Name: Mythos's review of SuperMutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki
Item: SuperMutant Magic Academy
Rating: 3
Author: Mythos

Jillian Tamaki

Unrequited love, underage drinking, and teen angst rule at a high school for mutants and witches The New York Times and New Yorker illustrator Jillian Tamaki is best known for co-creating the award-winning young adult graphic novels Skim and This One Summer--moody and atmospheric bestsellers. SuperMutant Magic Academy, which she has been serializing online for the past four years, paints a teenaged world filled with just as much ennui and uncertainty, but also with a sharp dose of humor and irreverence. Tamaki deftly plays superhero and high-school Hollywood tropes against what adolescence is really like: The SuperMutant Magic Academy is a prep school for mutants and witches, but their paranormal abilities take a backseat to everyday teen concerns. Science experiments go awry, bake sales are upstaged, and the new kid at school is a cat who will determine the course of human destiny. In one strip, lizard-headed Trixie frets about her nonexistent modeling career; in another, the immortal Everlasting Boy tries to escape this mortal coil to no avail. Throughout it all, closeted Marsha obsesses about her unrequited crush, the cat-eared Wendy. Whether the magic is mundane or miraculous, Tamaki's jokes are precise and devastating. SuperMutant Magic Academy has won two Ignatz Awards. This volume combines the most popular content from the webcomic with a selection of all-new, never-before-seen strips that conclude Tamaki's account of life at the academy.

SuperMutant Magic Academy

Mythos

3/5 stars

This was kind of a curveball for me. I was expecting it to have more of a graphic novel format. It was still a pleasant surprise, although I was thrown off by the constant change in style. It worked surprisingly well considering the story they were telling. The constant switch in focus among characters definitely made this possible as well. The humor isn't for everyone, as it can be considered dark for some. I think some jokes were more about poking fun at bigger conversations that could possibly lead someone to have an existential crisis.

Overall, I am not sure if I would ever recommend this book to other people. Although I personally enjoyed it at times, I didn't enjoy it as a whole. Therefore, I don't believe I would ever reread either.

Julia Lotz

MEINE MEINUNG So leid es mir auch tut, mit diesem Buch konnte ich rein gar nichts anfangen. Es klingt thematisch super und während dem Lesen entdeckt man zahlreiche feministische und diverse Gedanken, die ich toll und vor allen Dingen gut eingebaut fand. Der Rest? Langweilig. Mir gefel der Zeichenstil überhaupt nicht, er war zu wirr und trotz fehlender Kolorierung sehr schwer lesbar. Der Comic besteht aus kleineren Stripes, die im ganzen zwar etwas wie einen Handlungsverlauf haben, der lässt sich aber nur sehr schwer erkennen. Viele Dinge im Comic sind für eine etwaige Story völlig unrelevant und man steigt auch sehr spät erst durch, wer wer ist. Für mich leider ein Fehlgriff

FAZIT. Für mich war der Comic leider ein Fehlgriff. Trotz toller feministischer und diverser Tendenzen war ich von den Charakteren, dem Zeichenstil und der Geschichte selbst sehr enttäuscht und das Lesen war mehr Qual als Spaß und Entspannung. | ★★☆☆☆

Maggie Gordon

Oyy... I thought I'd like this one a lot, but that wasn't to be the case, I suppose. SuperMutant Magic Academy is a collection of webcomics about a group of superpowered teens at a boarding school. There's a lot of sass and humour in these pages, but much of the book left me cold or wondering how the strip fit into the collection. There weren't that many overarching storylines, which is unfortunate because when there were, the characters started to get far more interesting. As one can see by the many many positive reviews, I am certain there are many people who would enjoy this book, but the teenager ennui was just not for me.

Pax Nova

I am so glad I decided to pick this up! So, so funny and surprisingly heartwarming.

Beth Bartholomew

I loved this, both funny and accurate. It balanced some fun stories and moments with observations on society and how we act. Very good fun, made me laugh out loud a fair few times. 

Sabrina D. 

Andrea Pozo

Nora 

Rachel D

Ary Dias 

renee badenoch

Curtis Stewart

Vanessa 

Melanie Richards

Alianor Chapman

Kali Olson

Katie Day

At a prep school for superheroes, mutants, and witches, paranormal abilities take a backseat to normal teen concerns

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SuperMutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki

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