Grimoire Noir is surely something! It's a fantasy, ghost story and crime story all in one with a noir twist to it. It's set in Blackwell, which is a small town where girls are witches because of an old happening and the town is closed, so that the witches cannot leave without losing their powers. Bucky's little sister goes missing and he starts to unravel the mystery and eventually the mystery of the whole town, and there's a grand plan for the witches to get out with their powers of course. The setting is very interesting and well constructed. You have to read till the end to know what happens. The rhythm is wonderful and the spookiness is awesome. There's this looming darkness and loss all over the pages and was it really a happy end? The magic was thick and suffocating, which was great.

The art looks noir and still oddly cute, which is an interesting combination. It slightly bothered me that Bucky looks like an adult, but otherwise the art is more than fine. The color world is perfect with brown, black and violet hues with magical touches all over the place. The girls look better than the boys and men actually, which is kind of a bummer, since our main character is a boy. The other thing was the unsolved things that bothered me like the case with the brother that lost his soul and whatnot. Perhaps I wished for plot strings to get tied better. Still, an awesome comic and something totally different once again.

With a title like Grimoire Noir you'd think I'd put together that this graphic novel is...well...a noir. But I didn't, so going into it I was pleasantly surprised by the noir-ish elements and atmosphere before immediately being sucked in by the absolutely gorgeous art style and story.

Graphic novels really have to appeal to me because they to not only draw me in, but keep my attention and Grimoire Noir definitely did that. A classic film noir-like story complete with a dark, smokey atmosphere, long shadows, and a juicy mystery that takes place in the modern town of Blackwell. In Blackwell, every girl is born with magic, called Charm and none of the magic users can leave the town less they fall into a magically induced coma that strips their power from them. The story centers around Bucky, a boy whose younger sister mysteriously disappeared. In her grief, his mother causes terrible rainstorms that threaten to flood the town and his sheriff father is bound by the laws of the town to protect every magic user even if they might have kidnapped his daughter.

But Bucky can freely move about the town, discovering a mysterious coven of witches who have their claws in his once best friend Cham, a witch whose being released from parole after trying to gift her brother magic, and a well that holds the secret of the Charms' origin.

The noir elements are spectacular and honestly, one of the highlights of the book. However, the noir elements constrain the story too, preventing it from flowering almost. The last few pages, the reveal of who kidnapped Bucky's sister was almost disappointing. It's like the author thought a big enough reveal would offset how there was more build up for the red herrings then the actual perp. But even with a weak ending, the art and the overall tone/atmosphere of the novel still makes this a fun read.

Bucky Orsen is a normal boy living in a town where many of the female population of the town are witches. When his sister goes missing it's up to him to locate her since his mother is far too devastated to help with the search. Is it the group of witchy bad girls his former best friend is hanging out with? Is it the mad witch soon to be released from prison? Where could one little girl get off to. Grimoire Noir is an interesting, fantastic read with an intriguing mystery that is captivating with a satisfying ending.

Magic, witches, and a mystery mixed with amazing illustrations make this a great graphic novel! Grimoire Noir is the story of Bucky Orson who is determined to solve the mystery of his missing sister. After all, investigating is in his blood as he is the son of the town sheriff. Set in a town where all the women are witches, Bucky's sister goes missing. While they have powers they are limited by a barrier which prevents them from ever leaving their town. The witches are protected by laws and therefore, the police really cannot do much to search for Bucky's sister.
Bucky takes matters in his own hands and sets off to solve the mystery.

The illustrations are outstanding! Dark and grim, they illustrate the sadness Bucky's family feels and the power of the witches. An excellent read!

This book was received as an ARC from First Second Books in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was totally unexpected from what I've read in the description. Also, I did not expect this book to be a graphic novel which made the story totally better. As I read the book, I could not help but think that this is the life for most pre-teens and then they get hit with an unfortunate situation and are forced to step up and save their loved ones. This book is a prime example to never judge a book by the cover and this book was even better than what I had imagined it to be.

We will definitely consider this title for our YFiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

Blackwell is a haven, of sorts. The town's girls are all born with powers. The charmed ones, or witches, whichever you prefer, are protected by laws against witch hunts and a barrier around the town that keeps them contained. Bucky Orson is your average boy in Blackwell, meaning there's nothing special about him. Boys don't have the capacity for magick. His little sister however, is one of the more powerful witches born in the town for some time. She's still young, but that hasn't stopped others from seeking her out for her power. Then, she disappears. Sheriff Orson, Bucky's father, and the police are unable to investigate into the charmed ones because of their laws, so it's up to Bucky to get to the bottom of the mystery. He teams up with an old friend, a witch named Chamomile, to investigate the town's coven, the Coven of Crows. As danger lurks in the shadows, Bucky begins to unravel the town's past and secrets that're keeping his sister out of his reach.

I loved the art style of this book. The sepia, muted coloring of everything, but with focus on certain color charateristics. Cham's blue eyes and Heidi's purple toys. It had just the right affect of drawing the reader's focus. The story was also very compelling. It hits all the notes of a traditional detective noir, with the addition of magic. I would love to see more of these characters. I neeeeeeed more. Thanks to NetGalley and First Second for the eARC.

Absolutely fabulous! Perfect blend of creepiness and adventure. While I wouldn't advise it for young readers, older readers with concerns about aversion to horror should feel free to read on without fear.