Here’s a comic that I’ve been waiting for, Whatnot Publishing has adapted Blake Northcott‘s best-selling novel The North Valley Grimoire into a 6-issue comic book miniseries.

Not only that, but they got Blake Northcott herself to write this adaptation.

And not only that, they’ve teamed her up with artist Giuseppe Cafaro and colorist Bryan Valenza, whom she has previously worked with in the sci-fi short story Synapse and its sequel, for Heavy Metal magazine.

So I figured you couldn’t miss with this creative team. And I was right!

First, let me state that you do not need to have read the novel before reading this comic (although you really should have read the novel), it’s completely accessible for new readers. Our lead character is a man named Malek and within the first few pages through some clever dialog captions Blake reveals all you need to know about him and introduces us to this world and the reality he inhabits so we’re quickly caught up to speed. Malek is an agent for a top-secret branch of the C.I.A. known as the Father Division, whose mandate is to hunt and capture (or kill) illegal users of magick, which is totally real. Malek was born in Russia and raised in London and is basically James Bond but with even more sarcasm.

It’s mentioned that a new type of technology, dubbed techno-alchemy, is helping people access magickal devices and spells and use them without the need to spend the time it usually takes to master such things, which is what makes it so dangerous as now untrained novices are dealing with forces beyond their comprehension. I can’t help but find this very topical as it reminds me of the current debate about the use of Artificial Intelligence in various creative fields like art and writing.

The issue opens with Malek in Rome tracking an illegal magickal artifact, which turns out to be a new grimoire (that’s a book of magickal spells). The operation doesn’t go the way he planned and he finds himself sent to North Valley, Virginia, where it’s believed that the grimoire has been transported. There we meet our other lead character, Calista, a 17-year-old girl who is still in mourning over the mysterious death of her friend Jackson when she suddenly finds herself in possession of said grimoire and, with the help of her friend Kaz, begins to try to find out what it is, and how it’s connected to Jackson’s death. By the time this first issue ends, we see that both Calista and Malek’s lives will never be the same..

Blake’s ear for dialog, which I’ve praised in previous reviews of her work, shines through here, whether it’s Malek matching wits with his superior officer or Calista talking to a school counselor about her grief, the characters sound like real people. And Guiseppe is as adept at drawing a shootout in a packed nightclub as he is at drawing two high school students in a library.

Interesting characters, an intriguing mystery, dramatic action, and beautiful artwork (plus a special picture of gorgeous cosplayer/cryptozoologist Erica Fett). This is one of the best new comics I’ve read this year. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Chacebook rating: FIVE STARS

AVAILABLE IN COMIC SHOPS EVERYWHERE, AND VIA MASSIVEPUBLISHING.COM