Let me preface this by saying that I'll read almost anything by a Vietnamese diaspora author. Graphic novels aren't usually my medium of choice, but this past year, Hungry Ghost was one of my favorite reads. Growth.

As someone that grew up Catholic, any stories involving priests instantly give me PTSD, but this is probably more sacrilegious than anything else, if you care about things like that. I'm trash for a hot demon. In this case, I'm also trash for the priest that looks like Manacled Draco.

Covenant delivers a lot of beauty, but not a lot of substance. It’s a story we’ve seen before with demons, angels, a church dedicated to demon hunters and kind of a love story (?) intertwined. I thought the look of the graphic novel was phenomenal, the colour story was really great, character designs incredible… but the plot didn’t move fast enough and I found myself wanting more than it gave me.

Posted on Goodreads:

A supernatural action with queer representation and "gothic fashion". Say no more, I am in. I've thoroughly enjoyed Webtoon comics in the past, but it's been a while and this one caught my eye. Volume 1 combines episodes 1-18 and leaves you a nice mini cliffhanger that's tempting me to go and open up my Webtoon app.

This story follows exorcists from the Church of Providence that are able to be blessed by archangels and then turn around and use that blessing (power) against demons. This was one of my favorite details. Exorcising demons is preferred over killing them. And, well, there are reasons. Ezra has the blessing of Gabriel and is considered one of the strongest exorcists, but his lack of faith and his constant questioning of himself prevents him from truly using such an important archangel's blessing. But, he's left with a task, a task to protect another. Sunny seems like an average guy, but there's more than meets the eye and Ezra is taking his task to protect him very seriously.

Ezra, his friend Samson and the rest of the exorcists have their hands full with the increase of demons in the territory of The Church of Providence, The Great Church on their ass by questioning their methods and suspecting they're actually protecting demons and Sunny who has danger following him every step of the way.

This is described as a slow burn queer romance, but there's barely any in this first volume. Just a heads up. But don't let that discourage because the art work is absolute chef's kiss. Even the action fight scenes are very well done and can be nicely enjoyed. Since this is just the first volume of the first 18 episodes, not much plot is fully established. However, I do feel like a good beginning has been presented and leaves ample room to build a strong story. I'm hooked and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. I'll try my best to wait and not run to the app.

Thank you Netgalley, Oni Press and Lysandra Vuong for the opportunity to enjoy this first volume.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This is a great graphic novel! The story is intriguing, it has great representation, and the art style is just beautiful.

It is fast paced and easy to follow. The characters are so funny and beautiful. Every single one of them. I enjoyed everyone we met, expect for the people who were meant to be villains. Ezra is such a fun main character to follow and Samson is so funny, especially when it comes to Ezra and making fun of him. Their dynamic is great and they work so well together. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for these characters.

When I finished I was itching to read more! Definitely pick this graphic novel up if you can! It is well worth it.

I really enjoyed this actioned packed fantasy comic. The colour palate, and sharp artwork are perfect. I liked the fact that Ezra, the main character, is not perfect, his doubts and mistakes make him more realistic. Thank you to ONI Press and NetGalley for the comic ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

Thank you to NetGalley and onipress for another ARC!

I love the art for this graphic novel and can not wait for the rest of the story. The lore seems so interesting and I’m already invested in what is going to happen next. The character designs are so punk and gritty and I can’t get enough of it. The tattoos and cool priests outfits are my favorite. Going to keep up with this one for sure!

The world, the visuals, the characters - all of it comes together flawlessly in the first volume of this comic by LySandra Vuong!

The art style is contrasted and clean - pleasing to the eye and easy to follow for those of us that struggle with eye fatigue. Those dark undertones reflect wonderfully in the subject manner of this book - this being demons and the priests that have been trained to banish them. The cast of characters introduced here are all fun, charming, and wonderfully queer. I love to see it!

I do find it difficult to comment on plot and structure as this was only Vol. 1. Instead of constructing a full flowing narrative it was focused more on laying the foundation blocks for later building. That being said I had no problem following along and am already invested in these characters and their future!

Special thanks to Netgalley and Oni Press for this arc! I am leaving this review voluntarily!

Absolutely beautiful art! I had seen the author's tik-tok before getting an opportunity to read this, and was already so excited about the story. It turned out to be even better than I thought, with the art jumping off the page and the story being incredibly engaging. Not only are the characters unbelievably stunning, but the overall plot and content really hit home, especially Ezra. The religious themes hit that perfect middle ground of incorporating beautiful imagery and religious institutions without being overbearing or demoralizing. I cannot wait to continue the story and I downloaded Webtoon especially to read it!

3.5 stars
This first volume of the Covenant Webtoon series holds a lot of intrigue.

Encompassing religion and the war between angels as they use human hosts and humans, they bless to fight back the demons that plague the world and try to kill & corrupt unsuspecting mortals. But that turmoil isn't the only threat; the tension between two different branches of the church is almost at war; one church sees the other as blasphemy, and one is fighting in the name of good in a non-conventional way.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

The plot synopsis for this graphic novel isn't quite correct. It's changed a few elements, but it's still close enough to what is actually in the story. This volume contains chapters 1 through 18. This is largely set up for the longer overarching plot line of the series, so the focus of the volume is world-building and plot setting alike. I honestly really liked this, though at times it felt like it was trying a little too hard to be edgy. The premise of a Chruch hunting demons isn't new, but this story manages to make it feel fresh. Also, the plot synopsis mentions the character Sunny heavily, but you don't even see Sunny until the last part of the book. You only get his plotline set up and that's basically it for him. This book doesn't end where the first season ends, it ends in the middle of a season, so the pacing being a little off is a bit more forgivable. I did enjoy the art! The tattoos are a bit over-complicated design-wise and make panels look a little muddy because of how detailed they are, BUT when you see them close up they are gorgeous. The designs of demons and angels were very interesting and I can honestly say I've never seen them depicted that way, so that was super interesting to see. Also, whoever reformated the webtoon into a graphic novel style did an excellent job! A lot of times when webtoons get reformatted for print, they don't look that good and the panel layout is usually kind of clunky. Not the case for this graphic novel! It was done wonderfully and managed to perfectly keep the page flow from the webtoon version of this comic. Whoever did it needs to do the formatting for more webtoons!

UMMM…WHAT?! This was literally gold, this was the perfect mesh of dark academia meets Priest. I devoured this work of art in less than an hour and I’m craving the second volume as of yesterday. I need this one my shelf and so does everyone else!

I never read the original webcomic so I went into this blind. Despite not knowing what to expect (and not typically reading a ton of graphic novels) I really really enjoyed it! I loved the gorgeous art style and the character design was especially great. I was surprised by how quickly I found myself fully immersed in the story and the world.

I can tell this book is setting up for a queer, slow burn romance and I am INVESTED. Can’t wait to keep reading

Thank you Netgalley and Oni press for providing digital advanced copy in exchange for honest review!

Thank you Oni Press and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. An intriguing story! Ezra was chosen by the Archangel Gabriel and fights demons with other members of the Church of Providence. For some reason demon activity has grown in the area and The Great Church is blaming it on Ezra’s church due to their unusual practices. Believing them to be working with demons. However their powers come from angels. Ezra has a need to save everyone but without being able to access his full powers from Gabriel he can at times be a hindrance to his team. Then Gabriel tasks him with protecting Sunny. A boy demons seem to searching for. Can he protect Sunny? What is the deal with Sunny anyway? Will Ezra’s lack of conviction lead to their downfall? The artwork in LySandra Vuong’s graphic novel is absolutely stunning! Really brings everything to life! I love Ezra hero complex and Sunny’s grump personality! I loved the flashbacks that show Ezra and Sunny’s beginnings! I also really enjoyed their connection and how it developed! Plus Ezra’s team is badass and the powers/weapons from marks (similar to tattoos) is really cool! A supernatural thrill ride that has left me wanting more!! Can’t wait to read it again!

I really enjoyed this book. Great characters. Vivid art style. My only complaint is that I now have to wait for next instalment. Looking forward to it .

This comic book thrives on aesthetics, and the mash-up of things that went into the mix is very alluring: somewhere on the spectrum between Constantine and Shadowhunters, it has gay af priests (and lesbian lady priests) battling demons by invoking magic tattoed onto their body. Impressive, right?

Where it falls short is actually the power of storytelling: I may be judging a bit too early, as this is just volume 1, but while there were hooks in it for the bigger things, and tension, they all seemed quite... surface level, and easy to predict. Mind you, I haven't read the webtoon, so my opinion is based on this volume alone.

Thank you OniPress and Netgalley for an advance copy of Covenant by LySandra Vuong.

This graphic novel is so good! The art style is absolutely stunning and the well-paced action, along with the intriguing plot, kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the story. The humor is cleverly woven into the narrative, providing laugh-out-loud moments that will brighten up the otherwise pretty dark vibes. And to top it all off, the novel is super queer, with diverse and relatable characters that will steal your heart.
Don't expect to see any romance in this first volume because it's a pretty slow burn and will come up later (but you can always keep reading on Webtoon).
The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that I wish the world-building was explained more in-depth.

Huge Thanks to Netgalley and Oni Press for this advanced copy.

Slowburning romance + Action packed comic is finally here!
The art was truly beautiful. All those blurring effect and the lighting were gorgeous. The story was kinda dark but the artist know how to put some gags that made this book felt lighter. However, as a webtoon reader, I found the layout wasn't good enough. I prefer read this in vertical format because it would give me more vibes of the story.

Overall 5/5 for enjoyment of the story and art but 3/5 for the layout

2,5/5⭐️
love the artwork in it, it's so beautiful, but I wasn't really interested in the story itself, haven't read this on webtoon before, gives shadowhunters vibes

Thank you Netgalley for providing digital advanced copy in exchange for honest review.