The Magicians

Protecting magic, extending grace, leaping into the future with hope—this tour de force will nourish souls. 

This is a remarkable creation, particularly so in design and tone, and readers young and old will find little else like this lyrical, thrilling, and mysterious tale.

Curious activity is taking place in a long-abandoned house that once belonged to a trio of magicians: a backpack-toting elephant emerges from a teapot, a blackbird bursts from a picture frame, and a girl with red hair appears from behind a screen. Succinct omniscient narration identifies the three as the aforementioned magicians, who each separately descend upon the nearby village. There, they wreak havoc that includes tricking children into giving up their food and turning an elderly man's homely garden into an impenetrable jungle. But the huntress Aisha and her fearsome lion-dragon companion Clinker, which resembles a Chinese guardian lion, are on the tricksters' tails. In a fast-paced, action-packed chase that traverses time and space, the huntress and the magicians take turns gaining the upper hand, until an even more treacherous party enters the fold. Via expressive text, artist Blexbolex (Vacation) presents a dreamlike fantasy graphic novel adventure that celebrates creativity, imagination, and magic. The silkscreen-style illustrations are awash in a vivid palette of mostly primary colors, giving this visually stunning work a vintage vibe. Most human characters are depicted with pale skin. Ages 9-up. (Nov.)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Three characters—an elephant, a blackbird, and a girl—are magicians who are being pursued by a huntress and a dragon-lion in an imaginative and fantastical world that is seeking to be rid of magicians. Will two be able to stop three? The three not only have to outmaneuver the huntress and dragon-lion, but they also have to encounter other dangers from broom-wielding housewives to annoying old geezers. However, it seems Aisha, the huntress, is powerful enough to complete the task and seek the wizard before deciding her next step. Beginning with the phrase "once upon a time that is now" and ending with "once upon a time that will begin again," the creator Blexbolex uses artistic license to create something wholly different. The text is translated from French while the style and color of the illustrations take up most of the page. The text is printed at the bottom, more reminiscent of an early chapter book than a comprehensive graphic novel. Capable of being read in a single sitting, the story offers creativity and adventure as its backbone, offering escapism and a unique setting similar Jon Klassen's The Skull. VERDICT A gem of a story, it can easily be seen as an all-ages title in a world of imagination which defies true categorization.—Alicia Abdul

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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• STARRED reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly!

"Blexbolex is a singular talent, someone whose work, while often referencing the past, is entirely his own. In The Magicians, his beautiful and strange illustrations—built up digitally through his signature spot-color layers, inspired by traditional screen printing—are combined with a Japanese binding technique that is rarely ever seen in published books. The seemingly simple layout of almost the entire book (one drawing and a few lines of text per page, two per spread) belies a delightfully complicated story about three magicians being pursued by a huntress and her mechanical dragon. But who are the good guys here? Who are the villains? An exploration of the magic and difficulty of childhood, the wonders of the imagination, and the unique properties of books themselves, The Magicians is another utterly surprising gift from Blexbolex. You'll want to read it again and again." —Brian Selznick, author & illustrator of The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Big Tree

"With an almost monastic commitment to creating images that feel both universal and deeply personal, Blexbolex has swerved in the course of his career from wild, aggressive mark-making to a pure distillation of forms. He has relentlessly followed a muse that has surely been an exhausting alchemical pursuit. The result is this generous story that trusts the reader's youthful intuition that the solidity we perceive in the modern world is only one layer, and it's tissue paper thin, like the brilliant, kinetic illustrations themselves. As with all great kids' stories, The Magicians is really about remembering the things we were born knowing and taught to forget. Blexbolex strives to remember the essence of everything." —Jacob Covey, Fantagraphics creative director

★ "A remarkable creation, particularly so in design and tone, readers young and old will find little else like this lyrical, thrilling, and mysterious tale." —Booklist, STARRED REVIEW

★ "As these motifs wend through transformations and cameos containing familiar folkloric elements, readers experience the sense of a gifted storyteller improvising as ideas flow. Protecting magic, extending grace, leaping into the future with hope—this tour de force will nourish souls." —Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW

★"In a fast-paced, action-packed chase that traverses time and space, the huntress and the magicians take turns gaining the upper hand, until an even more treacherous party enters the fold. Via expressive text, artist Blexbolex (Vacation) presents a dreamlike fantasy graphic novel adventure that celebrates creativity, imagination, and magic. The silkscreen-style illustrations are awash in a vivid palette of mostly primary colors, giving this visually stunning work a vintage vibe." —Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW

"What I like about the book is the utter unpredictability of the magical adventures and the fact that it really is hard to figure out who is good and who is evil... The scenes of movement and transformation happen quickly, within a page or two, so by the time 182 pages have elapsed, the reader must decide if it's time to reread the book to take stock of whose side they will root for. The physical book feels like a tour de force of cool bookmaking... The author has created the vintage feel of a 1920s silkscreen or woodblock printed picture book from eastern Europe... Recommended for lovers of unique visual storytelling and older readers who like fantastical illustrated books." —Stephanie Tournas (Robbins Library, Arlington, MA) for Youth Book Services Review

"The Magicians is a fantastical tale of magic and adventure, chaos and control. What would a world look like if there was no magic? An oversized graphic novel that reads like a fable and is packaged in the most dazzling way I've ever seen. French illustrator Blexbolex's latest is an impressive work of art that will make for a wonderful gift to be treasured." —Jen, Boswell Book Company (Milwaukee, WI)

"A fairy tale in the gaps, ... uniquely child friendly. Blexbolex as imagination stimulation... Reads like a feast with each course in a different household, and, ultimately satisfying!" —Griffin, bookseller at Book People (Austin, TX)

"An untraditional, mystical story about the last of the tricksy magicians, and the huntress who wishes to defeat them. Each page is a work of art." —Anthony Gaetjen, bookseller at Book People (Austin, TX)