Though beautifully illustrated, I had some problems with this graphic novel. I absolutely loved the beginning - a young girl lives in an isolated tower with her father where she chats with the dead. It is always night. Oh, so much potential here. And, then this evil woman comes from the sky, claiming to be the girl's mother . . . and I lost interest.

The story seems both crammed with filler, AND lacking information. The ending is abrupt and to-be-continued. I won't be along for the ride.

**ARC provided by NetGalley for honest review**

The Night Mother Vol. 1 by Jeremy Lambert was a beautifully drawn graphic novel about a young girl with a unique ability raised by her undertaker father alone on an island at the edge of their town of unending night. She is soon sought after by the Night Mother, a celestial being turned evil for the purpose of stealing souls from the living. This was a haunting, fast-paced story that felt like a myth, and I wish this had been a little longer, but I loved it, and would even enjoy seeing it in a full-length novel form. Strongly recommend for graphic fans of all ages.

I loved the artwork in this book and I liked the story. I do think it was cut short and keeps you hanging on asking yourself how things will continue. So I'd love to read on once there is more to read. I think it was an original story and I think it does have potential to be good.

Firstly, the visuals in this are stunning and I feel bad giving it so low a rating for that, but any higher feels insincere because of how poorly plotted this was. The story went far too quickly for how complicated a world it wanted to make, and lots of the world made no sense because of it. There were so many elements that felt added just because they sounded cool, with no regard for how this world actually works and how these people actually know and connect to one another. If the rest of the series was out already I might binge read it just to know what happens and look at more beautiful illustrations, but I can't in good conscience recommend it for anything more than that.

I wasn’t too sure about this one. There was lots of glorious colour and imagination but I found the story to be a bit confusing to follow and this wasn’t helped by the graphic. I think this is a story for me that really needs volume two in order for it to get going for me. I won’t give up just yet but I think I needed a bit more storytelling in this first volume.

*3.5 stars.

This is such a unique story, but it felt a bit vague and/or rushed at points. I wish this volume had been longer so there would’ve been more space for details and to bond with the characters.

A promising first volume!

The Night Mother allows the souls of the dead to pass to the other side peacefully. But for years, time has stopped and plunged the world into an endless night. When the Night Mother begins to not only carry out her mission but also to collect the souls of the living, Madeline Tock, from the height of her 12 years, will have to be cunning...

The story is original, perfect for the autumn period since it provides some chills. I am very curious to discover more about Madeline and the last Night Mother...

The illustrations are very beautiful, especially thanks to their colors which perfectly serve the story.

In short, a very nice read, to discover! ^^

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
3 stars

This took me a bit to get into, but I think that's mostly because this was not meant to be read on a phone screen xD The beginning is decently info heavy, so there was a lot of smaller info boxes that required zooming in. However, the lore is interesting. It has some Spielberg vibes to me, with its child-friendly dark fantasy vibes. Though it may just come across as dark fantasy since it's always, well, dark out xD Once the story got going, it was perhaps a bit predictable, but still very solid and enjoyable!

the moon is stuck in the night sky, the night mother is consuming souls instead of releasing them send them to their eternal rest and Madeline can hear them crying for help.
capturing story with amazing illustration. can't wait to continue reading!

The Night Mother rules over the moon and its people. During every full moon, she uses her lantern to guide the souls of the dead to the moon. The position of Night Mother is always passed from mother to daughter, but the current Night Mother is a cruel ruler who would even take the souls of the living.
Barnabus Tock owns a clock that tells the patterns of all the stars and the rotation of Earth, but the moon is fixed in place. No, the clock isn't malfunctioning because where Barnabus lives, it's eternal nighttime. Barnabus's daughter, Madeline, on the other hand, can hear the voices of the dead. One night, Madeline found a living, breathing human walking on water. This person tells Madeline that she is in great danger and that the Night Mother is coming after her- her own mother.
I just finished reading an incredible book that left me eagerly anticipating the rest of the series. The main character, Madeline, stood out to me with her kind-hearted nature, and I couldn't help but imagine her as a formidable Night Mother. Every character in the book added layers to the story, making it a truly engaging read. The detailed artwork further enhanced the overall experience.
I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking a captivating work of fiction that will keep them thoroughly engrossed.
Happy Reading, Laly ❤️ 📚

So engrossed in The Night Mother was I that it took reaching the end to remember this was only the first volume. A relief. A disappointment. The art is stunning and enthralled me from the moment I opened the ebook. The cover – though beautiful – does not do the interior justice. And combined with a perfect first line – ‘Barnabas Tock has a clock that doesn’t tell time’ – I was lost to its world.

Its initial atmosphere of isolation and ostracisation is fantastic and it establishes Madeline and her dad’s relationship really well. It’s such a shame that collapses when Madeline goes into town. Even so, I’m not terribly saddened by this. The villagers are one of the elements I’m most excited to read about in the next volume. I can’t wait to find out what exactly happened.

The Night Mother herself is truly a wonderful villain. One to loathe, but also one you can’t help but feel some sympathy for even as the ways she’s grown twisted are terrible. It builds up her arrival like rolling thunder and she can be frightening to behold. The intensity of her stare. The way her presence drains the colour out of the world. The nightmares she gives Madeline are illustrated exquisitively. The colours and textures are breathtaking.

The Night Mother is one of the best comics I’ve read this year. Its relationships are so full of promise. Madeline and her dad are shown to be so close so quickly and it’s genuinely heartbreaking what happens to them. The moon is so eerie and alien and I can’t wait to see more of it and learn more about its people and what they’ve endured. But I especially am eager to see what The Night Mother will do.

Phenomenal art really makes this first volume of The Night Mother, an intriguing beginning to a fantastical middle grade story about a land where the negligence or malevolence of a kind of goddess has led to an eternal night and an uncertain afterlife, with background themes of what makes a parent and how we choose our paths.

I really enjoyed reading this!

The story is so intriguing, I was devastated when it finished. I'm looking forward to the next volume.

The art work is gorgeous and really compliments the story.

A huge thanks to Oni Press and NetGalley for providing me with this arc

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really liked it, stuck with me & would recommend
This is a delightful graphic fable that draws you in with intrigue and gorgeous artwork. Madeline Tock feels trapped in her seaside town where night is eternal. She hears whispers from the dead and that's where the adventure and clashes with the Night Mother begin.

I enjoyed the keyed up coziness and mythological storytelling. The artwork makes it though,  that was one of my favorite aspects.

Thank you to Oni Press, NetGalley, and author Jeremy Lambert for providing me with a digital ARC copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review. The Night Mother Vol. 1 is out October 8, 2023.

The Night Mother (volume 1) is a short little comic that feels like a one-issue ("floppy") and ends on a big cliffhanger! It starts with poetic narration that draws you right into the lore of the world and that things iwth our heroine Madeline may not be exactly what they seem.

The colors are vibrant and the characters varied and interesting, and I think I'll keep an eye out for volume/issue 2 when it appears!

Thanks to Oni Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for review!

In a seaside town, night has become never ending. Madeline Tock feels trapped in her home - her father has never liked her leaving once it got dark, and now, that is all there is. But Madeline can hear the cries of the dead, though not in an upsetting way. Mostly, she hears their cries to be put to rest, and so she finds them and buries them to give them peace. What she doesn't know is that her father is hiding her from the Night Mother, the powerful deity who is supposed to shepherd souls to the underworld during the night. But the Night Mother has become obsessed with power, leading to their endless night.
An interesting new mythological tale, and the first in a new series.

It is an interesting concept of a fantasy graphic novel. I would say the synopsis really did hook me and had me expecting more aside from the remarkable art panels.

However, the storytelling execution, in my opinion, was kind of did not go well in the whole story or like what I was imagining it to be. Instead of being intrigued by it, it sort of thrown me off. I would say the dialogues were lacklustre for me?

Overall, I think I would have enjoyed it more if the storytelling execution was much more appealing and engaging. I would have liked it more if it did captivate me from the start towards the end.

Thank you, Oni Press, for the e-arc opportunity via Netgalley .


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Date Released: October 8, 2024
Date Read and Reviewed: October 4, 2024
Rating: 2.5⭐️

This is a really nice story. It starts off with quite q cosy vibe and towards the end gets quite high stakes. My biggest criticism is the jump from cosy to high stakes happens quite fast.

I enjoyed the main characters of maddie and nura we don't really get to know the characters very well this is something I feel could of been built on.

The illustrations are beautiful and it has some really heartwarming moments.

Madeline Tock can hear the whispers of the dead and lives in the graveyard with her overprotective father. Endless night has fallen and her father no longer lets her venture out, for fear of the Night Mother who takes souls from the living as well as the dead.

This had beautiful art and a great idea at its core but I wish it had been more developed. This easily could have been twice the length which would have allowed for more time to flesh out the plot and characters a bit more. At the length it was, the worldbuilding took up a sizable portion of the page count and I felt like not enough actually happened. I'm very intrigued to see where the story goes next though!

What to expect:

》Astrology/stargazing
》Clairaudient mfc (can hear spirits/ghosts)
》Small town myths & legends
》Prophesies

Barnabas Tock is a gravedigger and astronomer who has clocks that don't tell time; instead, they show the position of planets, stars, constellations, and the sun and moon. Everything works perfectly... until one night, the moon stays stuck in the sky and plunges the world into an endless night.

The story takes place around Barnabus' adoptive daughter, Madeline Tock, who has the ability to hear the whispers of the dead. Barnabus tries to protect his daughter from the danger he sees written in the stars by keeping her practically a prisoner in their own home. Madeline Tock puts up with her overbearing father's constant worrying until one night she's sees something impossible — there's a girl running on water!

This was such a fun, spooky read that is just perfect for the autumn season! I can see this book being popular around the September/October seasons—especially in time for Halloween! The color of the illustrations gives it a spooky feel that I know kids and adults alike would love!

I really like the art style in this graphic novel. It compliments the story very well! The illustrations by Alexa Sharpe were beautiful. I would definitely recommend this book to friends and family!

This book leaves off on a cliffhanger, and I am definitely hooked and interested in reading more to see how this story unfolds!


✨️Things I liked✨️

》The way this story is told has a rhythm that's almost poetic. I loved the introduction into the story! It hooks you from the very first page!

》Barnabus' clocks are so cool, and I love how astrology is centered around the story.

》The illustrations are beautiful! The artist has a great talent for feeling the vibe of the story.