed or praised for your powers, was fascinating. The concept behind this story was so brilliant, in fact, that it wouldn't have been surprising if the story fell flat as that does seem to happen rather often.

But <i>Witchy </i>was one of the most brilliant graphic novels I've ever read. Wonderfully diverse, this story features characters of different races, sexuality, a trans character, and characters with different body types. It even featured an interracial relationship which I frankly just don't see often enough. In a great many ways the characters were all exceptional. They felt so real, despite living in a magical society, and I adored getting to know each of them. You really felt connected to everything. And then there was the story.

I loved every bit of it.

Without getting into any spoilers, I think it's important to note that there is not only great world building, but the characters' backstories and motivations are portrayed so brilliantly and effortlessly that it's nearly impossible not to love this story. Understanding where each character comes from and how they feel is easily accessible to the reader. This is brilliant because it builds such a strong connection with the story as a whole and the person who is reading it.

Artwork was gorgeous throughout and exceedingly unique. You'd definitely be able to tell this story apart from all the others, to see it in a store and single it out. I definitely did not expect to fall in love with this story when I requested it, but I am so glad that I did.

<i>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Review goes live on my blog on 07/24/19. Until then, the link won't work.

This graphic novel was so amazing! The art style and the plot of the story was absolutely HUGE! This is a great book, sooooo great. I look forward to reading more from this author and this series in the future!

I would recommend this book to fans of The Amulet series, sarting with The Stonekeeper, and Avatar: The Last Airbender with the caveat that only time will tell if it is as thought-provoking and well-executed. Witchy does a lot of things well, such as including diverse characters (racially, body type, family structure), though the inclusion of pseudo-indigenous culture makes me twitch a little bit, especially because, as per usual, the main character is white (-passing) and blonde. It will also be interesting to see how the premise of magic being proportional to one's hair length will work out. Many cultures believe that there is power in long hair, but there is a lot to weave and braid (pun intended) due to the way that hair plays a huge role in gender expression and all the complexities of politics and identity that go with it.

Actual rating: 2.5

While Witchy definitely has interesting world building, I had a hard time getting into it. The art just didn't really work for me, unfortunately. And I found it quite hard to actually follow the story, as everything moved very slowly, but new scenes weren't really introduced either, which meant I had to infer a lot from context. All this made it quite a tiring read for me, so I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped.

Rep: trans side character, multiple characters of colour

CWs: past death of a parent, bullying

I just finished this book. The plot was actually excellent. I loved how everything went down. The pace was a little bit weird, sometimes too fast, the other times too slow. The characters were okey, it wasn’t bad nor good. I would love to know how this story will end...

The ARC of this book was provided by Netgalley.

Nyvene is truly more brave than anything or anyone in the whole book. It made me so sad everytime she called herself a coward. In her crazy world she knew what was right and wrong when others didn't yet see it. Her back story is heartbreaking & makes her that much stronger, she did/fought for what she believed in heart was right. The viceroy was power hungry & wouldn't have stopped being interested in Nyvene anytime soon. It was clear he was going to push her to her limits regardless. Her mother, Veda, was also surprisingly very powerful being a witch with hair on "shorter" side. I'm still very intrigued by the Raven, banana, & what he promised Nyvene. I can't wait to read more! I'm obsessed with Nyvene & hope she stays safe!

3.5 stars!

This was quite a interesting read. First the world and its magic system was truly distinct, especially based on hair of all things. Like any fantastical based story it was hard to get into the world and how the magic works, this took off a bit of the enjoyment. Same as trying to understand how the rules on magic based on hair and what is allowed and what isn't.

We follow our main character Nyneve whose father was killed in a witch hunt, since then she hides her long hair with magic, pretending it's much shorter, which causes her to be bullied in the school they are trained to see if they are gonna join the guard force that serves the kingdom.

I like our main character same as the side characters, the mother-daughter relationship between Nyneve and her mother was really sweet. This story also featured a trans side character which I absolutely adore!

It's a very interesting story regarding what it's expected of you and what you truly want to do and I'm very curious to know more.

I am totally in love with this graphic novel! First of all, the art and the colors are so beautiful, I just adored how this story was illustrated. However, the plot of this graphic novel that made me fall in love. Kingdoms, magic, powers, conspiracies and a girl trying to find her place, trying to stand for what she believes... I JUST NEED MORE!

I highly recomend this graphic novel and I can't wait to have a copy to call my own!