Member Reviews
There's a lot to like! The artwork is gorgeous, really pulling the reader into the story. The action sequences fly by, adding a lot of danger and raising the stakes. The world is intriguing with three different churches, two of them focuses on and at war with each other. And there's the angels vs. demons storyline, the slow burn romance, the solid friendships and the magic. There's a lot going on here but all of it seems well thought out and perfectly paced. I really like the dialogue between the characters as it really gives a sense to each's voice and personality.
Growing up Catholic, I enjoyed this fresh take on familiar terms. It was unique and new, giving an imaginative layer to the plot and also their world.
I devoured this in two days.
That said, and it's in by no means a problem, but OH why did this end where it did?!!? Cliffhanger! I cannot wait to read the second collection. I wish there was just one ore.. no two more..no five more in tis collection... just kidding. I know I ask for too much.
I understand what the author was going for, and as a HUGE fan of Constantine, I was excited to read this. The art was really amazing and well done, I understand this begun as a webtoon, but the first volume reads smoothly (unlike other webtoons that have been adapted to print). Despite the language, I can see myself recommending this to freshmen or sophomores who want to read something a bit more action packed. I will say, as someone who loves Constantine, this didn't really hit the mark but I can see this working for others.
The plot was creative enough to keep me gripped for 2 hours instead of paying attention to university:))
What I wish it tackled more was more plot, and less dialogue of how the churches was against them all.
Overall, it took me a bit to properly get into this style and everything, but I liked it. 4⭐️
Covenant is a webtoon-turned graphic novel that follows the story of an exorcist, Ezra, who strangely does not believe in God. He is part of a division of exorcists that have magical tattoos which grant them the power to summon weapons and abilities gifted to them by angels. (Mortal Instruments, anyone?). With no explanation, Ezra is commissioned by the angel Gabriel to watch over a mysterious and broody guy, ironically named Sunny. Hilarity and drama ensue as Ezra does his best to become close to Sunny who wants <i>nothing</i> to do with him, all while the readers find out the dark reason that Sunny needs protection.
The setting of this story was pretty fun. There's a lot of funny banter and the illustrations are incredibly expressive and made me laugh a lot. The tone of the story overall is really quite light-hearted and playful, with pockets of the dark and sinister woven between. I really loved the relationship between Ezra and Sunny; their vibes are <i>very</i> grumpy sunshine. Ezra is into men so I’m really hoping something will happen with these two! The character Samson was also really cool but I regret to admit that I thought Samson was a guy up until the end, when I noticed they were referred to as a 'she'. They were a masc lesbian, and I didn’t notice :( I'm not even sure if her pronouns were mentioned before this point, aside from her being referred to as 'sister', which honestly I just completely missed somehow. This aside, I really loved the representation and was excited when I made this discovery 😅
I will admit, there are large chunks of the story where it's a lot of action, and it doesn't really feel like we have much progression towards anything plot wise, but I was happy things picked up pace towards the end, and I'm really interested to see how the story continues in the next volume.
<i>Thank you NetGalley and Oni Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.</i>
The setting and worldbuilding is very interesting and I love the art style. I'm not too invested in the individual characters yet but I'm interested enough to want to know how things develop.
Thanks NetGalley,
I found this graphic novel to be fantastic and I'm already ready for volume 2! The first volume provided a setting and some world building information but it has a ton of promise. The first volume definitely leaves you wanting more and can't wait to see what's next for Ezra and Sunny. The art is gorgeous and the storyline is right up my alley so I will be recommending this to my patrons!
In a world where priests are decked out in holy tattoos and brandish machine guns in the face of demons, a powerful exorcist and a mysterious boy cross paths . . . in a college classroom.
Erza’s faith is waning when Gabriel intervenes and sends him on a mission to protect someone.
With his church under scrutiny and the threat of war on the horizon, will Ezra find his conviction in time to keep him safe? Will he even accept his help? Or will they both suffer the consequences??
I thoroughly enjoyed this! The art style is dope, the characters are cool, the action was awesome (give me a tattoo that lets me summon a weapon, please and thanks). I felt compelled to keep reading to see what the mystery is, and was sad it ended.
Would definitely pick up volume two! Thanks for the eArc
Thank you to net galley and the publisher. I loved this I thought the storyline was great and everything was easy to read and was a really good book.
I'd read this for the butch lesbian representation alone. You do not see many representations of masculine women in lead roles, especially in LGBTQ+ works that lean towards queer men relationships. This webcomic is full of POC and queer representation including married moms and diversity of sex and race. It's one of those stories that play with the Christian mythology of demons, angels and exorcism in a fantasy/paranormal way so it's always interesting to see how the author uses these to worldbuild. It reminded me slightly of the new take on Trigun.
However, this is where it falls flat. It's a story that starts off with a dark atmosphere, tone and style. It's a fight with a demon full of stakes and seriousness. We are tossed out of the loop when the fight enters a critical point and we're slammed with a complete 180 into jokey slapstick land. It was jarring and I couldn't take the demons killing people threat seriously anymore. There was a lot of this, the funny moments of being a young dumb student and it always felt out of place. I know that they were going for character building and levity in a high-stakes tale, but it felt too out of place. I also think the world wasn't laid out fast enough or blended enough in the beginning, because it was also confusing when we've so far in a world that is very occultish with demons and magic, so it felt like a fantasy world, but then we find out this is in the standard current day world.
I think though a lot of this will change and get better as the volumes progress, since I know a lot of these flaws are a nature of the webcomic medium, where a lot of the stories are not mapped out like a graphic novel or book would.
I have to say with honestly that it took me a little bit to get into the story. In each panel there is a lot going on so to me it was sort of hard to concentrate along with the constant "manga yelling." By the time the book ended, which collects episodes 1-18 of the webtoon, it started to get really good. Sunny's backstory starting to be revealed as well as Ezra's mission to protect him given to him by Gabriel along with his burgeoning attraction to Sunny.
Althought the plot didn´t grabbed my attention 100% but the drawings and action fluid were superb and it was what made me go until the end of this first volume, I´m not sure if I will keep going though because the characters felt a little boring.
*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free graphic novel*
"Covenant" is a bit like "Hellsing" but make it queer. Ezra, an exorcist, is sent away to protect Sunny, who seems to be a normal human, but there is more to him than one might expect. While the focus is a lot on fighting and the religious conflict, the slow burn romance was quite sweet and could've expanded.
Having said that, I suppose I wasn't in the right mood for this one because I would've wanted more story and less fighting, I was bored a bit and I also think it's quite exhausting to read a graphic novel on a smartphone (Netgalley Shelf App).
3 stars
Very shadowhunters but all dudes almost; like if Jace and Alec were our only mains.
Love that Ezra is the way he is and how he struggles with faith; I do feel like that idea needs to be fleshed out a bit more in the coming series. Like 242 pages was a lot of space and maybe switching away to this for some of it would be good. The revelation that made Ezra need to protect that guy was a bit weird.
I really do like the art and it makes it an easy read!
Thank you NetGalley and Oni Press for the chance to read and review this!
Love the story, it was very engaging and eye catching from the get go. The characters are intriguing and charming, it makes you want to know more about them and that might sound like the bare minimum but many books fail at this simple task. The illustrations are excellent and they fit the story so well. Looking forward to more of this author!
I really enjoyed this book! The artwork is beautiful and the story is fast-paced and draws you in. I can't wait to see what the next volume has in store.
I gotta say that when I read the blurb my mind went to 07 Ghost which is amazing, so of course I jumped onto another comic with priests with super powers going after demons to exorcise, with a touch of a queer romance.
So for a first volume of about 210pgs, we didn't get a lot of introduction into... anything really. Minimal world building, minimal character info to the point I wasn't even sure about the pronouns for a couple of them. So when I came to end of the first volume, it felt like I hadn't actually read much of anything. Especially since the plot has 3 major threads that probably intertwined in the future. 1. is the individual pasts of the 2 MCs, 2. is what is going on with "The Great Church" 3. why are demons after Sunny.
I'm actually wondering why the author chose to run in the same arc whatever is going on with "The Great Church", that will definitely affect The Church of Providence, along with Sunny's arc?
Finally although the art was lovely the dialogue was clunky, so this is the end of the road for me with this.
this is so cool oh my days. i hadn’t heard of the webtoon so this is me going in completely blind and i was pleasantly surprised! very very surprised. i love supernatural role specially when it’s related to religion so this i instantly favored , excited to see what happens next aldo fleabag would love this!
3.5/5! this was really fun!! not really my thing, but the characters are well-developed and the art is really gorgeous. definitely recommend for graphic novel fans or fans of demon-slaying urban fantasies
⤷‧₊˚ ⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ⭑
are you kidding me, what kind of ending was that?!
i need to know what happens next.
it was soo good i really recommend this.
I love the balance this webtoon has. It manages to be funny and serious at the right times without the humor cheapening the serious situations. I also feel so fascinated by the prospect of an exorcist doing gods work without believing in god. Chosen and granted powers by two angels and yet his conviction is based in his need to be a protector of humanity against the demons.
I love the way they show male friendship in this story. The hugs and the teasing and the worry they have about each other. It’s really nice to see. There are definitely romantic vibes going on between certain characters and I am not sure if those are plots that will be explored in future volumes, but so far I’m satisfied in my wondering.
The author does such a good job explaining the way the world works. The 3 different churches and what mana is and how the angels and demons relationship with mana works. It’s explained in a way that fits seamlessly into the story and I really appreciate it as it kept me interested and fascinated to learn more.
The art is really well done and it all is cohesive and has the same styling. Theres a lot of art in here where I look at it and I think about how beautiful it is in a stoic way. There’s the same balance that work really well in parts that are funny and cute and the parts that are more serious and full of action. In this story it takes its saving humanity with a flare and I love that.
The cliffhanger at the end made me so sad because I was so invested and I didn’t have anything more left to read, but I know that I am very excited for the eventual volume 2 and beyond so my Covenant needs will be satiated eventually.