I enjoyed this a lot. I wasn't sure I was going to like it. First off, I really liked the art. It was manga/anime-ish, Lindsay was a Sailor Moon copy, a little bit Charlie Brown-ish at times, and the coloring really pops boldly. Second, I had no idea what I was getting into. The storyline is a bit Harry Potter-ish. I didn't think the Black Mage was literally a Black boy. I thought it was like dark magic or something. But it's literal! This is a graphic novel that battles racism and that's pretty cool. Wish it weren't necessary but in today's climate, it certainly is.

TW: Racism

The Black Mage was an overall okay read for me. I found the pacing too be really off and you would go from a talking scene to sudden action with no explanation. What I really did enjoy about the story was the art style and layout of the panels. This may sound stupid but the way it was designed was really impactful. I feel as if this story should have been drawn out more and we were able to discover the school (which was another really cool place even though it was basically a floating Hogwarts) and characters. It would have been nice to see them evolve. That was definitely a missed opportunity as I feel like the story should have ended with Tom figuring out what he did and then go on to another volume I feel like that would have been a better path for this story

I know when this post goes live October will be almost over but I love October and fall so much why not celebrate it all I can! I received an ebook ARC of this book on Netgalley from the publisher over the summer and I really wanted to read it on a particular day but I did not want to post my full review on my site until it got much closer to when the book came out. At the actual time I read it, the book still had over two months before it came out but I still wanted to get my thoughts down sooner so that I would not forget something as time went on. I will put this review on my Goodreads once I am done writing it, however, like I said the post will go live much closer to the release date!

SPOILERS AHEAD

This graphic novel takes place at St. Ivory's a magical school that kind of hovers or floats in the air that is downright gorgeous. The school trains younger witches or wizards in the magical arts and they have a new initiative the "Magical Minority Initiative." This initiative is to bring diversity to the school and the student who is the recipient of this award is Tom Token. Tom is excited to be attending the school however, he quickly becomes skeptical not just because of how others are treating him but because of this student ID that ends up in his possession. I do not want to give away to much but Tom takes it upon himself to try to track down the owner of this mystery ID and finds so much more.

First and foremost I love the art in this graphic novel, the colors pop and the drawings are amazingly done. I thought the idea of St. Ivory's and the characters themselves were very interesting and I honestly wanted to know more about St. Ivory's than even the book relieved but I think that maybe because I am a huge Harry Potter fan and I love all things magical schools. I am giving this graphic novel four stars on Goodreads!

**I was given this ebook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received this from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Well, here goes...

I've actually planned to give this two stars, as the detail in the artwork was okay, but after writing this review I've knocked it down.

I felt this was heavily racist and, if the idea was that it was meant to show how people can overcome racism and segregation, it didnt do that at all. The professors actually looked like white supremacists well known in the US, and the terminology used at times was disgusting.

It also changed its pace incredibly quickly. The slow parts dragged and the quick parts just turned up with no real explanation of why they were there or what things actually mean.

Would not recommend as you will probably be left feeling angry.

Thank you to @netgalley and @onipress for the ARE of The Black Mage by Daniel Barnes and DJ Kirkland! I am always super excited to read the graphic novels put out by Oni Press, and the description of this one sounded really interesting. While the story ended up being much more than I expected, it wasn’t in a negative way, and I think this graphic novel is really a great way to start an important conversation that is necessary and vital to what is happening and has been happening in our country.

Description from the publisher: Harry Potter meets Final Fantasy in this subversive original graphic novel where race, history and magic collide.

When St. Ivory Academy, a historically white wizarding school, opens its doors to its first-ever black student, everyone believes that the wizarding community is finally taking its first crucial steps toward inclusivity. Or is it? When Tom Token, the beneficiary of the school’s “Magical Minority Initiative,” begins uncovering weird clues and receiving creepy texts on his phone, he and his friend, Lindsay, stumble into a conspiracy that dates all the way back to the American Civil War, and could cost Tom his very soul.

There is so much to say about this graphic novel. If you are going in looking for a Harry Potter story you are in the wrong place. If you are looking for a mirror on the racial tension and violence in our country to be held up in the form of a graphic novel where the KKK run an elite all white wizarding school run off the souls of enslaved black wizards, and where Fredrick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and John Henry are basically super heroes kicking bigotry’s ass then this is a book for you! I feel like this graphic novel does a great job starting a lot of great conversations like what it means to be an ally and not complicit to bigotry, and pointing out how broken the system is today. I hope the author makes this a series and continues the storyline.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TW: racism

This is a graphic novel that should be mandatory reading.

It uses a fantasy setting in order to retell the American Civil War and the racial inequality that persists. It represents so much about our reality but in an action-packed and light storytelling, where Tom must discover the underlying secrets to the St. Ivory Academy.

I am definitely going to scream about this from here on out, and buying this for my friends.

This was a great graphic novel that covers a very difficult topic. I really enjoyed the magical aspects of it and the messages it was trying to get across. I would've loved some background on our main characters, though. It could have definitely been longer. But, overall it was a fantastic, short read with some beautiful artwork!

First of all the artwork is great !

The story is really interessing, we follow Tom, a black mage, the first admitted in the magical school St.Ivorys school of sorcery.

Tom has a great personality. He's stand up for himself and says what's on is mind. I really enjoyed is connection with his crow.
Lindsay is great too, she has an open mind and she's a great friend.


This book covers the topic of racism and inequality perfectly. I love the fact that these subjects are addressed in a magical setting.

This graphic novel was really good! I loved the art, all the colors and all my childhood memories on page. I really liked the magic, how it was a powerfull mean to oppress and the spell reflected that. Genius!

This comic presents a tongue and cheek satire related to racial prejudices that exist and how their boundaries can be broken. They present a respectful representation of a strong minority character, which is sadly still really missing from the majority of literature, and tackle racial issues that unfortunately still exist.

The creators of the comic chose to take on these issues with humor and smartly placed ways to reference racial issues. The fact that to main character, who is the only black student at his school, has the last name Token had me cracking up from his introduction. He is literally the token black guy. Better than that he has a pet crow named Jim and that the antagonist is named Lynch and clearly designed after the KKK.

This comic is highly recommended to all readers, but especially those that enjoy a good social commentary.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for providing this advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Black Mage chronicles the first year at St. Ivory Academy of Spellcraft and Sorcery for, you guessed it, the first Black Mage ever accepted. Thanks to the Magical Minority Initiative, Tom Token (Guys, the names in this novel are on the nose in the best way) is the newest student at the Academy. Unfortunately for Tom, this school of blonde-haired, high SES teens is not prepared to handle race relations.

Tom soon begins to suspect that there's more to this initiative than meets the eye. With the assistance of his new friend, Lindsay, Tom digs into the history of the Academy and Headmaster Lynch (Nope, I'm not kidding, that's his name. Wait until you see his "robes.").

I finished this graphic novel in one sitting and really enjoyed the action. I will say I would have liked a little more build up with a deeper dive into what Tom experienced day to day at St. Ivory before the big action began, but overall it was a solid story.

This was a great Own Voices graphic novel that I definitely recommend to fans of the genre.

There are only two things about this graphic novel that I didn't like. One, the white girl savior plot point. Two, it's so unsubtle. That second part is more forgivable for me since it's for teens and sometimes teens need information explained in excruciating detail. The white girl saving the black teenager from the evil racist society is um a bit not good for me. I think the author's intent was show allyship but it didn't work for me. I'm also not totally sure how I feel about the black guy owning a crow named Jim?

On the plus side the artwork is great and I liked how it pointed out the lack of people of color in our fantasy worlds and their lack of agency when they do show up in them.

5 Stars...ARC provided by Net Galley and the publishing house in exchange of an honest review.

Magical, wizarding school, segregation!
Beautiful art work in this fun and very Harry Potter feel to this graphic novel, plus Own Voices!

I really enjoyed the story following Tom, A black teen and his trials of being the only black student in an all white wizarding school ran by a Klan headmaster. Although it was a quick read, it still had a lot of great points and topics covered. Very nostalgic for me and had video game aspect to it also....Highly enjoyed and recommend! Will be putting in a pre-order for this asap!

When I first heard about this book I knew it centered around a black student going to a wizarding/agic school, but didn't know much else. The story was fast paced and fun while also dealing with important themes of racism. There was also the inclusion of important figures from the civil war that added to the overall theme and story line.

I feel that stories like this are important, where difficult subjects are openly discussed and shown in a consumable format. While reading you don't necessarily think about what the overarching message is because the story is a great adventure, but it's there nonetheless.

The art style perfectly fits the story and the effects for spells were just what it needed. The colors were vibrant and were great with the fantasy aspects of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me this e-book in exchange for an honest review.
First of all, the drawings are super cute and the characters’ design is awesome which makes the reading very fast (less than 1 hours for me!). The story went a little too fast for me, I didn’t have time to get attached to the main character. Sometimes I felt like actions came out of nowhere and I got confused quite a lot of times because of that. However, it was a funny and quick reading and the comic has GREAT representations!
I would probably recommend this book in the future.

Following the first black student to ever attend the notoriously racist school of magic, Tom quickly learns that things are even worse than he first expected. The stereotypical comments from his classmates, to outright bullying and fighting with the headmaster’s son are the least of his worries when he discovers a secret plot that has gone on for generations.

In a magical school setting, it can be hard not to draw comparisons to Harry Potter, and while there were definitely some Easter eggs throughout this graphic novel, the story was absolutely unique. This isn’t just the story of magic and friendship - the triumph over the evil that is the KKK members, the dark history and ongoing oppression, and modern political aspects woven throughout, made this story as important as it is creative.

Tom and his pet raven were such a likeable duo, and although I was skeptical at first about Lindsay, I’m glad she and Tom became friends. There’s very little more I can say without spoiling, but overall I really enjoyed the art style, and while the magic system could have been explained a little more, it was still fun not knowing what the limitations of the magic could be!

My Rating : 4

Thank you so much Netgalley for the review copy. All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.
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First of all, the concept of students going to magic learning school and solving a mystery is just too good to give up. And with a main character of colour and the element of racial discriminations being a plot is just the cherry on top. The art work in this book was really simple, yer really beautiful and effective as well. The characters that were introduced had their own style.
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Second, the actual storyline was really interesting! The flow of the book reminds me of a mystery movie (In the sense, how a movie starts with a background information, then goes to the current plot, and reveals mystery one by one)
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The characters were absolutely wonderful and I really loved how they interacted with each other and especially the ending! It was not a plot based on romance, but focuses mainly of acceptance, friendship and self discovery. Overall, this book was such an amazing read an I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes graphic novels or books with no romance!

This book had a really great premise, and I thoroughly enjoyed how topics of racism and white supremacy were integrated into the fantasy and magic elements. Though, I did feel like the book was a little short and the story could have benefited greatly from being an extra 100 pages so we could get to know the characters better and have a more fleshed out plot. I still greatly appreciate what this graphic novel mainly set out to do, and found it to be a quick and interesting read.

This was so good! The art, the story, just everything! It was so easy to follow and very fun to read! I loved the fact that we got to see some major black historical figures, especially since they use magic in this. It was amazing seeing Tom able to defend himself and not have Lindsay save him. I would definitely recommend this graphic novel!!

A unique look at race which defied expectations and demanded to be read in one sitting! An interesting set up, lots of action - teens will love it!