Member Reviews
There's a lot of world-building to be done by the first volume of Covenant and it does some seriously heavy lifting. Infodumping is common here. The characters themselves are a little flat. And I had a hard time taking the story seriously when every serious moment had to be interrupted by a comic relief moment. Pacing needed some work.
That said, the artwork is well done and the representation of queer characters is appreciated. Volume 2 might be worthwhile for fans of Constantine or urban fantasy as a genre.
3.25/5
Thank you Netgalley and Oni Press for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed the story that this graphic novel set up. I loved these tattooed, gun-wielding exorcists fighting against the demons trying to feed on the souls of humans. However, while there were intriguing and mysterious points, I never found myself as engaged as I wanted to be. I never connected fully to the characters, I just don't think it was long enough.
I often find this to be the case, personally, in the first volume of most graphic novels, they never quite give me enough to grow attached. But I think this is a very fun story and a very promising start to a series.
I really enjoyed this! I love the art and the world building and I’m very intrigued by the characters.
There was a lot of info dumping in the first half but it needs to start somewhere.
It also ended right when it got exciting so I will continue reading this on Webtoon immediately because luckily there’s a lot more.
While Covenant is not a genre I'm comfortable with, I am trying to branch out in the graphic novel realm and so gave this a try. I did not read the entire book, but I read enough to know that the artwork is beautiful. The style is engaging and attractive to the eye, but I didn't care for the storyline or level of violence. I think this graphic novel will appeal to a fans of John Wick and The Sandman series.
Thank you to ONI Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this graphic novel. All opinions are my own.
"I believe in demons, for I have seen them. I believe in angels, for I know them. And though I cannot believe god... I can believe in my purpose."
Why is every character in this book so damn hot?
I really enjoyed the art style and overall the vibes of the novel. There were a lot of info dumping at the beginning but near the end I really started to get into the story and I can't wait to see how it progresses from here.
3.5 stars **
★ ★ ★ ★ • 4
First read this when it was a webcomic uploaded to WEBTOON, and I was so excited to see that it was being published into a full-on graphic novel series.
Great art style with a full cast of LGBTQ+ rep characters. The character designs alone were more than enough to convince me to read. And! The storyline was also interesting, and gave an urban fantasy… Constantine meets Gideon the Ninth sort of vibe.
If you’re looking for a new graphic novel series to try that is packed with supernatural low fantasy elements, definitely give this a try. Planning to continue the series when the next volume comes out.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC to review!
It was perfectly alright. Would definitely benefit from some more editing to make it more suitable for publication as one book and not an online comic. I enjoyed it, but it felt a bit shallow, both plot and the characters.
very good! art was beautiful and the characters were very gay. 5/5 stars. i immediately went to the webtoon app to continue reading it, it was so captivating.
I’m not a big fan of graphic novels but I decided to give this a try. The premise was intriguing enough to put aside my thoughts on graphic novels as a whole, however I didn’t like how incomplete this felt by the end. I understand that this is an ongoing series, but I’ve found in the past that graphic novels seem to wrap up their secular story before moving on the following volume. Not a whole lot happens in this first volume beyond world building
I read a chapter or two of this back on Webtoon and never got around to finishing it, so from the moment I recognized the art style, I knew I wanted to give it a shot!
This will be controversial for most, some will hate it for including Catholic imagery, and some will hate it for not being the "clean good Christian literature". I for one, love exploring Catholic Mysticism, and thought this story was a breath of fresh air.
The only thing I would criticize is the pacing. It's obvious the story was written as an internet serial and its transition into a traditional printed medium could have been smoother. The volume reads like a pilot episode, and we go through an entire micro storyline before we're even introduced to the character of Sunny. The plot described in the synopsis doesn't kick off until about 85% of the volume and then it's abruptly cut off by a cliffhanger. I'm sure the series works great in its original format, and once I'm done writing this review I plan to binge-read the rest, but the reedition just isn't very compact. I wouldn't mind the exposition if it just didn't take so long for things to get started.
That being said, it's been a while since I read a proper comic book, so perhaps this pacing is standard for the genre - and I have not read the Lore Olympus printed edition, so I don't know if there is or isn't a better way to transition from a webtoon to print.
The art style is stunning, though I have to admit when it came to the fight scenes, I found it hard to figure out what was happening. The artist uses a lot of visual shortcuts ( probably so that they could have had each episode done in a week ), and at least for me, it ended up hurting the clarity. There were parts I had to read multiple times - and they didn't even end up being relevant.
Overall, I think it has been a promising start to an epic story, but I would probably recommend reading it as the original Internet serial rather than in volumes.
A huge thank you to Onipress and NetGalley for providing me with the arc in exchange for an honest review.
It was a lot of info dumping and getting used to it at first but dam! I’m intrigued now! The art is gorgeous and the writing I had to get used to a bit at first but it’s an easy read and I want more now 😌.
Covenant was an adrenaline fueled ride. Vuong has taken the church, tatted them up and given them powers through archangel patronage - honestly all very cool concepts.
Beautiful art style, love the gothic art fashion. Ezra, the priest warrior who believes in his angel patron but not in God, is tasked with protecting Sunny, a seemingly normal human being hunted by demons. This first volume and introduces a lot of really complex and interweaving plots. There are different churches with very different approaches to demon hunting - and political plotting between those factions. There is Ezra and his team, who are delightful and complex and I want a whole issue featuring each of them to get their full stories.
The plot is fast paced and interesting, the art is stunning. Lots of action, lots of magic, this one was really fun (and honestly seems like a really fun use of Christian church lore).
First of all, thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
I love to read Graphic Novels and this one was really interesting.
The plot and the characters remind me of Shadowhunters and Supernatural (I LOVE IT) so I was addicted since the beginning.
The art is beautiful and the universe is awesome.
I’m truly anxious to read the next volume because it ended in a interesting part and I felt sad that it ended.
It’s really easy to read so it also helped with my reading slump.
Now I’m waiting already for the next book!!
This was an extremely intriguing beginning of something that has enormous potential to become one of my new favorite graphic novels. In a fantasy world where priests are marked with magical tattoos and guns are being used to defeat manna-sucking demons, life couldn't be better for an avid fan of gothic atmospheres and stunning, eerie storylines such as me. The characters are so likable, honestly, I would love to be friends with all of them, especially Ezra's blond-haired teammate - Samson. There also seems to be a slowly unfolding queer slow-burn romance in between the pages, which I'm absolutely ecstatic about and although I still haven't been fully immersed in the story, as it is the first volume, I see a big potential in this work.
The pages are beautifully drawn, eye-pleasing with their dark and neutral colors, and easy to read dialogue. What certainly had won me over though is the banter, the sheer humor and snarkiness of the characters, and the outstanding queer representation, which is always wonderful to see!
There was a little info dump at the start and I'm fairly certain that I will have to properly re-read it before picking another volume in the future, but there's no way for me to not stick around for the ride at this point, it's as if this story was literally made to suit my taste after all. So happy I decided to give it a try and if the synopsis or the artwork has intrigued you as well, give Covenant a chance!
Thank you to the author, Oni Press, and NetGalley for this ARC to review!
I was absolutely blown away by the manga. I actually first saw this manga on Webtoons and followed it for some time. I am so excited to see it being printed.
The story is very well written and maintains your attention. If you are a fan of demons, exorcists, gothic vibes, and mystery, this manga will have you anxiously turning the pages. The character design is beautiful. The exorcists' tattoos, which conceal their weapons and powers, are very intricate, and the backstory behind them (blessings from their patron gods/goddesses) is super cool. Each exorcist is memorable due to the character art/design and their personalities. The fight scenes are so well illustrated and help animate the story. Lastly, the LGBTQ+ representation in the main characters is a lovely treat.
With it being the first installment, there are some unanswered questions about the characters, the taboo church of which the exorcists are representatives, and the mysterious human who is able to wield ancient weapons and power.
I can't wait to see where the story goes. 5/5 stars - would recommend.
This book has a wonderfully unique premise with rich world building, complex characters, and beautiful artwork. I always love different takes on religious thrillers and this does not disappoint. It’s action packed and you get the first hints of the slow burn romance. I don’t want to give too much away but this is a must read for anyone who loves webtoons.
The approach is typical of the fight of good against evil, with a vision that could be Catholic mixed with superheroes, except for the detail that they seem closer to the German inquisition than to the current Church. In the first episodes collected in this volume we know of the Order to which the main characters belong and, towards the end, the enigmatic Sunny, who seems to be a magnet for demons.
The cover reflects the style of the drawing very well and the story has left me intrigued, which is enough. It also has plenty of action, as you would expect.
This was a good start to a series. I’m interested to see where the story goes from here because it ends on a very exciting scene. Covenant has interesting characters and beautiful illustrations. In spite of this, I didn’t get fully captivated by the story. It had quite a lot of action sequences and although these were beautifully rendered, I definitely preferred the scenes where the MCs’ personalities shone through.
Thanks for the chance to read an early copy Oni Press and Netgalley. Covenant is released on 16th April.
I requested Covenant as I had read the webtoon and wanted to see howmit was adapted after recommending it to many people.
While some of the original formatting is gone which is a shame it does translate pretty well to this format. I assume it's going to be split in 4 books or something and to my disappointment the first one cut very early into the story although I hope that all th threads that have been introduced (more focused on the church than the main relationship) will motivate people to keep reading.
It's nothing I haven't said about I already but the art is gorgeous, I love the concept and characters and it's well paced with good action
THIS WAS SO GOOD.
I was not sure what I was getting into when I requested this but it was actually really good. The first half is slow as its mainly infodumping but once the actual story starts its so good!! I love the characters and now I’m going to binge all of the remaining parts on Webtoon. Totally recommend!!