It was okay, but unfortunately didn't get very interesting until close to the end. Tattoos as weapons is a cool idea and the illustrations were well done, I just didn't care much about the characters. Hopefully the second volume will have more of the promised romance.

Thank you to Netgalley and Oni Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly, I just want to say that this art is so beautifully done in this graphic novel. All of the characters are individual and unique in both appearance and personality. And I really like the concept. Good vs bad, angel vs demon has been done quite a lot, but that doesn't take anything away from how enjoyable this storyline and book are.

The biggest reason for three-star rating is the way this has been divided as a Volume One. This series has more of the storyline available over on Webtoon so I'm not sure why it's been stopped here - I mean I can because of the cliffhanger, but it very much feels like the prequel to the start of a series. There wasn't too much plot that was going on but rather the introduction of the world which took over 100 pages and our main love interest, we don't meet until the last quarter of the book.

I did find the first 100 pages of world-building to be a little tedious, and at some points, it has left me with more questions than answers. The most jarring thing about this is that it feels like I've put the book down halfway through.

That being said, those last 50-75 pages were five stars for me. I loved it so much that I want to go and devour the rest of the series immediately.

One thing that had me feeling a little unsure was the heavily religious aspects of it. I feel like because of the world-building that took up the majority of the book, this felt like the core focus of the book. However, when the main love interest comes in towards the end of the book, this is clear that it becomes more of the sub-plot, rather than the main one.

Overall, I did enjoy this more than the 3 stars I've given it but I just can't get past how it has been sectioned off into this Volume One.

Thanks NetGalley for the arc. All thoughts are mine.

I’ve loved Covenant for years now and I was overjoyed to heard it was going to be printed.
In covenant you follow exorcist from the church of providence, they’re tattooed exorcist. All super hot. And funny. And strong. And HOT.
did I mention the super hot exorcist?

Ezra, the mc, is an exorcist who does not believe in god so that make his position a bit rocky, but he managed until now because he do believe in angels, specifically in Gabriel ( super good looking angel.) his patron and the one lending him powers called blessing. In volume one we’re introduced to Ezra’s team members, Samson (love of my entire life, I have a poster of her on my walls ok.) Goliath, Isaac and Ruth. They’re all close in ages and seems like a close group of friends. I would kill for their happiness.
They have to face a recrudescence of demons possessing and killing humans and they can’t figure why, in the meantime Ezra got a mission from Gabriel to protect another human. That’s when Sunny finally make is entrance.
Listen Sunny is my baby. I will literally set the world In fire for his safety and happiness.

Sunny and Ezra dynamic is so good and beautiful later on, and in this volume you can barely see them together but trust me. They will grow on you and you will cry because of them.

Anyway read covenant. Preorder volume one and support the artist.

kinda drags in the beginning with the long ass exposition dumps, but really picks up after a while !!

honestly i could sell this in a few lines:
its got cool ass queer exorcists in gothic (and probably impractical) armour - but who cares they look awesome - with fun banter, gorgeous art, biblical themes galore, possibly a found family dynamic down the line(?), and a slowburn m/m romance in the making. also HEAVY on the shadowhunters vibes!!

will definitely be reading volume two when its out :3

I was emerged in this story, the art was captivating. From the color and drawings, I found myself taking extra time to look at each page after reading. I also really liked the piece of the members of church going after demons. The action was good, it was really entertaining to read.

The drawings and colors are spot on. So this is the 1st book based on the WebToon series. It caught my interest with the battle of good and evil on earth between the church and hell. The Archangels develop gifts and powers to students that are in training for battle and exorcisms. This first volume felt short. It did keep me turning the pages. I just hope that the 2nd volume explores more of the possibilities and back story development.
I just reviewed Covenant by LySandra Vuong. #Covenant #NetGalley

A collection of the first 18 chapters that were originally published webtoon. I followed this series for quite a while and I'm so happy to see that it's garnered so much love and attention from readers to be published through Oni Press.

This is a very action heavy plot, with a diverse cast and interesting world building with some fresh concepts with regards to angel and demon lore. Character development is on the slow side but does get better further along in later chapters.

Thank you so much, for letting me read this graphic novel. I very much liked the artstyle. The story is quite engaging as well. Can`t wait to continue this read.

Wow! Incredible worldbuilding and style. I was catched at the first page because of the unique idea of the members of the church killing demons from hell and help the rest of the world without their knowing.
I`m very exited for the following parts!

I’m absolutely in love. I first saw Covenant on the Webtoon app but I never started reading it, don’t ask me why, because I don’t even know the answer. The thing is that the story is right up my alley. You have a group of tattooed priests sending demons back to hell with the weapons that appear from their tattoos. I ship have of the characters with the other half, and now I need to know how the story develops from here.

This is a gorgeous collection of 1-18 in the Webtoon Covenant. There's a lot I like here, from the fashions and tattoos and the juxtaposition of the Church folks and angels being all in black and the demons being white/grey. A good start, and other reviews point toward developing queer relationships? Nice, thank you, we love to see it.

A lot happened here but not too much development, but it seems like it's just getting rolling so there's lots of potential.

Thank you to Oni Press and NetGalley for the eARC!

This graphic novel is very alluring with a great basis of storyline. The artwork is appealing, though I do believe the color scheme does not do the work justice. There is also a lot of exposition that greatly takes away from the overall story. I really wish they had stuck to show not tell until a little later in the overall story. Receiving nothing but bland information, although important, made the overall flow either stand still or fall backwards. I am also thrown off by the spelling and grammar mistakes sprinkled about. As well as awkward sentence structures. It feels like a fan translated work more than a published work.

The transition between demon and human form is amazing, and perfectly designed.

I really love the strong and powerful female exorcist Samson that takes charge and doesn't hold back.

And of course, I live the GAYNESS <3 #YEESSSS

The overall idea seems to be one character trying to protect another from demons. But, in fact, that person has ties to demons himself that he does not seem to be aware of. He seems to think bad luck just happens to follow him around. This is giving me Attack on Titan vibes. I feel like either he is part demon or part angel, and therefore he is being hunter by demons without knowing why.

Although there are a few flaws I wish were corrected, I did enjoy this work. This is something I feel I would check out from the library to ready, but maybe not go as far as to buy myself.

A promising start that I really enjoyed. A unique story full of secrets and mysteries with amazing main and side characters and interesting villains. The art style looks great!

I loved this! A church full of demon exorcists - but written in a unique and interesting way.

Each section is so fun, the characters are great and badass. Sunny is hilarious and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next instalment.

My only criticism is that the book finished just as the story got really good!!!

💌 ARC From Netgalley

I was initially iffy about this comic because, like most people in the reviews, anything that has heavy religious context tends to make me feel Some Kind Of Way.

However, Covenant was a pleasant surprise. I'm still not into the B Plot of the different branches of the church working to take down the exorcists (bc let's be real I'm not reading this for the church politics, I could care less about them), but the way the angel and demon lore is presented here is interesting, and I'm intrigued enough by the A Plot to give out a few free passes.

This does give me the faint vibe of someone who must have really enjoyed Ao No Exorcist when they were younger, but I have done no research to support that hypothesis. 🤷‍♀️


medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0

I started reading Convenant a few years ago when it started being published on Webtoon so I'm really delighted for LySandra Vuong for it getting published! Right of the bat I want to say that the world building and especially the cast of characters in the story are delightful with wonderful art to go with it. I've seen several people suggest fans of Supernatural will enjoy it and I definitely agree with that and would add that lovers of Cassandra Clare's shadowhunter's series would really enjoy it too !
Unfortunately there were some issues with the e-arc version I received which I don't think would be a problem with the print version but I think are worth mentioning. For some reason in my copy the images were very low-quality and pixilated though the speech bubbles and text were clear. This is definitely a disservice to Vuong's gorgeous art. The formating in itself I understand is necessary for a print version but it means that the art is on a smaller scale to make it fit on the page and don't feel as dynamic. Unfortunately, I think the Webtoon version is the best way to experience this story but I'll definitely be picking up the print version when it comes out to support the author!

My first thought after finishing this book was that I absolutely needed more of this story immediately. I’ve been known to be a fan of religiously-inspired and queer books and COVENANT hits all that right on the nose, also adding in a fantastic dose of supernatural action just in case all that wasn’t good enough for you. Admittedly, since this wasn’t originally structured for traditional publishing, the initial flow of the story is a little surprising but I was already so enthralled by the story that I didn’t want to put the book down and quickly got to the heart of the action. The world-building is so incredibly cool and there are several very fun characters that make the story not just cool but an enjoyable read. If it sounds even remotely interesting to you, I would definitely recommend reading it!

What’s so fun to think about with this story even after the fact is the way it combines some classic new adult almost romance (in the vein of the BL) vibes with attacking demons and exorcists with sick tattoos. There’s so much religious imagery and callback woven into the story and into the world, but it also feels like a nearly entirely new take on it all. Even more, the concept of the story as a whole is one that has me itching to devour the entire thing on Webtoon and then relive all the glory as the subsequent editions are published.

While there might not be a ton of story to take about in this volume (and honestly the world and all the beautiful art that captures it are better experienced than talked about), it’s already fun and funny, presenting characters and problems that could go in so many different directions while also teasing things like a slowburn queer romance and a mystery that’s sure to make me feel like throwing my phone across the room. This is a great opener and I can’t wait to see what happens next in the world of COVENANT!

The cover bespelled me when I saw it, with its shiny priest capturing my focus. And when I started the manga, I was quick to find that actually, this priest named Ezra... he's kind of a dork. And I knew then I would love him.

The world was sketched for me quite simply and wonderfully, as we're organically introduced to practices of the Church of Providence as they fight demons, and learn also that they're regarded unfavorably by the mainstream church as demon worshippers (when they're anything but). That's a conflict I suspect will come back more later, as for now we only see that select members of the mainstream church want them gone.

The art is praiseworthy as well, the characters expressive and quick to draw me in. I already mentioned Ezra's loveable dorkiness and should also note he's got a failure complex/guilt complex too.... deliciously Catholic of him. But his fellow clergy are all quite distinctive as well, Sampson in particular standing out with piercings and a buzzcut in a religious institution. Meanwhile, the demons are delightfully mesed up, washed out and with strange features like faces with no eyes. The action scenes are wonderfully drawn and paced, and the occasional bits of comedy provide welcome moments of levity in tense situations.

About the first 145 pages are setting up this world and the church's duties and clergy, so our love interest Sunny only enters in about the last 40 percent of the novel. Not much about how his deal has been revealed, only that he's been hunted long enough to have some anxiety issues about it and he's got a weird knife for defense, and I'm eager to learn more.

There's still so much for Ezra and Sunny to find out about each other, I really look forward to watching things heat up between them next volume!

This was a really interesting concept, and I really enjoyed the story. There were some things that confused me about how the whole exorcism with the tattoos worked, but in sure I just missed something.

The overall story line was interesting to me and I loved the art a lot! I’m a huge fan of tattooed characters and just really loved the character designs! I thought it was interesting how the tattoos were incorporated into their powers. I also really loved the concept of the characters using angels as their patrons to draw on them for power.I will also say Sunny looks how I feel some days and definitely thought he was interesting.

That being said, beyond Sunny I didn’t feel a connection yet to any of the characters just yet, but would still continue to read the story just on the art alone. I also would have loved to know more information about the contracts and the various angels. I look forward to more of the story to be fleshed out as I the story continues..