An isolated secret school of magic.

Wizards from ancient magic bloodlines.

Staircases that lead every which way and change direction underfoot.

Siblings, rivals, and lovers that fill the castle halls and fight to be the best witch or wizard of their age.

It sounds familiar, doesn’t it? I’m actually talking about Monomyth, a magic-filled triumph of a graphic novel releasing next month. And, yes, it’s supposed to feel familiar but not because its derivative or trite. Monomyth is full of bloody magic and fire, but it also has a lot to say about family, art, and survival.

Monomyth is best if you throw out all your expectations of what a secret magic school should be. Forget the twelve-year-old boy with a lightning scar and his bearded headmaster and go into Monomyth with only the vaguest memory of his story and school. Because Monomyth is a story of its own. One desperate wizard casts one last spell on the eve of his death. His spell summons seven people from ancient wizarding bloodlines to a dilapidated wizarding school on a remote island. Enormous magical monsters are out to get them, and the new wizards must quickly learn to use their magic or die. If they use the magic incorrectly, they’ll die. Monomyth is brutal, intense, and full of death, blood, and even necromancy. However, it also tells clear stories about family, grief, regret, and staying true to oneself.

Monomyth knows that it feels familiar. Characters look around them at the wizarding classrooms full of scrolls and weird staircases and think, “Looks eerily familiar, wouldn’t you say?” Monomyth nearly goes so far as to directly address its influencing author and series. A character asks, “Can you separate the art from the artist?” She has an answer to her rhetorical question, but you’ll need to check out the series to read it.

Final Thoughts: A+ for originality and the brilliantly brutal take on a wizarding school setting. For such a deadly comic, the conclusion was a bit too easy for me and for the characters. I guess they did deserve a bit of a break after all that trauma, though. I’m hoping we get more in this series and that it continues with its dark themes. A++ for representation. Multiple BIPOC and queer characters in the cast. An excellent Teen+ graphic novel.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Thanks to Mad Cave Studios for an advanced copy of this graphic novel for review! All the above thoughts are my own.

Full blog post review will be posted on November 21, 2023, at the following link: https://backshelfbooks.com/2023/11/21/graphic-novel-review-monomyth-vol-1-by-david-hazan-and-cecilia-lo-valvo/

I have mixed feelings about this story.

To start with the good, the art is moody and in many panels beautiful, the premise is interesting, and the monsters the cast faces are scary. I did like some of the main characters—Julia and her story line in particular were standouts. However, it's hard to create a graphic novel with this many characters, this much world building and this quick of pacing and not lose something in the process.

We got to see a bit of background about many of the characters, but it was hard to get attached to any of them or get a sense of their personalities with the pace the story was moving at. I also felt that the ending was disjointed and a bit rushed. Kole's characterization specifically shifted a lot without a lot of set up toward the end. There's also one section of the book where the art style completely changes (I'm assuming due to creative turnover on the art team) which was a bit jarring.

Overall I was interested, but not totally satisfied with the follow through.

I really enjoyed this! I found it entertaining and powerful. The art was stunning and I loved the darkness of it. The characters were also enjoyable (if the ones you hated). The backstory felt a bit jumbled or not explained well and pacing occasionally was a little off but nothing so serious that it took away from the enjoyment of the story.

Also loved the rep in this!

Highly recommend. Check content warnings.

Oof, this was a wild ride. First off, the art is gorgeous. Dynamic, grotesque, and beautiful. It was also probably the thing I liked most, and what bumped this up to three stars for me.

What enticed me to read this was the premise of a magic school. It wasn't quite that... 'Seven people find themselves trapped in a murderous castle' is still intriguing, though. This was more horror adjacent than I expected, which is not quite my cup of tea. On top of that, the pace of this graphic novel was so fast I had a hard time connecting with the characters. I would have liked to see them and the (back) story more fleshed out. The flashbacks detracted from the plot in my opinion, and were quite hard to follow. I think this story suffers from trying to do a too much.

Overall, I don't regret reading this but I'm not sure I'll continue the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for the ARC!

This was a fascinating premise and an interesting plot. I really liked the characters and the illustrations were beautiful in this book.