As a fan of occult fiction and comic books, it’s been a great pleasure to read this small graphic novel from Michael L. Peters.
It’s always impressive to see creators who can not only craft their own stories in an effective and creative way, but are awesome artists as well. Michael L. Peters is the writer and the artist of Crescent City Magick, a story set in New Orleans. The story features a beautiful redhead witch, and makes the 3rd Season of American Horror Story (Coven) look like it should have hired Peters as one of its writers.
The witch in Crescent City Magick, Julia, saves a young man named Clayton from some ruffians in an alley. From there, the story gets weird. A motley crew of misfits, strange magic, and aliens come out of the woodwork. Clayton seems to be running away from something, something he even doesn’t know or understand. Julia has some sort of interest in Clayton, and places him under her protection. What unravels in Crescent City Magick for the two is a lot of romantic tension (you can smell the hormones in the air) and an wild adventure with lots of suspense and wonder.
Along with the unique and fun storyline, Peters has a knack for humor that makes Julia quite likable. The humor also works well with Julia’s friends, and their interactions with Clayton (who serves more as the “bewildered straight man” character of the graphic novel) are quite comical. The aliens in the comic, who serve as one set of villains, are pretty creepy and menacing.
Michael, proving to be as good of an artist as he is a storyteller, crafts this comic with detailed black and white inks. You can tell he took his time with each panel, from the characters to the backgrounds. Currently, he is working on a sequel, and it will be well worth the wait. Until the second book comes out, I’d suggest checking out Michael L. Peter’s first book of Crescent City Magick. It’s always refreshing to see a solitary creator who places his heart into his work, and Peters’ devotion matches his talents.
Great review! I can’t wait for the next book.
Thank you for reading the review! I can’t wait, either 🙂