Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Beautiful illustration style, hard to know where to place in the library as the age range seems blurred. But I can imagine my library patrons would enjoy this!

It's a horror comic, so I thought I'd give you a warning, because I should have known that too. The cover makes it seem more charming than the story itself. There's a black blob-monster at the beginning, but there's also a monster slipping out of a ghostly body and a skeleton crow cutting hearts - I didn't really need that dissection. The book contains minimal text, mostly told through black and white pictures, so you can enjoy everything from the front row. I was surprised by the twists and turns, but I wasn't expecting the final twist at all. If you like horror, you should definitely give it a try. Being a scaredy bunny, it was too much for me.

SJ Miller's Mage and the Endless Unknown is a sparely told graphic novel that sits comfortably amongst the likes of adult picture books (think Shaun Tan), the landmark no-dialogue video game Journey, and manga like Witch Hat Atelier, The Girl From the Other Side, and The Ancient Magus' Bride in their mix of both the delight and the grotesque horror elements of a folk-magical world. Dialogue is sparse, and used only as a framing device, in this story about a little mage traveling a corrupted world, being accosted by some truly grotesque monsters, and making some new friends.

Sympathetic characters (named only on a character page at the end of the book) are drawn in a spare cartoon style, with the bulk of the emotional interactions being between Mage and newfound friend, the elf-like Fortune, as the two save each other throughout the adventure. The spare cartoony style's kid-friendly look is subverted to strong effect by the detail of the grotesque monsters and the horror of their actions, which adds to the narrative tension of the story. Make no mistake, this is a teens-and-olders narrative that leverages a cutesy style with body horror to create a dark fable that enchants (though I certainly found myself covering my mouth in shocked surprise at some parts of the story).

This graphic novel takes a "connect-the-dots" approach to visual story telling, with its wordless protagonist and static scenes providing a fragmented narrative. The reader's mind is left to fill in the skeletal outline, leaving each reader to decide whether Mage is enduring a horrifying ordeal or going on a hopeful journey. Read it as many times as you wish; the Endless Unknown will always be waiting.

What a whimsical but deceptively dark little story! I was initially worried when I saw that this was an essentially wordless story, but honestly it turned out to be fairly easy to follow. The ending did feel a bit abrupt, and I do wish that when words did come into play that we would have gotten some more world building. But as it stands, I did enjoy my time meandering through this one…it felt like a twisted dream. Fans of The Girl From the Other Side would enjoy this.

Oh, this was so much darker than I expected. Sweet, fantastical illustrations quickly give way to nightmarish horror. This story is told almost entirely without words but is easy to follow. Beautifully illustrated and quite unlike anything else I've read.

** A copy of Mage and the Endless Unknown was provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review **

Well, I was expecting something cute and whimsical. I was not expecting something filled with horror and gore. But I can say that this is masterfully illustrated.

Beautifully illustrated and mostly wordless, this graphic novel is a visual stunner that follows its protagonist on a journey through a world of monsters and danger to come out on the other side with an unexpected and moving ending.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
I asked for this because I thought the cover was super cute and I was expecting this to be lighthearted and sweet! Boy was I wrong haha. There’s so much gore and monsters and mayhem going on. The art is SUPERB, and I actually loved this so much. Truly horrifying but incredible. I was completely enthralled by the story and by the art.

I really wanted to love this but it was NOT what I expected. The art and story is confusing in a sensory way for me, as mage is a cute character who is surrounded by a lot of body horror and no dialogue to help bridge the gap. I think this could have benefitted from more story, dialogue and just general explanation for things, but I also just think its target audience isn’t me. This is a horror story with little plot, and a lot of gaps left to fill in. I could see this type of choice working for some, but I couldn’t get into it.

Thank you toLetter Better Publishing for the eArc of this!

What a great little story. No words, just images. Touches of Ghibli intertwined with Hilda, and a great deal of Junji Ito style horror. A quick read but a great one.

This graphic novel is a unique and visually captivating experience. But don't be fooled by the cute aspect of the book! It was really gorey and gruesome. The complex artwork vividly portrays that feeling and the fantastical world with its eerie inhabitants. While the wordless storytelling adds an air of mystery, it can be slightly confusing at times. Only 3 pages had text which left me wanting more context. The gore added intensity to the story, although it might not be for everyone.

The cover looks so innocent and sweet. And it definitely starts off that way. With a magical frolick in the woods when the monsters appear and it gets quite scary. I really enjoyed this almost no words graphic novel. It was somehow both whimsical and gorey af.

Thanks to NetGalley and Letter Better Publishing for an eARC.

This was an absolutely beautiful book that is told almost entirely in illustrations. In it a small mage goes on adventures, but keeps running into horrifying beings that he has to try and survive against. This story does not shy away from the horror, instead using the sweet simplicity of the main character's design to emphasize the horror and grotesque nature of his foes. While the idea of loss is a consistent theme, there is definitely a strong presence of hope woven in as well. While I read this as an ebook and greatly enjoyed it, I think it would have been even more powerful in print.Unique and beautiful, I highly recommend checking this one out.

In an idyllic valley, a silent mage awakens to adventure forth with their magic. But what they discover is only death and horror.

I picked up Mage because a friend read an early copy and knew I would be baffled and intrigued by the premise. I love when graphic novels push the boundaries of the medium, and Mage certainly does it with a flourish. In the media kit notes, this novel is described as Junji Ito-esque - which is EXACTLY what you need to know going into this. The charming illustrations that introduce the world (and are featured on the cover) are completely turned upside down once the reader is introduced to the actual world contained.

I didn't dislike this. I also... feel like I need about ten more reads to fully sink in and understand what I just experienced. The plot slowly unfurls in a horrific manner that honestly turned my stomach multiple times (and I'm fairly good with gore), but the capability of this artist and illustrator to connect me emotionally to Mage and the small cast is WONDERFUL. I found myself flipping to the next page hoping (stupidly) that the worst was over for these characters and they would be able to rest in the pretty field and never have to face anything horrible ever again.

My only gripe with this novel is that it's for a very specific reader-set. I think the reader-set exists in the YA space, but a lot of teens who I feel would enjoy this will need someone in their life to push it into their hands. This is clearly the type of graphic novel for fans of manga, anime, and the teens who don't normally pick up anything lighthearted. I do feel like the journey of self, the ouroboros concept, and the limited dialogue will hopefully draw in this audience naturally!

Overall, this is wonderfully weird. It's a beautiful art piece, but also contains layers about sense of self and sacrifice. I enjoyed it! I think. Once my nausea fades from some of the panels, I'll probably have clearer feelings.

Thank you to NetGalley, Letter Better Publishing Services, and Iron Circus Comics for providing me a copy of this book for an honest review.

Content warnings: body horror/gore, death

I am honestly baffled at what I just experienced it. Going in I was shocked that the mage didn’t talk but I thought it would be an interesting experience. There are maybe 2-3 pages with words in this 150 page novel. At some points the drawing did communicate what was going on but overall I was left confused. The plot of the novel was for the mage to experience things and I felt all they experienced was extremely graphic gore and death. There were hanging scenes and it was incredible unpleasant. I saw that this would be disturbing but I didn’t realize the extent. Perhaps if that level of gore interested you more you would enjoy this but this novel was not for me. Plot and everything else aside the artwork was beautiful. Thank you for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It was amazing. Thanks to netgalley for the arc copy of the comics.
The drawing boards are in black and white and are decidedly very expressive, there are no words but everything is expressed without problems.
Every emotion is well defined and fully understood, there is discovery and travel but also horror and death.

A gaze into this dimension where this wizard and his companions journey, through a mysterious land filled with monstrosities

Don't be fooled by the cover, this is not a cute book. However, I did really like it!
Everytime I read a comic or graphic novel, I tell myself I should read them more often. I'm an author with a background in animation and I feel like graphic novels live in the space where books and movies meet.

"Mage and the Endless Unknown" is a graphic novel with (almost) no text.
This will give you a tendency to speed through the story the first time, but I encourage you to pick it up again and spend some time looking at (really 'seeing') the images. The author gives a lot of room for interpretation and that makes this dark story really interesting for every type of reader (who can stand a bit of gory imaging) and the art style is beautiful. The clash of cute character designs and dark surroundings works so well. The full-page stills also make it very convenient to read this story on any device, even small ones like I experienced on my phone.

I can definitely recommend this book!

We begin with our sweet protagonist bringing magical flowers into the world, only to have that world soon after turn against them as a truly dangerous journey begins. And that basically sets the tone for the rest of the story. Told in an almost entirely wordless format, the charming artwork balances out the horrifying things that are in store for our young mage. Everything was clearly illustrated without being too realistic, which would have made this tale much more gruesome. I loved the artwork in this and had no trouble following along with the story without the help of narration or dialogue.

Even with limited time to get to know the characters, they were easy to get attached to and root for. I worried about Mage and their companions with every encounter, hoping they’d make it through unscathed. Definitely recommend this graphic novel. I wish there was more.