The easiest way to describe this graphic novel is: easily captivating.

Set in a fantasy world, The Black Mage is an #OwnVoices YA Graphic Novel that tells the story of our main character Tom Token, a new transfer student at the magical school of St. Ivory Academy. Known as a historically all white wizarding school, St. Ivory has taken a claimed turn towards becoming more progressive and has accepted its first colored student into its great halls. However, once there Tom begins to notice not everything there is what it seems. With the help of his new friend Lindsay, the two discover that St. Ivory's holds a deadlier secret than just magic.

I was hooked on this story. From the moment I began this graphic novel, I could not for the life of me put it down. Described as Harry Potter meets Final Fantasy, The Black Mage is a story that deals with the tough issues in a blunt way that makes you think about your own surroundings and history. The main heavier issue that takes front row see in this novel is the topic of racism and how racism is almost still the same as it was back during the civil war.



This novel, does not do subtle at all as it shows blatant racism from past and present, sticking it into readers faces and demanding that it is a noticed topic as the characters from both the past and present fight against the work of the Klan who run and operate St. Ivory (yeah I know--super on the nose). We get a first hand seat at the stereotypical questions and issues that POC deal with when entering a new environment and the both warm and cold reception they can have when they do.

I liked the characters that this story brought forth, though I felt like the development of these characters was null and void except for our secondary main character Lindsay, who actually got a character arc of sorts within the story line. Which I still don't know how I feel about that. I do wish there was more development with our main character Tom as he gets a glimpse of the truth behind the academy and it's leaders. I felt like he was super one note and was just a vessel to highlight POC struggle instead of an actual person dealing with these struggles.

The Black-mage is a theme centered graphic novel that is definitely a quick read that will instantly pull you in with its wild color use, beautiful illustrations, and creative spells that are reminiscent of beloved anime such as Sailor Moon and Final Fantasy. If you don't mind the lack of character development and are a lover of fantasy and anime I highly suggest giving this graphic novel a try!

Huge thank you to Oni Press and Netgalley for sending me an ARC for my honest review! Quotations / graphic taken from an uncorrected proof and may change upon final publication.

I think 3.5 stars.
This was pitched as similar to Harry Potter. It wasn’t. It was very short and I wish there had been more.
It was surprisingly racist (which I think was the point). Tom was the first black student at a school for mages. The headmaster was named Atticus Finch.
Even though this graphic novel was so short, I really enjoyed Tom as a character. He didn’t take anything from anybody and always stood up for himself. Lindsay was a good character too and I like how she immediately befriended Tom even if he didn’t want her to.
I feel like the exciting part was rushed and had more action panels than dialogue panels. I wish things had been explained and fleshed out a little bit more.
I’m not sure if this is a standalone graphic novel (it ended like it could be) but I would be interested to see what other adventures happen in this world!

Everything about The Black Mage was racially complex and embedded within a world meeting the YA audience where they reside. Enter the wizarding world of St. Ivory. There were panels that incited feelings, existing at the juncture of awe and outrage.

There were scenes that made me want to hate the book. But, I couldn’t. In a format accessible and readable by all, this is a book that is needed, for it will drive this new generation to place where they will long to understand what has happened in the realm of race relations and how what we thought was over never really was.

The characters names each played an extremely vital role in The Black Mage. I connected to Tom so deeply that I wanted to hurl my laptop. Yes, my visceral reaction was palpable by those around me, even as I sat silently staring out of the window.

The Black Mage, in all of its magical bliss, provided a horrifying glimpse in the world of domestic terrorism rooted in racism.

Highly recommended book that will surely spark conversation and controversy.

This book is truly magical.

The first thing I said after reading it was “It’s just like black history, but with more magic, and standing up for yourself.”

The pace was just right, and the art was perfect, really colourful, and went really well with the writing.

The story was really original too, it addresses racism and institutional racism in a fantasy setting.

[It sucks that racism happens in the real world too. I wish that it wouldn’t. It’s stupid. I’m glad that Token who is black and Lindsay who is white are on the same side though]

To start off, The Black Mage hits hard with its strong themes on racism. It's fast-paced (maybe even rushed?) and chock-full of tension. Although the art style is not my favorite, the colors, character design, and panels were very well done. It's definitely clear on its messages, so there's no need to dig around and find what the author truly means to tell you. However, the fast pacing resulted in a difficulty to relate to both Tom and Lindsay and a plot full of drama (so if you like some nonstop action, pick this graphic novel up). The worldbuilding was also near non-existent. Would recommend for a quick Sunday read.

"The Black Mage" is a fantasy graphic novel perfect for all ages. It is quick paced, with lovable characters and a gorgeous art style. The art and coloring reminded me a lot of cartoons and anime with cool action scenes and vibrant colors. I would recommend for art style alone but the story was also compelling.
St. Ivory Academy of magic only accepts white mages. But our protagonist Tom enrolls in the academy as part of diversity program. Straight away he has to deal with blatant racism from students and even from teachers. But he also becomes friends with a girl called Lindsay who is a badass by the way. Soon Tom finds out that he might not be the first black mage at the academy and him and Lindsay start to investigate this mystery.
There were some really cool moments in this and I may have teared up closer to the end.
I took off a star because I still have questions about this world. Is everyone in this world a mage? Or is it something exclusive? Are people born with magic? And if so,what kind of magic:something specific or just general magical energy? Is magic a common knowledge in this world or is it a secret?
I hope there will be more to the series as I would love to read more of it. But it works well as a standalone too.
I would recommend this one,I think anyone might enjoy this book for a great story,great art and important themes it has.

*thank you to Netgalley and Oni Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

3 stars.

I actually rather liked this Graphic Novel. It had a mixture of themes and people that I knew. Token which reminded me of 'Tolkien,' KKK, Harry Potter setting along with a touch of anime style illustrations. The use of colours and the details of the drawings I liked. There were also a few giggles and smiles and the main characters were really nice and likable. I'd have to say Tom was my favourite. 

What I think needs to be looked at is that the font was very tiny, even on my tablet. It was a struggle to read without having to zoom into each part of speech. Also, sometimes it felt like parts were missing and it was a bit choppy. I think maybe a few more pages need to be added throughout the book.

Overall, it was a quick enjoyable read.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel! I expected a magic school a lot like Harry Potter, with a new black student having face racism systematically and from the students, and where it was that, it was so much more. I really like how in your face the points of the story were, and the concept was really cool. The art and dialogue styles weren't my favorite, because I think they messed with the story's clarity, but that is just my personal preference.

Overally, really liked it!

The was really fun and entertaining and while it tackles important and difficult problems like racism and oppression it does it in an interesting fun way. Nice art style and likeable characters, I would really like to see more of them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for the free copy in exchange for an honest review. My review was not affected by the free copy.

What got me was the promise this was a meeting of Harry Potter and Final Fantasy. I can definitely see influences from both series in this comic. You have the magical school of Harry Potter and the magic system is similar to Final Fantasy. A lot of the spells they cast are either directly from the series, like "Diamond Dust", or have similar names like "Thundaga" and "Heal" looked a lot like healing magic in Final Fantasy. There are also references to mana and in their potion class they're working on a mega-elixer using ethers. Not only that, they have a crystal in the school! And if all those influences weren't enough, I noticed how Lizzie's wand looked like one Sakura (from Card Captor Sakura) would wield or Sailor Moon.

Admittedly, seeing all these familiar things did make me connect with it more, but it still managed to build its own world and be its own thing. I always want more story and background but I feel like it showed the world and the magic in an easily understandable way.

The artwork in this graphic novel is lovely. It's colorful and it captures action very well. All of the spells look as grand and energized as they should be. I like the kind of anime style going on. The story was also very good. I like how it involved famous characters like John Henry and Harriet Tubman and also had Tom's crow be named Jim. I liked the two lead characters a lot. Tom was an excellent main character to follow and I like how Lizzie never backed down or questioned her choices.

This is definitely a self-contained story, but I wouldn't mind seeing Tom and Lizzie again on other adventures. It was entertaining while also talking about racial prejudices and standing up against bigotry.

Typo on page 51 (Magic Missle)
It may have been the pdf format, but I struggled with the way it switched formats from single page sequence to 2 page spread sequence. The way the pdf is set up, the pages are off and you can't view it properly as the two page spread.

This book was NOT subtle, but it was powerful. Really great one shot story! I would definitely have it in my classroom and recommend it to students, but I don't think I'd teach a lesson on it. I might use it as an example for things.

This is an interesting story (albeit one that could use a bit of editing for clarity of story in a couple of places). The artwork is really lovely. It’s bright and colorful and filled with anime-style motion.

Powerful! This is an amazing book for any young POC or anyone interested in learning about racism in our history and modern day. Using stories from the past, The Black Mage focuses on modern day racism that is sometimes just as bad as it was hundreds of years ago.

Always looking for good multicultural graphic novels. This has too many overtly racist tropes and and little character development. No explanation of the magic used to draw in fantasy fans,

I did not know what to expect going into this comic but I loved it.

It hits you hard and fast and it’s very obvious that this story is about battling racism and racial oppression – and not really much else.

It’s incredibly on the nose about the racism – seriously, there isn’t an ounce of subtlety about what is going on and what the goal of the story is, (like, c’mon, the main character is called Tom ‘Token’). But when it’s hitting you so hard and fast and only has 150 pages to work with, it works.

I loved the two main characters, both Tom and Lindsey were likeable and identifiable though we have no concept of their backstories. Even just a small sentence or two about their lives beyond the school. The main bullies hint at Tom’s parents being blacksmiths but it’s kinda like… ok… aaaand, anything more? Lindsey doesn’t really have any backstory other than being the ex-girlfriend of the headmaster’s son so could have built them up a little more – but I still really liked them.

The story was fairly simple. It has a goal and it’s charging towards that ending come hell and high water. For the most part that was fine but I think the comic could do with another few pages because it felt very jarring around the middle. (One moment we’re discovering a big secret, the next – we’re in potions class.) It just needed a little something more to smooth out the middle.

I think my main issue was the ending – ending-spoilers here on out.

~~~~

While I loved the ending – good triumphs and all that – it sort of… didn’t make sense?

The final battle did. The win, the downfall of The Klan leader, the success of Tom and Lindsey etc – all totally fine, goes the way it should, good stuff.

But, at least from my understanding, the school should have fallen into the lake and been destroyed – being that Tom kind of blew up the crystal when he woke up. The whole point of collecting the souls was so the school stayed together right? And I assumed this awful, racist school would have gone down with the fall of the Headmaster.

But in the final epilogue bit, Tom gets expelled for behavioural issues by the disciplinary board. What disciplinary board?! The school should be underwater? But Linsey, when asked what she’ll do, says she won’t go back to the school and might study abroad instead.

So… what? This school that murders students is just gonna carry on its merry way? What, did Tom hammer the racism out of them and now they’re a lovely, happy, all-inclusive school that should 100% stay open without any other repercussions? They’re not even being shut down? What’s happening here?

And as for Tom traipsing off down the railroad in the final scene; again, what’s his backstory? He’s asked where he’ll go now and he says ‘wherever the tracks take me.’

*Holds up hand*

Eh, ‘cuse me! Don’t you have parents you might want to report back to? Inform them that you got expelled due to repeatedly getting into fights while, oh you know, avoiding being murdered by a 200 yr old madman?!

No? Just me? Ok.

Anyway, that was my only real issue and that little stumble with the pacing but the rest, great.

I love the art. I wasn’t sure about it at first but it was very fun and fitting to the tone of the comic.

Overall: great read, lots of fun, like I said, very on the nose about what it’s discussing but still, lots of fun.

On the whole, I really enjoyed this graphic novel. I did find that it was a little short, so it was a little difficult to get a real sense of the characters. The story was good if a bit rushed, Overall though, I found it interesting and will be reading it again when it's published

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.

I have to admit, I was quite thrown within the first several pages of <i>The Black Mage</i> by Daniel Barnes and illustrated by D. J. Kirkland. This graphic novel is incredibly bold and immensely terrifying, blatantly exposing racism in a way that can shock the reader, and I think is meant to shock the reader. It's uncomfortable in its own right, but frankly, I think that if it were not uncomfortable, this book would not be doing what it set out to do in the first place. The truth is that racism is uncomfortable and part of the reason that it is so is because racism is not some horrific part of our past that has "passed" and we learned from, it is something that affects people every single day in this country and will continue to do so up until the day that it is confronted, acknowledged, laws and systems of oppression are changed, and the problematic people who support it are pushed out. I know, ultimately, that's a pretty paltry summary and the issue encompasses quite a bit more than that simple list there, but I do believe that <i>The Black Mage</i> is one of those novels that really takes the issues and boldly presents them to anyone who even glances in its direction. And I found that both uncomfortable and amazing.

I think the most glaring piece of boldness in <i>The Black Mage</i> comes from the outfit of the Headmaster and others in charge at St. Ivory Academy. To put it bluntly, these people are full on wearing the robes of the KKK. There is no room for uncertainty here; we know that the authorities in the school are <i>massively</i> racist and subsequently we know that racism is not only tolerated, but it is also encouraged. Continuing on, even the name of the school points out the blatant racism. St. Ivory Academy, so cleary to anyone who knows what ivory looks like, is referring to the white skin of the students and faculty.

Our main character's name is Tom Token, having roots in racism in two ways. First with the name Tom, which can relate back to Uncle Tom of Harriet Beecher Stowe's <i>Uncle Tom's Cabin</i>, a story that detailed the life of an African American man who was entirely complacent and subservient to whites at his own detriment and that of their race and culture. Secondly, we have his last name, Token, which brings me to the unfortunate truth that the tokenism of having a black friend is incredibly prominent in today's society. You see it with people and you see it with the media. I'm already naming of television shows and movies that have a token character. And Tom here definitely fits the profile of a token as the graphic novel regularly points out that he is the <i>first</i> and <i>only</i> black student at St. Ivory Academy.

Racism is also touched upon within the characters' actions and words. They ask the ignorant questions that so many people have done and still do. There are openly racist students who attack and berate Tom solely because of his skin tone. Authority figures not only degrade him, but they also make the suggestion that a "nice white girl" is becoming "trashy" because of her association with him. The headmaster, at one point, even uses the phrase "make St. Ivory great again" in a simultaneously hilarious and painful callback to our President and his very own campaign slogan. In so many ways, <i>The Black Mage</i> is a bold statement on racism that goes out of its way to make sure that the reader understands and sees the problematic issues that are ever present in each situation of the novel. And it really doesn't take much to see the parallels that exist within our society.

And if that didn't get you, Tom's adorably illustrated pet crow is named Jim.

Now, don't get me wrong. The themes in this book are terrifying. And a large part of the reason they are so terrifying is because they are <i>still relevant</i> today. But I applaud the author's bold and blatant commentary. I hope more people read it and I hope it educates them if they are not already aware of these issues. As a final comment, it was utterly fascinating and cool to see the inclusion of a variety of African American historical figures play a role in the overall story. I won't say much more than that, so you'll just have to pick up a copy to find out. In fact, I would highly suggest that you do.

<i>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

2.5 stars. This parody-cum-satire of Harry Potter As a Token Black Student was cleverly done for the most part, but I was put off by the overly sexualised portrayal of Lindsay a problem. Tom Token was a great character and the use of the KKK as the powers-that-be of the magical universe was great. The illustrations were also a delight. If only Lindsay had been portrayed differently, I'd raise this to a 4-star read.

(Review copy from NetGalley)

I loved this. Powerful, action-packed story. Art is bright and very super-hero. History is dark and this lights it up and fightss back against so much of the evil done to black people in the past 200 years.

First of all, this book is incredibly race-focused. That is not a negative nor a positive thing, although you need to know. I didn't and expected more of a magic school with a black kid who also needs to deal with some racism. That is not the case. The magic system isn't really explored. Another thing you should know: this is very inspired by anime so expect a lot of 'epic' battles between characters.

In this story, we follow Tom who gets accepted into the St Ivorys academy of Spellcraft And Sorcery as a part of the minority program. He is the first and only black student. In school, he meets Lindsay, a white girl, who annoys him at first. They do become friends later on as Lindsay continues to help Tom. Help Tom with what? Fighting the rest of the school staff and students. Why are they fighting them? Because they are the KKK. Almost.

I do like the drawing style and colours. They were very vivid and were just right for the fast pace.

It did show a lot of things that may help people understand racism and the degrees of it. It went from "make St. Ivory great again" to some terrifying, really disturbing stuff. It also had the ghosts of historical characters such as Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. Tom also had a crow named Jim. I'm not a person of colour, so I don't feel like I can comment on the realism of it because I have never experienced racism.