‘Iscariot’ – Quick Graphic Novel Review

A child leaps into the air, sword in hand, a cat seemingly flying over her head as the evening stars softly sparkle against a dull blue sky… The cover for the graphic novel ‘Iscariot’ by S. M. Vidaurri promises a magical journey into fantasy fiction to its readers, but doesn’t live up to it.

First off, the story is all over the place. While it took me less than an hour to finish reading the book, I don’t know if I want to spend time thinking how to write a good ‘plot overview’ for this review. So, here’s the blurb instead

When Carson, a young girl living with cancer, is bestowed with age-old magic by a rebellious sorcerer named Iscariot, she must navigate her new powers, face the life she had thought she left behind forever, and take on the order of magicians who want to control her destiny. Carson discovers that Iscariot’s intentions might not have been as altruistic as it first appeared, and learns the hard way that magic comes at a cost.

part of the blurb for ‘Iscariot’

Yeah… I don’t think Carson learns anything in the graphic novel. In fact, even the readers don’t learn much about anything. Iscariot is just a shady ‘rebel’ figure with a brief cryptic backstory, whose motivations are unclear for most of the novel. There’s very little magic in the book and Carson’s life barely changes from getting ‘powers’; she is simply whiny little girl who has little respect for her mother.

The artwork isn’t very detailed and the panels look like rough sketches off a storyboard, not out of a finished graphic novel. Some readers might love the style, but it didn’t have me captivated. That said, I did like the color palette, it was pleasant to look at. If the creator had put in some more work into the story to make sense of what’s happening, ‘Iscariot’ could’ve been more than just an ‘OK’ read.

It’s a 2/5 from me. You can find the ebook on Kindle Unlimited.