First, thanks to NetGalley for the chance to review this copy of Hypericon's English-translated edition.

Note: this graphic novel has previously been published in French, German, and Spanish, and includes text in various foreign languages, most especially German as much of the story takes place in Berlin. While it is not essential to know these languages, I did find it beneficial to be able to understand the German dialogue as it does not provide translation, only inference.

I'm giving this book a 3.75 out of 5.

The novel plays out in well-executed full-color illustrations as a back-and-forth between the documented discovery and excavation of King Tut's tomb in 1922 by Howard Carter, and the scholarship-awarded archeological intern, Teresa, who has come from Italy to Berlin and has been tasked with the handling of the discovery's artifacts for a Berlin exhibition.

While the Egypt storyline is direct, Teresa's story is more jumbled and ruminative. Thus the story finds itself a reflection on that which is clear and direct and that which is abstract and perceptual.

At the core, Teresa whose life has always been followed like "a long, very comfortable straight line, now finds herself detoured by a fellow Italian living abroad who lives a far more carefree and whimsical lifestyle. Their relationship plays out throughout the modern storyline.

Interlaced are Teresa's struggles with insomnia and her later successful treatment of it using a plant of long-believed unusual and restorative properties: Hypericum perforatum aka St. John's Wort. The novel states the plant was documented to have been discovered in King Tut's tomb. Additionally, interlaced is the consideration of the varying perceptions of time across peoples and civilizations - with the Egyptians having a generally contradictory perception: seeing the past before them and the future behind them. These additional layers provide a sense of dimension that connects the 2 stories.

Overall, a very enjoyable read in which my only critiques are that some connections felt like they were included a little more as asides - especially the namesake plant which felt thrown in at the end of the story versus having been woven into the text earlier. And generally, I wish a few of the more insightful aspects had received a little more attention.

While much of the story follows the romantic relationship between Teresa and Ruben, I found the relationship a distraction against the story's clear initial structure (much as Ruben is to Teresa's life), but not quite in a way that is not wholly complimentary. Between the 2 archeological storylines, the romantic relationship, and the connecting asides, I found the book's elements to be somewhat competitive vs harmonious.

I usually find that a story would have benefitted from being shorter/more cut down, but this one I think could have benefitted from being slightly elongated to allow a little more breathing room for ideas to grow.

But these critiques are small suggested improvements to an already enjoyable read. I would recommend this graphic novel for its: thoughtfulness, novel structure, heavy realism toward both romantic relationships and living abroad, and of course for it's well-executed illustrations.

❝For the ancient Egyptians, time was nothing more than a cyclical repetition of the past. Their picture of the past was constantly evolving, like a giant fresco being painted in front of them.❞

"Hypericum" is inspired by Howard Carter’s Tutankhaman’s Tomb discovery and the current culture in Berlin. A young woman who finds herself in distraught between the fear of missing out in finding love her 20s to her potential uprising career in Archaeology. I initially found this in high interest because of the artwork in front of the cover and I am also, a mid-20 year old pursuing a niche in Anthropology. However, the illustrations in the story are far different from the cover and leans towards watercolor. Which, ended up suiting the atmosphere surprisingly well.

I'm personally not a fan of how the romance plot developed—and I found myself rather admiring the detailed flashbacks to Carter in Egypt. Additionally, they were told in a diary entry format, which revealed an appreciative, personalized, and developed experience with history in synonymous with Teresa's fondness for her career.

After reading, it was difficult to understand the moral of the story and felt like St John's-wort was mentioned way too late rather throughout the anecdotes. I would have enjoyed this if the panels of Teresa were of her spending days alone in the city trying to engage with Berlin like an anthropologist than much of Ruben. There were so many missed opportunities to zoom in and actively talk about acculturation, cultural relativism, and feminism other than telling it just holistically.


Special thanks to Netgalley and Fantagraphics for providing me an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was very disappointing since I picked it up because I was in the mood for a beautiful graphic-novel and this one had a gorgeous cover which immediately caught my attention and got me intrigued…unfortunately, the art of the novel is not very similar to & not as detailed as the art of the cover and the story left me a bit confused, it just didn‘t make any sense to me and I didn‘t get the point of it and even without it having a point the story & the characters felt very boring&bland and the vibes just weren‘t vibing

Hypericum follows Teresa, an Italian woman who has moved to Berlin to participate in the organization of an exhibition on the findings from the excavation of Tutankhamen's tomb. Teresa is a brilliant woman, someone who has always felt like she had her path laid out before her, she doesn't like to deviate from it and things have also always worked out for her.

Then, she meets Ruben, a fellow Italian who couldn't be more different from her. Ruben likes spontaneity and enjoys taking things as they come. Despite their differences, the two start engaging in a relationship but as expected, it is not the easiest of relationships.

In contrast to her seemingly successful life, Teresa also has to battle her demons, specifically her chronic insomnia which makes her constantly on edge and is one of the reason why her relationship with Ruben is not exactly perfect.

I really wanted to like this because the premise of the story sounded like something I would enjoy and the artstyle is also very pretty. Unfortunately, Hypericum was not really a book made for me. Teresa is a character I really could identify with, given that she's someone who despite not being too comfortable with change and unpredictable events, still yearns for it. She also voices some fears that I deeply relate to. I was expecting to see her slowly battling her fears but I was left a bit disappointed by the fact that this is mostly a story with no plot, or goal. I never really get to see Teresa dealing with her problems, unfortunately. Her relationship with Ruben felt a little superficial to me, and I was completely confused by the abrupt ending.

I believe there is an audience for this graphic novel, but unfortunately I'm not it. I think it would suit people who enjoy an aimless exploration of a characters life, focusing more on little moments of it instead of a coherent and cohesive story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Fantagraphics, for this review copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I unfortunately didn’t really connect to this book. The two stories in this book didn’t have a great connection and I just wasn’t that interested in our main’s story (honestly I was just barely interested in the other as well, but I actively disliked Teresa’s). Maybe there’s just something I’m missing but this really didn’t hit for me.

This is by far the most beautiful graphic novel I have come across, each frame is like art, many of which I would actually hang in my home (see cover art).

Hypericum follows, in parallel, Carter's landmark 1920s discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb in Egypt and Teresa and Ruben's passionate yet tormented love affair, set in 1990s Berlin. Between Egypt and Berlin, the two eras confront and intertwine in a story that has at its center the hypericum, or St. John's wort, a plant known for aiding sleep and reducing anxiety among other things.

The characters were so well developed, I felt like I actually knew Ruben, the setting was stunning and the way the stories intertwined was very clever. It was written in the same style as Minor Detail with two timelines interconnected and I loved that too.

If you are new to the genre or you just want a visually stunning literary experience give this a shot!

Hypericum by Manuele Fior captivates with beautiful illustrations and vibrant colors. Skillful intertwining of history, love, and insomnia adds depth to a compelling narrative.

Very enjoyable graphic novel! I liked the way it flipped between the modern story and the account of the archeological dig. I particularly liked the pages that acted somewhat as chapter dividers. The art style/coloring was beautiful and the story was engaging!

Thank you to NetGalley and Fantagraphics Books for the ARC!

This was my first time reading a graphic novel and because I'm not an artist, I cannot really judge the artwork. So my review is completely based on the story of the book. The description was something that made me pick this book. Egyptian history? Alternating timelines? Count me in! But sadly, my excitement soon turned into utter confusion. While it was fun to read about the discovery of the pharaohs, I didn't understand its connection with the main character's present-day life. Apart from the fact that she was a research student working on an exhibit of the articles found in the pharaoh's tomb, nothing much made sense as a whole. Even the relationship between the two main characters felt rushed. Especially the ending part where no explanation was given on how and why they got back together again.

I briefly wondered if I couldn't understand the supposed deeper meaning behind everything because maybe the meaning of certain words and phrases got lost in translation. As someone who can read books in four languages, I know that can very well happen when you just don't have the perfect word in English to describe a feeling or emotion. But that didn't seem to be the case because the artwork matched with it.

Maybe I'm something or maybe I'm not. Maybe this book just wasn't for me. In any case, I still believe the concept was amazing and the book had a lot of potential.

“Hypericum” by Manuele For

I ended up really not liking the art. The story was confusing with two story lines happening and they didn’t feel connected to me. This graphic novel really wasn’t for me. 1 out of 5 stars.

This was a romance manga, which was extremely out of my comfort zone. However, I decided to pick it up on a whim. The graphics in this was super fun, but the story itself had me confused. It lost me as it followed two different stories (one in 1922, and one in 2001). Both stories felt so random and unconnected, even though they both resonated with the discoveries of Tutankhamun's tombs. Overall, this was not my thing but I can admire what the story was trying to do.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with access to read this book!

I usually don't request graphic novels since it's not a format I especially lean towards but I've been wanting to expend my reading lately so here we are. I don't know exactly what to think about this one specifically. It feels like a slice of life and I really enjoyed the setting in 1990s Berlin, mixed with the archeology aspect. I feel like the characters weren't very developed but at the same time, it's quite hard to do so in a 144 graphic novel. I must say tho, the illustration were quite beautiful and I'm always very picky when it comes to that. I will be looking up the artist because I truly liked their style. I think I'd rate it a 3.25 stars?

I received an advanced readers copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the artwork throughout, which is easily 50% of the appeal behind a graphic novel. That said, the other 50% ought to be a compelling story, and that was missing for me.

The narrative consists of two POVs, one set in 1922 and the other in the 1990s; the only connecting piece between the two being an Egyptian dig site. I’m still not really sure what the larger point was behind the story as a cohesive piece. In all honesty, this one missed the mark for me. It felt disjointed and somewhat uninteresting.

Thank you for granting me the access to this ARC, NetGalley and the publisher!

First of all, I love the art style. The color palette is also charming. The whole story is easy to digest and enjoy, lighthearted but embraced with gentle message. The beginning really reminds me of Before Trilogy, meeting strangers and developing connection.

However, I can't seem to grasp with the idea of Egypt exploration and Teresa-Ruben. It's a bit unclear to me.

I was bummed I wasn't able to read this on Kindle - my laptop doesn't work well with the netgalley format option. That being said, I found the storytelling in this book to be attention-holding and certainly worth the read. The characters were believable as well as their interchanging story (and time) lines in ways that I feel I don't often see as much in modern fiction. I liked that this read as more modern fiction than a pure historical fiction novel as well.

2.5⭐

**ARC provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

The first thing that stood out to me was the fact that the main character, who is Italian, has a Spanish name (Guerrero, her last name). I saw that the author is Italian, so I'm guessing it isn't a mistake.

Another thing is that there is quite a bit of text in German, which I wasn't expecting, and I obviously didn't know what was being said. I'm pretty sure it's done on purpose, so I hope I wasn't missing any relevant information.

Overall, it was a little too mild for me. There wasn't anything remarkable about it, or at least, not to my standards. It had a literary fiction vibe, so it might be a good read if you're into that genre.

I wasn’t expecting a comic so I might be a bit biased on this. Thanks for the ArC ‘‘twas cool. Especially the art. Weirdly enough despite me normally avoiding comics I loved the art of this one. The plot though felt a bit falling apart at quite a few points. Cheers!

Review on Hypericum by Manuele Fior ( 3. 25 ⭐)
An Italian girl in her 20s, Teresa, moves to Berlin to organize the exhibit of King Tut’s treasure. A chance encounter with a bohemian wanna-be artist, Ruben, leads to an impulsive romance. As they explore the new city together, the romantic connection feels like an escape from responsibilities. It has moments of toxic codependence.
Another story depicted parallel to this is Carter’s Discovery of King Tut’s tomb.

What worked:
The beginning gave me a very Before Trilogy vibe, following a stranger impulsively and exploring an unknown city with them. The dual storylines allow the artist room to exhibit skill range. The archeological vibes were on point, and there was peace in the desert paintings while waiting for the tomb to reveal its secrets.
There was a conversation around the perception of time, the social commentary on changing Berlin, and the alienation of the night, I enjoyed that.
The hiding of inner Teresa’s journey of self-awareness in Carter’s external journey of discovering the tomb of Tutankhamun was a clever angle. The realistic and subtle description of love as a distraction from challenges in life was on point.

What didn’t work:
I liked Ruben. His curiosity, childlike loudness, going with-the-flow, and whimsical nature were likable, however, his evading doing the art made me like him less.
The connection of Hypericum between the two stories felt fabricated, a means to an end. It ruined the impact of the small conversations I enjoyed in the book. The graphic sexual representations felt low-key redundant.

Vibes: archeological expedition, Before Trilogy, complicated feelings, realistic relationships.
I thank NetGalley and Fantagraphics Books for the eArc copy of this book. I am grateful for the opportunity, wishing you success with the release!

The artwork in this graphic novel is beautiful: loose watercolors and warm, muted tones. The story is an interesting juxtaposition of an archaeology student living in 1990s Berlin and the 1922 discovery of King Tut's tomb. The way the author switches back and forth between the two is interesting without being overly obvious. The reader is left to make some of those deeper connections on their own, but there is enough made clear that you don't feel frustrated or lost. I wouldn't say I loved this book, but I read the whole thing in one sitting and have been thinking about it intermittently ever since.

I like the art style and the switch in style from Egypt to Berlin. I got lost a bit when there was a switch from English to other languages. I like how the relationship between Ruben and Teresa is shown along with their struggles and flaws.