Reviews

Mage and the Endless Unknown by S.J. Miller, S.J. Miller

vengefuldime's review

5.0

I’m a huge fan of the style, character design, and tone. It’s so expressive and dramatic with almost no dialogue, and makes it easy to become immersed.

inthebelljar's review

4.0

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

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.

rlore96's review

adventurous dark hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

novelholiday's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

mattmcthorn's review

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

mothfemme's review

adventurous dark hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Gore

bombegranate's review

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

cadeunderbooks's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Oh wow, I've read this mostly wordless graphic novel a few times, and it's a beautiful example of how to convey so much story with mostly visuals. The titular Mage ventures out into a darkly lush world (that's reminiscent of the darker bits of Studio Ghibli like Princess Mononoke), and along the way, they make friends, survive monstrous encounters, and lose literal pieces of themselves. This story did give me those hoping-to-be-hopeful vibes. And I actually think it would make for a wonderful entry into the animated anthology Netflix series, Love, Death, and Robots. I know I'll be revisiting it from time to time; it's my whole jam, jelly, and cellar of preserves.
11.15.23
1.2.24

rbz39's review

adventurous dark fast-paced

3.0

Another entry in the “cute little guy encounters horrors beyond imagination” genre. Artwork is the standout here because there is very little text in the story. I thought this was a simple story with a lot of disturbing scenes, I wish it had a bit more meat holding things together, since it’s pretty abstract.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Body horror, Death, and Gore

blaireisrad's review

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

4.0