Painfully earnest in a sweet way, it can be a bit cringe at times, but Kirkland does some amazing stuff with what is some really difficult base concepts (the school administrators all wear Klan hoods! magical girl Harriet Tubman!) to execute. Very earnest, kind of cringe at times, not that difficult to see where it's ultimately going to go.

Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this as much as I hoped to. It had a really cool concept but didn’t manage to meet my expectations. I liked the graphics, which made for a quick read. The facial expressions were well-drawn, which made me like it more and it easier to read the book faster.

I liked the characters. I liked the approach that they went in with the book. You have your seemingly standard magic boarding school and then it turns out to have that trope be flipped. That part of the story I did enjoy. Something I always really like seeing is when the panels in graphic novels seem like they’re moving. I’ve had instances where the characters looked wooden. Their expressions were still and the panels don’t flow into each other nicely. Luckily this wasn’t the case with The Black Mage. Even though I wasn’t the biggest fan, at least I liked reading it.

"The Black Mage" is an exciting, dark story about Tom Token, the beneficiary of the "Magic Minority" initiative at his school. When Tom begins to discover strange clues and receives strange messages on his phone, he and his friend, Lindsay, encounter a conspiracy dating back to the American Civil War that could cost Tom his own soul.
This book plunges you into a magical world full of mysteries and dangers, where Tom and his friend must use all their ingenuity and magical abilities to discover the truth and avoid a disastrous magical fate.
If you like dark adventure and mystery books, "The Black Mage" is an option you will love.

The Black Mage is a fun and adventurous graphic novel with a strong premise and world building. On the flip side, it feels incredibly rushed. I'm not sure what went into this decision, but it feels like a feature film that's been cut into a single half-hour television episode with the way there was so much potential to flesh out so many different aspects of the world these characters lived in and their backstories. Despite my disappointment here, this is a great work to recommend for teens looking for stories about magical schools with more themes of diversity than the most well-known title in that genre.

This graphic novel was hilarious and well-drawn, definitely worth the money and the hype, and I hope will be successful!

The artwork was amazing and I really enjoyed the story as well. Loved the dynamic between Tom and Lindsay and I honestly could read many more stories about them. Wish it had been longer or had sequels, though, cuz I really felt like reading more after finishing my copy!

Oh my god, this was so terrible. I can't believe how on the nose this story about a racist world of magicians is. The people who liked it call it a parody but I think it's written in earnest. This is the kind of thing conservative hillbillies will hold up to make fun of because of how "woke" it is. It's about the St. Ivory school of magic that opens up its doors to its first token black student actually named Tom Token. He has a crow familiar named Jim. The headmaster actually wears clan robes and is named Lynch. Everyone with a speaking part in the book except for the white girl who becomes Tom's ally and the ghosts of Harriet Tubman, Frederic Douglas and John Henry are all stereotypical racists. The whole thing is just written too poorly to take seriously or learn any kind of lesson from. Kids aren't stupid, but this book is. Yes it has a good message at its heart. It's just so poorly written that it's going to get laughed at instead of getting any kind of point across.

The Black Mage is a fantastic graphic novel that brings magic and fantasy together in a way that's interesting. Can't wait to read more from this author in the future.

The Black Mage is a stand along graphic novel that is part Harry Potter part Little Witch Academia. Our main character, Tom Token is the only black student at an all white school. (Nudge.. Nudge.. get it... he's the token black kid..) Tom also a familiar named Jim (who is a Crow). He meets Lauren and she helps him solve a mystery about a missing student and in the process they uncover a conspiracy at the school.

This deals with the KKK and racism, and I don't want to make an opinion on if that is handled correctly, but I will say I can see how this could be a good conservation starter with a younger reader about racism. This had some fun pop culture references that didn't feel forced. I loved the art style, but felt it was too short. This had the potential to be longer. We could have had some more character development and more time to see a friendship blossom between Tom and Lauren.

This book covered some important topics and great points in a short graphic novel. The graphics in this novel is amazing as well.

I don't know what the point of this was supposed to be but it seems like the most racist book I have ever read. A black student is the only one admitted to an all white magic academy and while that should be encouraging, the teachers uniforms are designed as KKK lookalike outfits. If there was supposed to be a positive message in here somewhere I didn't see it.

I received an eARC via netgalley and the publisher; all opinions are my own.

A fun quick read with an adorable art style. I did think that overall it was a bit simplistic where I would've loved a deeper dive into the themes of this, and it seemed a bit too "on the nose" but was still an enjoyable read. I do think it's very important to showcase the reality that most black people, especially kids, deal with on a day to day basis but I do wish we had gotten a bit more from this. I would still recommend it to it's target audience as I understand I'm over the age range this book was written for and most children need themes a bit more spoon fed to them than people my age.

We follow the story of the first black student accepted at St. Ivory Academy, a historically white wizarding school.

The perfect action packed first volume exploring racism in a modern world fantasy setting. At some times it might have felt a bit simple but it was funny and entertaining and I liked the main characters and the art style. I thought the pace was a bit fast and I feel like I would've enjoyed it even more if there was more back story, about the characters and about the school.

For me it lacked development and world-building, and all just happened too fast but this series still has a lot more to offer and to explore so the reader can get excited about what is still to come. All in all this was a great first volume about racism, wizardry and friendship

DNF

It has been a while since I got this book and unfortunately I don’t really have any interest in reading the book anymore. I am also now a lot more picky with the books I request and choose to read.

I want to thank NetGalley for a copy of The Black Mage for an honest review.

I had so much fun reading this as I have never read a graphic novel like this before. It was a quick, fun and has a great message. It had a lot of action and the art was just beautiful.
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When I first read about the premise of The Black Mage (a magical school desegregating with nefarious motives), I was DEFINITELY intrigued, and it delivered.

The plot is full of mystery and suspense, and it provides distinct commentary on issues of racism at large and racism in education. Much of it is delivered through heavy-handed (but honestly fun and funny) satire, such as the main character being named Tom Token and having a pet crow named Jim.

The art is vibrant, fun, and cartoony. Not only was the art fun and enjoyable, but it delivered some really great action scenes, giving us the kind of fights you hope for when you open comics promising magical fight scenes.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed this one, both for the serious issues it dealt with and the great fun of the humour and the action. I would definitely recommend it.

Thank you to Oni Press and Netgalley for the chance to review this copy of The Black Mage. I really enjoyed the writing style and the colourful graphics. This was a fun and enjoyable read and will defiantly will be picking up more by the author duo in the future.

I unfortunately was unable to read this book before it was archived. But I look forward to grabbing a copy.

I liked where The Black Mage was heading but components of it fell a bit flat for me. I love pulling the race conversation into comics, and especially into fantasy comics, but components fell a bit on the nose for me. That being said, I ordered multiple copies for my library and have hopes that it will be a continuing series even though it finished up very neatly. Kirkland's artwork was fantastic which is always a high point for me. While the race conversation doesn't hold punches, I would recommend it for tween readers and not just teens.

A delightful graphic novel! A wonderful world with great accompanying illustrations.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.