CONTENT NOTE: MAJOR warning for body horror! Death, gore, blood, chasing and abducting, violence, loss of limbs and organs, surreal environment, body doubles. Seriously, if these topics make you queasy at all, this may not be the book for you.

Mage and the Endless Unknown is a fantastic black and white comic exploring themes of love, disability, renewal, and endurance as well as the absolute horror of existence, the unknown, and the inevitable while hardly uttering a word.

What Worked for Me:
Gods, this book was amazing! I'm sure it won't be for everyone, but damn, it was right for me!

✦ I am a huge fan of wordless comics, and this was no exception! I love that this comic takes its time to explore the art of visual storytelling-- the limits and the possibilities of it-- without using many words at all. I think going wordless was an excellent approach for this comic that explored so many things that we just don't have words for, whether it be delightfully terrifying creatures or the heavy complex emotions that arise when dealing with the subjects that arise in the book.

I especially appreciated this as an autistic person whose mind works visually. I don't think in words; my mind thinks in visuals, textures, sensations, feelings, and more. Words are a kind of second language for me that I have to actively translate, so reading this kind of story felt comforting and deeply familiar. I connected with this story very much.
✦ I also connected with the story on its disability themes, too-- while I haven't experienced the type of disabling events that occur in the book (trying not to spoil anything!), I have dealt with my mobility and body losing so much of its functioning that I become a different person entirely. So to see this kind of thing represented in a comic means a great deal to me.
✦ I loved the illustration style of this comic-- I love the contrast of the simple to the gory, the soft features to the bristling thorns. It was remarkably effective in getting me to immediately feel attached to the characters and to immediately feel absorbed into the fear of the story's other creatures.
✦ Speaking of creatures-- those designs? Fantastical! Mesmerizing! Horrifying! I loved them! SJ Miller has an incredible touch with finding ways to tap into the baseline survival instinct and poke it with a stick, and I love that lol. They reminded me a lot of some yokai I've seen in manga and anime, but they didn't feel
✦ I love the message of holding onto kindness and hope even-- or perhaps especially-- during difficult times. The idea of maintaining hope through generations, even, and recognizing that not all of our work is accomplished in our age alone was especially poignant.
✦ The story was very clear most of the time, which I think is a testament to SJ Miller's illustration skills and the thought they put into the plot. There were a couple of moments that I thought could use a little more clarification, but I don't think that's due to the comic being wordless since I find these kinds of moments in many comics that I read with or without words.
✦ The relationships between the characters were very strong, and I really enjoyed them. There were some gut wrenching moments in the story, and I think that says a lot about how quickly SJ Miller is able to establish a connection with these characters who largely don't speak.
✦ I enjoyed the black and white palette, too! It's so fun to see comics that utilize this style, and I think it worked really well here, too, for forcing the focus onto certain elements and themes in the story.
✦ I greatly enjoyed seeing a character in there that called to mind the Mari Lwyd of Welsh folklore! It's clearly not a horse, given that it had fangs, but it was a delightful connection for me nonetheless.
✦ I really liked the way SJ Miller drew the few speech bubbles that did appear throughout. Their lovely, loose forms fit so well with the rest of the imaginative setting, and the lettering was easy to read, which I always appreciate.

What Didn't Work for Me:
✦ I think the ending could have used a little more clarity. While I think I understood the message for the most part, I felt like there were a few things I didn't quite get and would have loved some more information about. But who knows, maybe we'll get a sequel that answers some of these new questions!
✦ While the story fairly quickly went in a more hopeful direction, there was a shock moment in the comic with the darker skinned character that I felt... was possibly more graphic and shocking than necessary. I don't want to spoil anything since it does end up being a pretty big part of the story, but I did wonder how readers who are darker skinned would feel about that moment, regardless of what happens afterward.

I think SJ Miller overall made sure that horrific things don't discriminate in who they attack, but I did feel uncomfortable with the fact that one of the more horrifying incidents in the story happens to the character with darker skin to serve the story of the lighter skinned character, and I could see how that might could be triggering for some readers.

Overall
I give Mage and the Endless Unknown 4.5 out of 5 speech bubbles, rounding up to 5: While this book certainly isn't for everyone, it's definitely an amazing read! Exemplary of the strengths of visual storytelling and filled with imaginative landscapes and creatures, it will delight and horrify you in equal measures. I highly recommend picking up a copy for yourself!

How to Read It
You can get a copy from Iron Circus Comics when it's released on July 18, 2023, or you can pre-order a copy through Bookshop or Barnes & Noble.

Hardcovers provide higher royalties for writers and illustrators, but a royalty is a royalty, so go forth knowing your purchase will support them either way!

Read This Next
If you liked this, check out Shades of Fear Horror Comics Anthology from Balustrade Press, Neighbors from Boom! Studios, Squad by Lisa Sterle and Maggie Tokuda-Hall, and The Nice House on the Lake from DC.

If you enjoyed this review, I have a monthly comic review series called More Comics Please! on my website with interior page excerpts and additional information not shared here on NetGalley. You can sign up to receive them in your inbox by subscribing to my newsletter Into the Bramble at jbeoin.com/newsletter.

This one took me through a whirlwind of emtions. Few words, but the illustrations say it all. So many horrible things happen to the mage, but they always seem to prevail. Scary and creepy, but it was really good. Will get for our library.

This is a mostly silent (no words) graphic novel where a mage is sent on a quest to go out into the "old worlds" and face "the bearers of their destruction". Once he's done that, he can return home to his creator and finally be able to rest.

I thought looking at the cover of this, that it was going to be a cutesy little graphic novel about a mage doing some magic. While it was that it was also a fantastic horror graphic novel. I loved every minute of reading about this and I can't recommend it enough!

Lovely quick horror graphic novel. Art style is really nice. Not much to it wordwise. If you are looking for something quick and spooky and different I recommend.

72%

Well that was....horrific. The description did say it was filled with horror and death, but the art style was so cute on the cover, I figured it couldn't be THAT creepy/violent/unsettling. I was wrong, and it was.

This would be a great book for people who are into goth, horror, monsters, and the gory side of Halloween.

A nearly wordless graphic novel that combines cute protagonists and beautiful settings with terrifying, grotesque monsters. I have enjoyed other SJ Miller works, so I had an idea of what to expect with this (i.e., lots of imaginative and disturbing body horror). The story is pretty simple: Mage is tasked with heading out into the "old worlds" and "[facing] the bearers of their destruction" before he can return home to his creator; along the way, he makes friends, uses his magic to face off against these beings, and loses (literal) pieces of himself.

The art is great and I liked the way Miller plays with the panels/space in the comic; I also really like both the main characters' simplistic but very cute designs as well as the monsters' designs. The horror works well and although I wanted a bit more with the story, I still liked it.

I love the art. Very brutal story that is enhanced by being almost wordless. Not sure I followed the story completely, but I could not put it down. Once I got to the last page I started all over again immediately. Loved it!

5 stars

A young Mage wakes in a peaceful meadow and discovers the delights of the natural world and the magic they wield. But monsters lurk everywhere, threatening all that Mage holds dear, and they must use their wits and magic to fight back against the creatures that would destroy their world.

This nearly wordless graphic novel contains both innocent whimsy and brutal horror. The sweet young Mage faces each obstacle thrown at them with visible fear and anguish but also great courage. They endure much pain and suffering but hold fast to kindness and friendship along the way. It's not an emotionally comfortable read, but the ending reminds the reader that we all must do the best we can and that we have to keep holding on to hope.

Thank you, Iron Circus Comics and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

I loved this graphic novel! I find a lot of authors/illustrators struggle with horror themes in a graphic novel format, but S. J. Miller did it artfully. Each page is its own panel, so this book is a pretty quick read. I kept revisiting certain pages for the artwork and how well they evoked a visceral reaction. I found the monster-work very original and incredibly well done! I also loved the contrast between an overall cute art style/protagonist and the quick cuts to a more horrifying/visceral style. A quick, engaging read - I definitely recommend!

...what did I just read? Based on the cover, I thought it was going to be a cutesy graphic novel about a little gnome trying to grow flowers or something. To be fair it was..for the first page then, BAM! - freaky monsters and lots of gore. I felt just as damaged and beat up as the Mage by the end of the story. Despite the unexpected horror of the book, it was a fantastic read! Gorgeous illustrations with a harrowing story. Its like if "Over the Garden Wall" has Junji Ito had a love child. Truly fantastical and horrifying.

A nearly silent comic, Mage and the Endless unknown starts out with what appears to be a cute little mage. Until suddenly it delves deep into some very dark and twisted horror. There are several very gory scenes and plenty of monstrous creatures that will send a shiver down your spine.
I can't say that this title was in my wheelhouse as I found it somewhat hard to follow and incredibly disturbing. For what it is, it's beautifully done. Those who appreciate that fine line between cute and horror (almost like Abby Howard comics, but with a more Ghibli feel to the artwork).

A dark and magical adventure about a mage who finds himself exploring a shadowy and fantastical world filled with magic, monsters, and more. This was like over the garden wall except it really delved into the horror aspect of the story. I was thoroughly surprised by how much horror was going on because the cover was cute but my goodness it really went in with the : beware there be monsters. Despite the horror element there was also adventure, friendship, and just an overall feeling of warmth and sweetness.

*Thanks Netgalley and Letter Better Publishing Services, Iron Circus Comics for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This one was...not for me.

This is a wordless graphic novel which, in my opinion, is a really hard medium to pull off. I didn't feel like the art was good enough to support the lack of words, it's colorless, often simplistic or pretty gross. I wasn't drawn in to really look at the details of each of picture and therefore finished it in like two minutes. I can not see anyone spending the likely 20ish dollar price tag on this work.

This stunning graphic novel tells a story of a wondering mage and their adventures. But with almost no words. And yet there is no trouble follow the young mage and his companions and all the gruesome and horror they come across. The artwork was beautiful and such a contrast to the nature of the story. I was enthralled until the very end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Letter Better Publishing Services for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wordless graphic novels are kind of a weird creature; I love the idea of them, but I don't feel like they often pull it off. In this case, I feel like my disconnect was from each page being its own image. While visually striking, I found myself just flicking through the pages and not lingering to really take in the art, and thereby not really engaging with the story. The art work is good and there's a strong tone to the work. But nothing really grabbed me and held my attention.

This graphic novel starts as what seems to be an adorable adventure story about a wholesome mage, but takes a horrifying turn. The young mage is sent out on a journey into a world of monsters and other kinds of terrifying creatures. They find a companion on the way, and brave this terrifying new place together as they discover the dark and horrifying secrets of this world.
The story is mostly wordless, but the greyscale illustrations convey the story well on their own, and I almost feel like if there was color it would be TOO terrifying to look at. Fans of Emily Carrol's Through the Woods will enjoy this.

Mage and the Endless unknown is a quiet, poetic lullaby. But not the sweet kind, that sends you to sleep. The spooky kind that lulls you into a false sense of security so that the creeping, unknown horrors hiding behind every corner become all the more horrifying when they invade your dreams. The way it never quite feels like either a picture book, or a graphic novel, but rather something new and in between adds to the experience of walking the tightrope between sweet and scary.

This is a stunningly gorgeous, deeply moving, almost entirely wordless heartwarming horror-fantasy. It bends so many genres, and the creature and character designs are so, so beautiful (and disturbing), from the Mari Lwyd-style mentor to the main character to the many antagonists that crop up along the way. The overall message is fairly simple but poignant as well. Highly recommended.

While the story is kind of grim and frightening at times, there is a poignancy to the hero's journey, scars, recovery, and vocation. In ways both literal (shudder) and figurative, it's almost a story of a human Giving Tree.

This book mirrors a cute, kind protagonist with a world of horror and death. Told in very little words, the story is nonetheless thrilling and terrible. It was not my cup of tea, but I would recommend to horror enthusiasts.