Very unique way of approaching the topic of racism, segregation, and the KKK! I loved the illustrations and the general story line. I think this would've done really well as a series, though it seems to be a stand-alone.

I think the premise of this graphic novel was really promising. However, everything was extremely rushed. This was one volume, but it felt like it should have been the overall arc of a whole series of graphic novels. The overwhelming plots left little time to connect with characters. The art work was great though!

The storyline and artwork in this graphic novel were fantastic. It is set in a school in a magical world (major Harry Potter vibes) and introduces, discusses and analyses racism in such an approachable and brave way. Tom Token (get it?) joins the school as the first black student and faces racism, stereotyping and segregation. I really hope this continues as a series as it is brilliant and shocking in equal measures.

definitely the most impactful graphic novel that i’ve ever read. i really enjoyed how it handled the subject matter of race and racial superiority. it was a really unique story that incorporates important themes into a fantastical school setting that i really enjoyed. the art style was wonderful and i suspect a little romance is brewing as well. overall would definitely continue with the series.

3.5/5*

**I was given a copy of this from the publisher for an honest review**

I thought that this was a lot of fun to read, the artwork was amazing and overall the story was intriguing and the mystery though predictable made a lot of great points. I think for a middle-grade audience this graphic novel would be well received.

I loved everything about this graphic novel, the story, the art and the discussion. The main character Tom was very likable and I admired his confidence and calmness.

The plot was not at all what I expected but I'm glad it focused a lot on racism through the characters' actions and words. It was uncomfortable at times but seeing Tom at the end freeing himself with the help of his new friend Lindsay made me so happy.

I wish we could have had some more explanations about the magic system.

The art was absolutely beautiful and I found myself admiring some pages while reading.

Thank you to #Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC .

This book is for anyone who wonders why Hogwarts is so white. As well as tackling racism in the fantasy genre, The Black Mage tackles real world racism. I liked how the story was put into a historical context featuring Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass and the folk hero John Henry. Its allegories aren't subtle, but it works well, especially for a YA audience.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review – thanks so much to Netgalley for sending this to me!

The Black Mage is a vibrant, speedy book with an epic art style that’s like a combination of Harry Potter and Little Witch Academia. It’s super action packed, blending different pop-culture references in a way that’s really fun – it’s like lots of little nods to things we know and love. The book follows Tom Token (an awesome wizard who takes no sh*t) and his new friend Lindsay (who’s very reminiscent of Hermione Granger in her younger days – pushy and a little bit socially unaware) as they seek to uncover a conspiracy that’s infiltrated the very depths of notoriously non-diverse their magical school, at which Tom is the only black student.
I can’t say too much about the subject matter of this book, since racism is a huge theme and as a white person that’s something I have no authority to speak on. What I will say is that this book is often uncomfortable, not shying away from the fact that members of the school board are blatantly racist and that the school’s antiblackness is insidious, driven in to the very core. This makes it hard to read at times, but I feel like it’s an awesome thing for teens to see – a black character kicking ass, tackling racists and winning.

While I enjoyed the book, I felt it was a little short for my liking (especially since I believe this is a standalone?) I just thought it could have been expanded to really strengthen it, because it was over so fast that I was quite taken aback by it – the book kind of felt like a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ kind of deal. I also felt that the anime-esque art style worked against it at times. Although I loved the art, the fight scenes were often confusing – something that would have worked really well on-screen just messed with the clarity a little bit for me, so that I wasn’t always sure of what was happening during times of conflict. The campy fights were fun to read, but I did get confused at times.

Overall I liked this book and I’m always happy to see more fantasy with POC main characters. Although I’d have appreciated a little more depth and character development, this was a quick and enjoyable read with amazing art – another great book from Oni Press.

**I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange of my honest review**
While I was reading it I thought it was a 4 star read but then , and after finishing it I only could have give it a 5 ; because this book was so important and that the story was interesting and that the designs were just AMAZING . And can we talk about the main character? Can we talk about the representation ?
I have read so many graphic novels in my life and so far this is one of the best surely .

Super quick read and full of action.

I enjoyed this story a lot, more than what I expecting. The similarities to Harry Potter are very present, but it doesn't make the story turn into a simple copy of it, in the contrary, the HP influences enhanced the comic book to another level.

The fact that Daniel Barnes decided to write a story that has everything to do with racism, segregation and even the so awful clan Ku Klux Klan was really bold. I've never seeing that in a comic book and I was very surprised in the best way possible. The narrative is super fun and so addicting that you can't the book down.
I also loved the manga drawing touches here and there, they totally fitted the characters.

All in all, it's a nice comic book that explores a deep subject in the coolest way possible. Worth reading it!

I have been waiting for this book for a while. I'm a huge fan of Harry Potter and video games, and this book looked like it would be right up my alley. I didn't know what it was about until today when I read the description.

I think the goal was to be satirical. Be sort of a cross of Harry Potter and The Boondocks, with a sprinkle of Final Fantasy and Magical Girl-style manga and anime. As many people know, satire is a hard genre to pull off in any medium. And this book unfortunately doesn't have the range to do it.

This book feels like the first draft of a story that still needs time to form. The relationship between Tom Token and Lindsay isn't as deep or complex as I would have liked. Lindsay is supposed to be a character who has her eyes opened to the realities of inequality and oppression at her school, but doesn't really grapple with her own contributions to this toxic climate. The only clues we get are early on when she is confronted by her ex, who happens to be Tom's main antagonist. He's clearly racist, and Lindsay isn't shocked by this. However at no point does Lindsay explain why she was dating and obvious racist. Because everyone in the school where's KKK hoods.

The story also has so many dialogue moments that I would cringe, get up from my computer, and walk around the house. From character names like Atticus Lynch, to Tom's pet crow, Jim, I understood what the creators were aiming for, but they completely missed the target.

I wanted this to be good, but it is shockingly bad. Not even the artwork can save this story, which is actually very colorful and energetic,with some nice character acting. The pacing cranks up in the last chapter which made the ending feel abrupt.

It feels like a book that was made to be meme-ified on social media, but not for reasons either creator will like.

I really enjoyed reading this graphic novel. Beautiful, colorful artwork and the story contains a very important message about racism.
The maincharacter Tom has a very strong personality, I really liked that. He didn't let the other students get to him. Also the interaction between him and Lindsay was nice, first she annoyed him. Later they became sort of friends.

Gorgeous art style combines with quirky reimagining of a magical school built on white supremacy in this inventive and quirky graphic novel. Tom Token, the first black mage to be admitted to historically white magical academy St Ivory's, is blazing a trail as the herald of change in magical racism. But once he gets to the school, concepts of race and privilege are entrenched, and there is far more to his admission than there seems. Historical figures make appearances as Tom tries to figure out what's happening in the school. Mystery texts, weird clues, and a new friend who becomes substantially more woke over the course of the book combine to make a story that's fun, fresh, and enjoyable, despite being steeped in horrendously racist narrative.
Daniel Barnes has written an original and quirky #ownvoices story (the racism elements, not the magic... I think). St Ivory's academy is steeped in overt racism, from the name of the school to the uniforms of the staff (Klan uniforms) and there are subtle and outright references to racist history peppered throughout the book (Tom's pet crow is called Jim, so...). The narrative of Tom uncovering a conspiracy in the school which is much deeper than it appears gives a great chance to examine entrenched attitudes of racism, while Lindsay's journey as she befriends Tom and joins in his quest allows us to see the nasty associations that follow her by virtue of her choice of friends. The magical system in the book feels underdeveloped, however, and narrative development feels like it's sacrificed for the sake of compelling visuals in fight scenes. There's loads of really great stuff in here, and the art style complements the fresh and modern narrative style. The whimsical nature of the content belies the depth of examination of race and racism that's visible here, which gives a great contrast to the book. The opening pages at least feel a lot like Malorie Blackman's Noughts and Crosses, with the elements of ground-breaking race relations moves, and the difficulty of being a trailblazer. There's lots to enjoy here, but at times the story felt shallow and underdeveloped, particularly in the closing pages. A very enjoyable story with beautiful visuals and some deep themes to examine, but a scope that I felt was a little too ambitious to fit comfortably within the pages.

Black boy magic! This was such a great comic and I can really see kids and teens enjoying it. Not only does it take you to a world filled with magic, but we're also getting American history mixed in. Readers will recognize historical figures and race discrimination that has long plagued this country. Seeing a young black boy triumph over evil oppressors is the type of story young people need to see more often. Definitely recommend to any comic fan, especially because the art is beautiful.

This was my first read from NetGalley and what an excellent start it was. I can't wait for this book to release so I can recommend it to everyone I know.

The Black Mage takes the fantasy-magic-school trope we all know (and either love or hate) and hits us in the face with the question, "But where's the diversity?" That's exactly the premise of this book, because the main character, Tom Token, is the first black mage to ever attend Ivory Tower (even the name is whitewashed). He soon figures out that not everything is what it seems and has to defeat some really nasty villains that are way too familiar. (The character/costume design is eerie because it's so reminiscent of the KKK.)

This book is extremely self-aware. It doesn't feel so much like a novel as it does a social commentary - which isn't a bad thing! It just verges on parody/satire sometimes. Take, for instance, the main character's last name, which is completely evocative of a token black character. We all know books that do this. Hey, I'm guilty of writing them. So it's great to have a book that does such an excellent job of pointing things out. It made me feel uncomfortable at times, which is absolutely fine, because that's probably how I should feel as a white person reading it. But at the same time, it doesn't paint all white people as evil because Tom makes a friend named Lindsey who helps him out on his adventures. I loved her character and the drawings of her were really cute. What I really appreciate is how she helped Tom out, but she didn't take his character arc away from him. Tom is still in charge of his own story and he does a great job of it. He's a super likable main character and I would gladly read further graphic novels about him, Lindsey, and his pet crow named Jim. (Jim Crow? See what I mean about self-aware?)

The one thing I wasn't crazy about was that it's a pretty violent book. Nothing is super graphic, but I'm not keen on reading massively long fight scenes. The art style also wasn't my favorite, but I could still appreciate it and it was easy to follow what was happening. I suggest reading a few pages to see what you think. It's a short book so it won't take long to read, and it's worth a look!

*I was given a free ebook copy by NetGalley. All opinions are my own.*

Really enjoyed this one! I'm not much of a graphic novel reader but this was so interesting, and I felt like it covered a lot of serious topics very quickly. The bright illustrations were also a plus, and I loved the whole idea of it. I'd really love if this could become a series because I want to know where the characters end up!

A great social and political satire packaged with technicolor punches. It's not subtle about making its points about how people of color in general and black people in particular have been left out of the most mainstream wizarding fantasy stories, but there were still deft moments in the characterization and relationships.

This seems to be an exercise in dragging out one single pun as far as it can possibly go, and in any direction at the same time – for good or for bad. You know that whole thing about black magic, right? Well, what if it – heh heh – was magic created by a black kid?! A black kid called Token, who – tee-hee – becomes the token black student at a school for white magic. And – get this, you'll die – he has a crow familiar called Jim – Jim Crow?! I know, ROFL isn't the acronym, right?! He'll get thrown in to the deep end, with only one friend to call his own, lots of bigotry directed at him, until he stumbles on some secrets from the college's dark (oh, I kill myself) past.

So I wanted to like this book, even if it features a child at a wizardry school – a character/setting combo that has done nothing for me for the last thirty years. It's just it proved to be too earnest, and in one chapter where it peoples a battle scene played out on a giant chess board with ghosts proves it's trying to bring back the lessons of the American Civil War with a sensibility borrowed from That Potter Boy – and it doesn't work. It all boils down to a silly MacGuffin that both sides end up fighting over, and I'm sure you can create a book that teaches the young a heck of a lot more about racism in America with a heck of a lot less FWOOSHing spells at each other. Lurid, awkward and just too broadly played to my mind, I can only give this one and a half stars.

This graphic novel was such a breeze to read through and the art style was very cool. It felt like I was watching a cartoon. I always love how the story flowed so nicely, while explicitly including themes of white supremacy and inclusion of people of colour. Fans of Harry Potter should definitely give this a shot!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Listennnnnnnn...

This is the first time I've reviewed a graphic novel ARC, and I don't know why I never thought to do it before. I need to do this more often because it was an awesome quick read with amazing graphics (shout out to Illustrator DJ Kirkland for the work) and a nice break from all the long novels I've been reading back to back.

But on to the actual review...

LISTENNNNNNNNNNNN

Total shout out to Daniel Barnes for having this graphic novel have no qualms about talking about the Klan and all that. Like, literally the "reason" why Tom Token (get it? "Token" black guy?) is even accepted into this school is through their "Magical Minority Initiative". Like that's gotta be a load of crap right? How is Tom the first ever black student in the era of freaking cellphones? It looks like he had an iPhone too but that's besides the point.
There's no way.

Then you have people asking if black mages restore their mana by drinking damn grape juice. Stereotypes at its freaking finest.

What really sold me immediately was seeing Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass about to get into a fight with some of the Klansman in the past. Like yes, Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass are a couple of bad ass historical figures, and with magic that we had no clue about?

Sign me the heck up!

This seemed to have ended as a standalone, but I could see the potential for more issues. I hope there's at least another one - well let's be honest, I hope this becomes an actual series. You just have to read this. Like, go download it from Netgalley and read and review it. Or you can be like me and get the paperback copy when it comes out later this year. But I can't even imagine waiting that long!