Ariel Slamet Ries

A bit of a sophomore slump is evident here as the protagonist goes on the run and ends up in what's basically an extended training montage with a broom maker who wants to help her make her own broom for flying because, y'know, witches do that. So it's Yoda time, but without the tortured syntax. And it's middle of the series personal growth time, as opposed to exciting advances in the overall storyline time.

It's a good time, mind you, but I'm holding out for a better time in future volumes.… (more)

*Received via NetGalley for review*

A wonderfully illustrated, lush, and well-realized world is what awaits in Witchy, this graphic novel about a young girl who hates that her long hair marks her as a powerful magic user when it was precisely that that got her father killed. Even with her long hair, which is supposed to connote incredible magical talent, Nyneve isn't very good at her magic lessons and is the brunt of every joke her classmates can think of.

When her hair-shortening spell is discovered and she's conscripted in the Royal Guard, Nyneve cuts off her hair and is forced to flee, fearing for her life. On the run, she meets a group of hidden revolutionaries who practice different disciplines of magic than what she's used to. Fearing retaliation on them for harboring her, Neve runs off again, vowing to go far, far away.

She's joined by a talking raven and (in the sequel(s), I assume) her two school friends: Bantu and Prill, new members of the Royal Guard.

The characters are all lovely and well-drawn, distinct when they need to be. The only things is that it's hard to tell who's male and who's female: just because everyone has long hair doesn't mean that their faces and bodies need to be androgynous to the extent that they are.

A fun, standard tale of rebelling against something you don't like, even if you don't quite understand it yet.… (more)

Okay, first up, a warning: despite no indications on the cover or opening pages, this is obviously the first volume of what is intended to be a series. There is an arc of sorts, but not a complete story. Fortunately, I had an inkling that was the case so the non-ending did not taint the book for me.

Actually, I enjoyed it quite a lot and am hoping a second volume is not too far in the future.

In this fantasy world, hair-length is an indicator of how powerful a witch you have the potential to be. But it can also make you a target if the authorities think it means you'll be so powerful you'll be a threat to their rule. Having seen the consequences of that in her own family, Nyneve Ahmadzia casts a glamour on herself every day to make her hair appear shorter and keep herself under the radar, especially when it comes to conscription into the national military service. Obviously, things are not going to go as planned.

Terrific and powerful female characters (including one trans woman) fighting an unjust social system? Nice art? Count me in for the long haul!… (more)