An enjoyable and engaging supernatural academy story. For students start at Blackwood College and find themselves involved in the secrets of the college and all the danger that brings with it. The Dean of Blackwood College sort of vanishes and the difficulties this creates involve the new students and the desperate staff trying to cope with the situation. The reveals are smart and very well set up, the story twists and turns in a very engaging way before coming to a very satisfactory conclusion.
The problem with the story is that one of the leading characters is deeply unlikeable, they are angry and flailing at everyone who comes within range all the time. There is a reason for the anger, in dramatic terms it is unrelenting, there is no space for the reader to sympathise with the character. I simply did not want to spend time in their company. It speaks to the strength of the story and the depth of the rest of the cast that I completed and enjoyed the story. Evan Dorkin has provided superb plot mechanics; the story is great fun and develops in an engaging way.
The art by Veronica Fish and Andy Fish is friendly and inviting, it packs in an extraordinarily level of detail without every feeling crowded or overburdened. The detail gives a strong presence to Blackwood as a location and a space, it is as full of nooks and crannies, secret rooms and unexpected turns as it should be. The cast are vivid and expressive, the students are individual teenagers who are never less than natural, responding to the extraordinary in credible way. The adult staff of the college are a pleasure, they are capable, stressed concerned and trying to manage in the face of tremendous forces. The dynamic they have with the students rings true. The colours are subtle and on point, they bring out the details and give weight to the emotional tones of the story.
Blackwood College firmly establishes its own identity and force, it has a deep context which is a pleasure to explore.
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