THE FIRELIGHT APPRENTICE

A girl who’s endowed with magic navigates a postwar society that’s populated by nefarious beings.

Safi Defoy and her family—her father and older sister, Ada—work hard to maintain a business in their stone-walled city that’s nestled in a green valley. A recent war, which devastated people and businesses alike, left Papa with damaged lungs. Like her deceased mother, Safi is a magician; with training, her electrical powers could prove to be of great value. Those who possess magic are in danger, however: Liches—the souls of dead magicians who died in the war but weren’t properly laid to rest—are searching for power and hunting living magicians. Liches hide behind deep disguises, making it hard to know whom to trust. Ada takes Safi to see a show by famous traveling magicians Sergio and Caliban. During their performance, they notice Safi’s unbridled magical sparks. Afterward, they invite her to be their apprentice, offering Ada and Papa hope that she’ll be kept safe. This volume focuses more on building this world, which evokes 19th-century Central Europe, and developing the endearing characters than on telling a propulsive narrative. When the climactic action does arrive, it wraps up quickly. The clean, regular, richly colored panels, which include emotionally resonant wordless sequences, communicate the emotional weight of the fantastical elements. Most characters are light-skinned, and some are racially ambiguous and cued queer. Ada is aromantic.

A magical steampunk exploration of difference, danger, and sacrifice.