Posted on Goodreads:

A young girl is going into the dark woods looking for her missing dog. A mushroom faerie is on a mission to find out what is happening to his home. Their worlds collide in this dark fantasy.

Story: 3 stars
Art: 20 stars

Okay. So this was very different from what I was expecting. I was expecting a tag team of the young girl and the mushroom faerie, kind of like we help each other out. But no. I'm sure it will happen in further volumes. That being said, it was very hard to understand what was going on. There was a very chaotic story happening. Everything and nothing all at once. I felt like I had been dropped in the middle of an already built story and I was expected to understand the slang, recognize the creatures and understand what was going on. The mushroom faerie's (Gowlitrot) world was the most confusing, but the young girl's was easier to follow. Not to mention my gal (Lemuelle) is adorable and overly dismissed. All she wants is her dog Beans back.

Now, the art. GORGEOUS! The intricate detail. The colors. As another reviewer mentioned, you could even use just the art by itself with no text and you can see the story happen. I found myself looking closely on every panel because there was so much to see. Especially when you're in the mushroom faerie's world.

In conclusion, I don't know what was happening but I was enjoying the view.

TW: animal abuse (what was the reason!!!)

Thank you Netgalley, Mad Cave Studios and Oliver Bly for the opportunity to read/review this ARC.

The art was super cool and it had a good setup and backstory for what's to come. This wasn't my favorite but I know many people who would be interested in this.

I would lie If I say I didn't enjoy this. I did, but I didn't love it, tho. Furthermore, I don't know why. Likewise, I found that the art is captivating, but at the same time it wasn't my type of art. It's weird. And I like unusual, but in this case it made me feel uneasy. The story is pretty and complex, the inner worlds of the wood it's such a beautiful, violent and dangerous one. So, This is probably a good shot!

This was something. I don't know if I was surprised or not by the uniqueness of this graphic novel but it definitely felt like you were on a mushroom ride.

The story didn't grab me, I found myself mostly looking at the art and following along that way. I did reread it and still didn't feel interested in the story itself but again the art was amazing.

I think if you want a trippy ride and like fun unique adventures this is for you. I give the story 2 stars but would give the art 5!

Thank you to NetGallery, the publishers, and the author for letting me review this title!

Wow, this was so whimsical and sweet. The artwork was amazing and it has encouraged me to read even more graphic novels. The juxtaposition between the mushroom knights' story and the little girl was interesting and kept me interested.

To be honest, I did not understand much of anything that happened in this book. There was just so much going on and so much information dumped on me with no explanation that my brain just could not keep up with it all. The art was beautiful, though, and the characters were likable, and as much as I didn’t understand it I really enjoyed how complex the world building was. And the vibes were immaculate. It was very whimsical and somewhat trippy.
I have a feeling that this will blossom into a very complicated, convoluted story, and I’m interested to see where it goes from here.
Thanks to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for the free digital arc!

3.5 ⭐

The aesthetic of this entire book is absolutely perfection like I am obsessed with the art style. I like to imagine that there are tiny beings living in the woods like this.

I was a little confused at times but I was still enjoying the plot.

I will say that there are some triggers in here with animal death just as a heads up because I was caught off guard by one scene.

Thank you Netgalley, Oliver Bly as well as Mad Cave Studios for a copy of the arc in exchange for an honest review!

The coolest art ever!! Couldn’t move on to the next page until I have took an admiring look at every single thing that contained the panels— colors, creatures designs, backgrounds, even characters poses and the extra details in the background! Wonderfully crafted. Super amazing!

I struggled with the plot and world building, though. Half of that was because I, currently, do not possess the big brain energy for such story. The other half is for this being the first volume, and the beginnings are always vague. but In my opinion, the reader needs a reason to consider continuing the series. just because i read the beginning doesn’t mean i will automatically go on as the series continues, i need something gripping, that makes me want to devour the whole thing bingeably, or at least, excitedly waiting for the next volume to come. And the only thing the might make me read the next volume is the art.

I am so sure that more than one person will find this book a five star experience, i can see how fun it is objectively. But what i said above was all my subjective opinion. Try it if you’re looking for a cool world, cool creatures having their own banters and shenanigans, and cool art.

This book had a very cute premises. It opens up in the forest explaining the ecosystems. Then it breaks into the story. I definitely felt confused from the beginning. Then another story was introduced and they don't really tie in together. I feel like they were trying to build up a world, but the story ended on a cliffhanger and not one that makes me want to continue.
The artbwork was beautiful though and I loved the way the characters were drawn our

"The Mushroom Knight Vol. 1 GN" by Oliver Bly is a graphic novel that combines elements of fantasy and adventure. The story follows an adolescent girl searching the deep dark woods for her missing dog. During her quest, she becomes entangled with Gowlitrot the Gardener, a chivalrous mushroom faerie on a mystical quest to protect the biome from catastrophic ruin.

Gowlitrot, created by a race of woodland gnomes called Gödels, embarks on an investigation that unveils a deadly conspiracy. The narrative explores the true nature of Gowlitrot and sheds light on the environmental impact of human actions on the global biosystem that he is sworn to protect.

This graphic novel promises an imaginative and visually compelling journey filled with magical creatures, quests, and environmental themes. The combination of fantasy elements and ecological undertones adds depth to the narrative, making it an engaging read for fans of comics, graphic novels, and manga.

I give this book 3.5 / 5 ⭐️

This book follows Gowl the gardener, a bipedal and sentient mushroom species on a quest to retrieve a stolen crystal. Along the journey chaos and mayhem ensues.

This book had beautiful artwork and gorgeous writing about ecology. The characters were charming and the book was fun.

Unfortunately plot line was a little bit hard to follow. The world building in this book was extensive and not explored enough which left me confused a lot of the time and not sure what was going on or who certain characters were.

Overall I really enjoyed this graphic novel and I think the story has a lot of promise as subsequent volumes are written. I will be picking up a paperback copy and following along as the initial premise and the main character are quite intriguing.

I'm left with mixed feelings by this graphic novel. On one hand it is beautiful. The art and graphics and great and I found myself going back to just look at each panel. On the other I found the story itself to be a little confusing if not just meh. The characters were creative and I while it didn't end up being a top favorite of mine still enjoyed it for the art and fun style.

I loved the artwork in here! It's very cute and tells a nice little story; interested to see what future volumes will hold.

If I could rate this book on illustrations alone, it would be 5 stars. I loved the mushrooms and nature and all the pretty aesthetics. However, the story was a little lacking. I didn’t really understand what was happening until near the end. It was hard to follow. Kind of felt like a bad acid trip for most of the book. The ending left a pretty big cliffhanger so I still want to read the next book, but I don’t think I understood the plot the way the author intended the audience to. I want to understand it better.

First things first! The artwork for this graphic novel is absolutely breathtaking! The first page had me sold taking about actual bugs and plants in the wild, then after that I found myself somewhat confused by what was going on, and often found myself rereading sentences to make sense of them. While the story was a bit confusing a would hands down check out another Oliver Bly novel just for his art work alone. I found my self looking deep into his pictures trying to see what I could find!

Thanks netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this beautiful graphic novel!

First, the good. The art is beautiful, the setting is whimsical fantasy, somewhere straddling the line between urban fantasy and something almost reminiscent of Thumbelina or other fairytales set in the realm of tiny people. The plot was... confusing to say the least, and a lot more grim than I was expecting. The dialogue only made me more confused, though I did like that they spoke like traditional knights in a long ago tale. Hopefully volume 2 will elucidate the plot somewhat more coherently. CW: animal death.

I enjoyed it. The art is really enjoyable, with some of the panels showing a strong Moebius influence. I am intrigued to see what happens next.

2.5 ⭐️ rounded up

The Mushroom Knight follows Gowlitrot as he and his frog, Hopalong, try to retrieve a stolen crystal. Gowli is concerned that there is some fowl magic being used and his whole job is to keep balance. 
In a side story, Lemuelle has lost her dog, Beans, and has a run in with Gowlitrot. 

The story was beautifully illustrated with fantastic color choices. However, the story itself was unclear. The past and present seemed to run side by side and I was struggling to follow which was which. There was a lot of dialogue, some panels nearly completely filled with it, and the narrative wasnt clearly laid out. I was unsur  what happened in some scenes without going back and re-reading. Other scenes still left me scratching my head. 

There were a lot of characters introduced and for most of them I was unsure who they really were. For a first installment there was only a set up but no clear independent arc for each of, what I think are, the two main characters. 

I liked the idea of nature and a mushroom gardener who serves to protect it, but the story failed to meet my expectations. I am really disappointed because the art is beautiful.

I've read an advanced copy of this novel. Dark/Horror fantasy. My reflection on it is for a product before publication. Art is 5.

The artwork is amazing.
I found myself just taking in all of the details and motion. Great use of color to hint changes, zooming to hint tension and emotion, the characters have great character design, human world or not. I almost wished this was a silent graphic novel thought. It's more for an older audience, and the text is very complex. Doesn't help when the characters don't finish their sentences and the information gets convoluted.

I appreciate the pages that have less text and more surreal transitions of panels, almost non-sequitur, even when it may confuse us, it adds to the worldbuilding and we eventually get that we're sent into the future or a memory/flashback. But for a first book introducing the world, it would be easier to read clues by a narrator to situate us in space in time and not expect the reader to do all the work. I love the nature world. I too would want to be a Gardener and protect the balance.

The author gives more information on things I don't care about and less on the things I want to know more about. There's a lot of telling and not showing (ironically) I feel we were dropped into this world and there was another volume I missed. This makes it hard to make connections with the characters or feel the emotion (for example: why do I care that she is betraying him or attacking him if I didn't experience their friendship? I don't even know if I would like her as a character or if I'm supposed to be sad that she seems possessed.) Sometimes it has a very adult lusty feeling to it (even when we have a black middle-grade kid as one of the main characters). 

Heavy text and confusing, many times I had to reread the sentences several times and I still didn't get it. The story is made of short episodes but they are too short and sometimes frustrating to understand. I guess it's trying to be too much at the same time and ends up not being focused and essential. Still, there will be fellow experienced comic book readers who will appreciate the author's style. I grew up with European Bande dessinée I don't mind heavy text if it is well written. I would have aimed for a more minimalistic Moebius kind of story for the introduction and let the art shine more.

Still, I think it's worth revisiting the text to make it less confusing. The art is five stars. I would still collect this for the art.  

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this e-Arc.


(will post on Instagram closer to pub day)

The artistic illustrations are absolutely captivating and had me sunk in the entire time. The synopsis of this was magical and I really love the cover, of course. The storyline was good, I loved our main little mushroom named Gowlitrot and his frog Hopalong. The idea of them going on an adventure to protect the peace and natural balance was beautiful. The general arc was quite a bit confusing at times and that led to me not really understanding parts of the story.