Name: Moonstruck
ISBN: 9781534304772

Grace Ellis

Werewolf barista Julie and her new girlfriendgo on a date to a close-up magic show, but all heck breaks loose when themagician casts a horrible spell on their friend Chet. Now it's up to the team ofmythical pals to stop the illicit illusionist before it's toolate. The first chapter of the brandnew, all-ages magical coffee-laden adventure from Lumberjanes creator GRACEELLIS and talented newcomer SHAEBEAGLE. Collects issues 1 through5

Moonstruck

Krystyna 

This was a cute graphic novel. I adored the art style; the illustrations were so cute. I enjoyed the advice column, the snippets of the books that the characters were reading, and the coffee elements that were added. This was a fun story filled with magic. It would be great to read in the fall, especially in October. I enjoyed the characters and the storyline/plot. It gives a cozy vibe with a bit of action thrown in. Also, it has great diverse representation. The characters are lovable and wholesome, and they're mythological creatures. Overall, it was a fun, enjoyable read.

brianna

"Can you really call yourself a hero if you do things that hurt the people you care about?"
 

This was one of my most anticipated comics and I gotta say... I'm disappointed. The art style and color palette was GORGEOUS but the plot and writing was not the best. BUT we did get lesbians and a non binary character so I would definitely recommend it in terms of diversity!! I was just super confused as to what was going on and I don't think I'll continue this series.

Izza

4 stars | Damn, the diversity in this graphic novel makes my heart so happy!

Maggie Gordon

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... this is so cute, I want to die! Moonstruck is about a world where monsters exist and they are baristas just like anyone else. Our protagonists are two lady werewolves in early love, a genderqueer centaur, and a witch with prophetic powers. They make up a silly, but heartfelt group that must find take down an evil sorcerer who is stealing people's magic. There's a good lesson about embracing your unique qualities, even when they make you something other than "normal". Plus it's so adorable! Please give me more, creators!

Elizabeth Hagenlocher

This made me so happy! The art is beautiful, there’s amazing plus size representation, and the story does a great job at touching on the idea of otherness.

There are some really phenomenal panels that I’m still thinking about. And the characters are great.

Edited to add: Selena, in the end, said/did things that seemed out of character for her, and it was a little rough to see her characterized that way :/

I think the end was a bit too quick and the story kinda fell apart; it could have benefited from a bit more explanation. But overall it was a really great read. And the end of chapter interviews were a funny little addition. 

Can’t wait to read the next couple trades!

anika.

the first issue was great, but the rest of the book fell flat

Melanie Richards

This series is cute, really into the art, the characters, and the concept, but I spent much of the arc confused. I kept feeling like I missed something, some piece of plot that wasn’t on the page, or the implications / mechanics of some action wasn’t well enough explained. Open to reading future issues though.

Mahogany Skillings

I was super excited when I saw this title. I want so much to be able to give it 5 stars. But I can't. It really deserves a 2.5 because of glaring problems in the storyline. There is a parallel short story running at the same time that is quite honestly confusing. The plot progresses as if the reader knows information about characters, but we really don't. The ending is just a big ole mess.

That being said, the world is one I am interested in. The art is beautiful, and the diversity is a joy to see. I will be looking for more in this series, and hoping for a progression in the writing.

Moonstruck, Vol. 1

Flavia Louise

I really like the art style but am not too sure on the story yet

Courtney ✿ @librarycutie

this was a very cute and interesting graphic novel with diverse and queer characters but i didn’t love it. it was just okay. i will say i love the aesthetic drawings of this story because i’m obsessed with coffee and this called to me! i love the magical creatures and i feel like it was missing something, it had an evil they had to fight but it wasn’t a big part of the story i feel like, but overall still enjoyable. i would be interested in reading the second volume to see if it interested me more, or honestly just to look at the art.

Grace O'Callaghan

Julie is a barista that happens to be a werewolf. She lives in a world where humans and supernatural creatures live together in peace. When she and her girlfriend, Selena, as well as her best friend Chet go to a magic show, things take a turn for the worst when a spell is cast on Chet. Together they must work to reverse the spell. 

I picked this up for a quick, cute and spooky read. That was exactly what I got.

Thoughts:

• Julie and Selena are the sweetest beans. They’re just cute werewolf girlfriends that I need more of. I loved seeing how they complimented and contrasted each other. Can’t wait to see more gay cute werewolf moments in the next volume.

• The art style is a new favourite of mine. I either seem to love the extremely detailed or the simple and cute. This was the latter. The pastel colours were the perfect fit for the story as whilst it was spooky at times the overall tone was a light hearted adventure. 

• The plot was a little lacking. It is only the first volume so it was more introductory in nature than action packed. It was a fun plot that wasn’t overly complex and didn’t take itself seriously.

• Chet is my favourite character. They’re just the perfect mix of over dramatic and fun. Chet also uses they/them pronouns, which is something you don’t see a lot of and should be included more.

• The world is so cool. My perfect world is a contemporary one but with some magic thrown in there. This was exactly that in my opinion. Even if they weren’t involved in the story whatsoever I still enjoyed seeing all the different kinds of creatures there are. It’s one of the reasons I love graphic novels. World building is able to happen without paragraphs of information like in a novel.

Overall a fun and spooky graphic novel with gay werewolves and other supernatural creatures. If you’re looking for a graphic novel that’s dark in its themes and tones, this isn’t it.

JB Moore

Actual Rating: 3.5

Absolutely beautiful art? Check. Great character diversity? Check. Great pop-culture background Easter eggs? Check. Cryptid-core food for monster lovers? Check.

Overall a fun little read, but about mid-comic the story telling got a bit jumpy and hard to follow. It seemed like we were on path A then immediately on path F in the series of roughly 5 pages.

But again, would recommend, I just probably won't be picking up the second installment.

Jessica Williamson

3 star.

The art was really well done and I loved the diversity but that plot though!

Wait, there was a plot? Alright, there was a bit of a plot, but it was really hard to follow and I felt like we were missing huge gaps of things. Also, the MC is, not my favorite, but her gf was treating her like hot dumpster garbage and somehow that's okay? They can still just love each other and be all snugly. Like, you've been on 3 dates and she's been an absolute bitch to you. Run now while you still can. 

Idk. Maybe it's just me (it's usually just me).

Heather Heaton

The art in this graphic novel was right up my alley and I was excited to get into a magical, fun read that was fantastical, but also a bit romantic. Overall I feel as though I got that although, it was more negative than I expected and the romance was a bit annoying to me. They seemed to have some insta-like and then from that point forward both just seemed to do things that frustrated the other and there was no happy in between to make you understand why they liked each other. The plot line of the magician they must go after who casts a horrible spell on their friend was intriguing enough to pull the story through and I think that was done well. There was a host of magical creatures in here from werewolves to vampires to a girl with medusa hair. I think that it came up with some interesting topics about being different in the world and made the world unique and entertaining. Some of the negativity just took over the book a bit too much though with some bullying and arguing and I wanted more teamwork and good qualities in the characters to balance it out a bit more.

Brittnie smith

The art style in this is AMAZING 
Honestly 5 stars just for the art 
The plot however..... 😐

Josephine Lemonade 

very fun and loving the representation! 

not sure im invested enough to buy the other volumes but i enjoyed it!

Rebeca 

A NEW ONGOING SERIES from Lumberjanes creator GRACE ELLIS and talented newcomer SHAE BEAGLE that tells a story of monsters, romance, and magical hijinks! The first arc also includes an additional short story with artist KATE LETH! Fantasy creatures are living typical, unremarkable lives alongside humans, and barista Julie strives to be the most unremarkable of all. Normal job, normal almost-girlfriend, normal...werewolf transformations that happen when she gets upset? Yikes! But all bets are off when she and her centaur best friend Chet find themselves in the middle of a magical conspiracy. Will Julie and Chet be able to save their friends? Is Julie's dogged determination to be normal a lost cause? Who's going to watch the coffee shop while our heroes are out saving the world?? These questions and more will be answered in MOONSTRUCK, coming July 19 from Image Comics.

Moonstruck #1

Hayley 📖🌈💜🌸

Lisa Beasley

I expected more than this gave. I actually got a little bored while reading it. Art was beautiful but story didn't grip me.

Kate

The plot was a little all over the place and I wish the conflicts had been delved into/explored further, as it all felt very rushed (especially towards the end). 

HOWEVER. 

The diverse cast of characters was beyond adorable and I loved the art style and muted pastel colour palette.