THE ART!? The romance!? The intrigue? I loved this, I was hooked from the first few panels. The characters are so cute and the story is fun.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for me to review!

Gorgeous art, great world building, many of my favourite tropes, and well paced! Definitely want to eat this entire series right up like a bag of potato chips.

I received an ARC for this book from Netgalley and the publisher in return for my honest review. The following opinion(s) are my own and hold no major spoilers.

I LOVED this graphic novel. I hadn't heard of this title before or that it was a Webtoon but this was so cute. I will most definitely be purchasing this when it releases.

This volume follows the life of Mercy as she deals with her fathers death. She hires a monster hunter to kill the creature that killed her father but everything seems to go haywire from there. Mercy and Jonah (our monster hunter) are now on a journey to correct an error that was made and fighting monsters on their way.

I will be binging the rest of the series on Webtoon until I can get my hands on the complete physical set :)

Mercy lives in a swamp on the outskirts of town with her father. Well, she did. Her father was killed by a creature that tore him apart. Marcy calls upon a monster hunter named Jonah to help track down the creature that killed her father before it can get to anyone else.

Marcy and Jonah head deeper in to the swamp to search for the creature. They find a Mist wolf. When Jonah tries to get rid of the mist wolf, the plan goes terribly wrong. This is where their story really begins.

The two of them set out on a quest to fix their mess up in the swamp. Along the way the two of them learn more about each other and they realize that they are both more than what they initially had thought. Mercy isnt just a quiet, sky , book worm. Jonah is more than a gruff monster hunter.

The story is well paced. We start off with them hunting the wolf, so there wasnt to much lull time. There is constant plot movement and character development.

I think the art works very well for the story. The color palette sets the mood.

I really enjoy the character development and the slow burn romance feel between the two of them. The volume leaves us on a cliff hanger that really draws the two main characters together and Im so excited to read the next volume. I need more of Jonahs back story.



Thank you NetGalley and First Second Books | 23rd St. for the Digital ARC for review.

The sheltered nature of the female protagonist is not my favorite, but the story looks like it will go somewhere interesting. The artwork and layout of the text is excellent.

A captivating and atmospheric start to what promises to be a unique series. The world feels alive and mysterious, drawing you in from the first page.

The art style is a standout — beautifully detailed, organic, and unlike anything else I’ve seen. It perfectly matches the eerie, otherworldly tone of the story.

There’s just enough revealed to spark curiosity, with hints of deeper lore and character arcs to come. I’m hooked and can’t wait for Volume 2!

I love the tension between Jonah and Mercy it’s so cute and I can’t wait to see where their relationship progresses later in the series. I absolutely love the adventures along the way to their main objective and love knowing that there’s more to Jonah than mets the eye!

**Thank you to NetGalley and Publisher for the ARC; all opinions are my own.**

4.5 ⭐️

This was a wonderful new adult GN! It had everything I like in my stories: monsters, mystery, adventure, and a quest. I also LOVED the art!

If you like:
☆monster hunters
☆spirit possession
☆unlikely allies/friendship
☆sort of Rick & Evie vibes
☆the Witcher meets Southern Gothic romance
Then pick this one up!!

Staying true to the synopsis, the chapter starts with a familiar Witcher scene (where he goes into the forest to slay a monster). The character depictions are good and the plot is interesting enough that I want to read the next installment! Hoping it does happen and soon :)

Thank you NetGalley, First Second Books & 23rd St. for giving me the opportunity to read this!

I subscribed to this on Webtoon immediately. I am hooked! I can not wait to read more about Mercy and Jonah. It has a very Witcher vibe and I am here for it. I love that Jonah is blonde. We never get to see a blonde male lead who is the hero. They are either dark haired or they have white/gray.

Thank you to NetGalley and First Second Books for the e-ARC of Of Swamp & Sea Volume 1!
5 / 5 ⭐

“Harmless nonhuman wanders where it shouldn’t, gets folks riled up. Suddenly the “monster” is the one that needs protecting.”

Of Swam & Sea is a completed 117 chapter work on webtoons that is now being traditionally published by First Second. I hadn’t read it before, but I really enjoyed both the characters and the artwork. This first installment of the series focused around Jonah the monster hunter and Mercy, an orphaned young woman possessed by the wolf spirit she hired Jonah to handle. I’ll definitely be taking a look at the rest of the series, and the traditionally published version of it will be well loved for fans of supernatural graphic novels.

Of Swamp and Sea is an adventure filled comic. It has monsters, interesting characters, and mystery. The format feels a bit "monster of the week" while the two main characters continue their journey for answers. I'm enjoying watching them learn more about each other and understand each other's struggles.
The art is great! The monster designs are interesting, the world is vibrant, and the action is easy to follow.
This is a very solid first volume that starts with a bang and draws you in from your beginning. I'm excited to read more.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this arc.

This volume follows Mercy as she deals with her father's death. She hires a monster hunter, Jonah, to kill the creature that killed her father. While Jonah is trying to get rid of the monster, it possesses Mercy. Now they are on a mission to remove the creature from Mercy. So far, I have enjoyed this volume. I like the journey that Jonah and Mercy are on. I like Mercy, and I enjoy the scenes of her talking to Jonah about books. Jonah is still growing because of his mysterious nature. However, I love how kind he is towards Mercy and the rest of the people. The cliffhanger worked because I want the next volume quickly. I like the artwork and the color scheme.

A monster hunter and a woman possessed by a monster in one of his jobs-gone-wrong. This was a great start to the series--it really gives you a good sense of who the characters are and lays the foundation for their growing relationship.

Jonah reminded me a lot of Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher, partly because of his profession, but also because of his gruff exterior and sympathetic heart. Mercy is your typical everywoman...except for the fact that she's possessed by a feral beast that comes out in moments of anger or danger.

The story plays out like a road trip as the two travel in search of a cure before the beast inside Mercy takes over completely. Like The Witcher, there are many sidequests along the way, and the line between monster and human is sometimes blurred.

The art style is really cute and the ending has me intrigued. Will definitely continue the series!

Thank you First Second Books | 23rd St. for providing this ARC for review!

Favorite quote(s):

“I've never been far from home. I wonder what's waiting out there for me? Beyond the town. Beyond the swamp. What will the world see when it looks at me? Will it see me? Or will it see the wolf?”


Review:

This comic is so good! I had started it on Webtoon ages ago and am slowly catching up. Being able to go back to the start was great. I love the characters so much. Mercy is very determined, and while he can seem reserved, Jonah is kind and genuinely cares about doing the right thing. Their journey is just beginning, and already it's been an adventure with possession, the cute scene with the brancher and babies, and even more. It's great to see the bond between Mercy and Jonah growing, even this far. I love how they are opening up to each other, even if it's slow. Each has their secrets and stories to tell. The writing is great, and the story is coming along nicely so far. The art is amazing, and I love the details and style so much. That was one hell of a cliffhanger, and I am excited for more.

The art in this book is beautiful and complements the script in mostly the right ways. The monsters are beautiful, the tension feels realistic, the characters are interesting. I look forward to reading the next volume and figuring out what the other half of the title refers to--understanding the by the end of the first volume is a basic expectation that I have as a reader, though, so I rounded 4.5 down.

ARC provided by NetGalley.

This has been on my radar in Webtoons forever and I really appreciate getting to read the GN version. It's always interesting to see how the artist adapts from a web comic to a fixed layout.
Love the art style, love the monster adventure and enjoying the slow burn romance between the two main characters.
A great start to the series and looking forward to continuing.

This was a cute, quick little read. I got a bit lost when Jonah, ah, did his thing at the end of the book, although it did hook me enough to pick up volume 2 when it becomes available.

Seemingly dropped in the middle of an already developed story, we find ourselves on an adventure quest of sorts to kill a monster. Mercy has hired a hunter named Jonah to get rid of the being that killed her father, but during the hunt, she is possessed by it. So what started as a mission to end the beast’s life has turned into journey to have it exorcised.

I enjoyed the story, but in the 250+ pages, there isn’t really enough time to see what I assume will be a romance between the two main characters. So I’m interested to see how the story progresses in the next volume and how they fall in love.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my eARC.

A great start to what looks like it will be a fabulous fantasy graphic novel. The story ends just as it begins unfortunately, but I am hopeful the future volumes will be available sooner rather than later