The Unicorn Legacy - Volume 1 - Call of the Goddess

Les Héricornes #1

by Kid Toussaint, Verónica Álvarez (Illustrator)

Every hundred years, the kingdom of Lemuria sends its heiress to the temple of the goddess Aurora to ask for her protection and to make a wish. For the new heiress, Celeste, the road will be long and full of pitfalls, but she is endowed with the arms of Lemuria as well as the unicorn Sadalbari. What she doesn't yet know is that her glorious destiny is not she will share it with four other unicorn heiresses...

Genres: Bande Dessinée, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Comics, Magic, Childrens

83 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 21, 2023

About the author

Kid (Thierry) Toussaint est né il n'y a pas très longtemps, pas très loin (loin de quoi?). Il est Sagittaire ascendant Vierge, ce qui impressionne beaucoup dans les soirées mondaines. Rédacteur, traducteur, astrophysicien, catcheur et scénariste, il s'est promis d'écrire sa biographie quand il sera mort. En attendant, il écrit des bandes dessinées. Parmi celles-ci, on trouve "Magic 7" et "Télémaque" (Dupuis), "Killing Time" (Ankama), "À l'ombre du convoi" et "Holly Ann" (Casterman), "40 éléphants" (Grand Angle/Bamboo) ou encore "Brûlez Moscou" (Le Lombard).

Reviews

[Lucía Cafeína · Rating 4 out of 5]

Qué genial, me siento como leyendo las WITCH una vez más <3

[Jayne at the Library Editing Profile · Rating 4 out of 5]

CUTE

[Sandy Arr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Transitions entre chaque scène un peu étranges, mais dans l'ensemble c'est mignon.

[Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this arc!

The Unicorn Legacy is a very cute graphic novel about Celeste, one of many heiresses, being sent on a quest to seek out the goddess Aurora for protection of her kingdom and a personal wish.

The art style and theme very much reminded me of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, which I really liked. It is what initially drew me to this novel. The plot and writing is very simplistic (not a bad thing in this case!). The characters are a bit stereotypical - in design and characterization. I did love the magical transformations, though. I mean, who doesn't?

A fun and quick read that I would love to continue reading to see where the story goes!

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 ✴️
Les illustrations sont très belles, l'histoire très mimi, avec des princesses, des licornes, de la magie... Même si je n'ai pas beaucoup accroché à l'histoire pour le moment, je pense que c'est le genre que j'aurais aimé lire petite.

[Marion · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sailor Moon au pays des licornes.

[Hot Mess Sommelière ~ Caro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stan a W.I.T.C.H.-esque girlpower magical girl series - with unicorns!!

What I really liked:

- characters have distinct personalities
- their places of origin also feature totally different political systems
- the snowy place where the people live in an egalitarian commune where everything is decided in a public vote is GREAT
- one of the girls is probably not a magical girls but just a regular girl who loves adventures and unicorns and just kinda tags along with the group. I love that.

What could be (a lot) better

- the main character Céleste comes from a hereditary kingdom where the Queen Mother suffers from dementia (?) and the last queen is probably dead, so an old regent is ruling in her stead. His relation to the princesses is totally unclear and I don't understand why there have to be old male rulers in a magical girl series when there was a perfectly valid, if sickly older sister available to do the job.
- even the egalitarian commune has a male chief/speaker who announces the votes
- the bad guy is an ugly old hag who presides over a legion of big ugly orcs which is ... sad misogynism in action. I really hope we won't find out in the future that she wanted to be a magical unicorn girl but couldn't, and became a witch instead -.-
- also, orcs as villains? isn't that just a cop-out to avoid giving them a motivation?

[Robin Pelletier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who doesn't want to be an heiress on a mystical quest with her new bestie unicorn and her new bestie heiress friends? I mean, sign me up! This was a super fun graphic novel about a quest to pray at the goddess temple by five different heiresses from 5 different kingdoms. Each girl has a different motive for their quest. But they will need to team up to defeat the obstacles that come their way and avoid the witch at all costs.

This graphic novel had total sailor moon vibes. I loved the unicorns. This graphic novel series is shaping up to be epic! I can't wait for the next one to come out.

[Patrícia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I loved this! The art style in this graphic novel is absolutely fantastic and the designs of characters and creatures are wonderful to look at. Don't get me wrong, it's painfully obvious at times that this is a middle grade book. It has the most basic and expected plot in the world. However, I would've loved this when I was a kid and I love it today for the visuals. It's very magical and cute regardless of being predictable.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

L'histoire et le concept sont super, mais ça va beaucoup trop vite et les événements s'enchaînent sans qu'ils n'y aient nécessairement de suite logique. Un peu comme avec la série Elles j'ai l'impression que l'auteur n'aime pas vraiment les situations initiales et veux très rapidement aller dans le feu de l'action. Malgré tout, l'idée est super intéressante et j'ai très hâte de lire la suite. De plus, les dessins sont magnifiques et j'adore les characteres design.

[Olivier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Je suis en général assez fan des scénarios de Kid Toussaint, mais avec les magnifiques dessins colorés de magical girls de Verónica Álvarez c'était un excellent premier tome.
On retrouve les éléments classiques à ce genre d'histoire fantasy, mais je crois que les bases sont bien mises en place. Hâte de voir la suite!

[Melou.book · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une Bande dessinée toute mignonne, avec des planches formidables et une petite histoire originale. J'ai beaucoup aimé ce premier tome et la construction du groupe des cinq filles Hericornes. Qui avec leurs particularité, elles contribuent à un groupe haut en couleur et très attachant.

[aeris is reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

J'ai aaaadoré les dessins et le style des personnages, et j'ai trop trop hâte de suivre la suite de l'histoire ! J'ai un faible pour les pages de worldbuilding dans les bd, donc les deux pages a la fin J'ADORE !!!

[Irene ➰ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

- Thank you to the author and the publisher for putting this title as a "read now" on NetGalley. -

Very cute middle grade story.
I liked these fantasy heroines winx vibes and the set of characters seems interesting enough.
Wish we knew more of the main story but still a fun read to pass the time.

[lauriane · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Juan Manuel Sarmiento · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tiene mucho potencial pero es que es demasiado introductorio y corto para el precio que tiene

[Bookarune · Rating 1 out of 5]

1,5/5
Pas mauvais mais pas bon non plus. Pas de profondeur, basique à souhait.

[Ashlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a super cute read! I loved the art style and the way all of all of our characters were differentiated from each other. I definitely want to pick the next one up in this series.

[Sabs ✨️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC Rating 5/5 ⭐️

The Unicorn Legacy is a children's fantasy graphic novel 🦄

The story follows Princess Celeste, of the kingdom of Lemuria, who has to make the long and treacherous journey to the temple of the goddess Aurora. This journey has to be taken every hundred years to keep the kingdom safe and protected. On her way, she meets four other unicorn heiresses.

I really enjoyed the storyline, characters, and amazing artwork. It was cute, sweet, and magical, and the illustrations really brought the story together.

Thank you, NetGalley, Europe Comics, Kid Toussaint & Verónica Álvarez for sending this eARC for review. All opinions are my own.

[Michaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Arc)

'Unicorn Legacy Volume 1' is the funnest graphic novel that I've read in a while. The art style is gorgeous and works perfectly with the storyline and I genuinely enjoyed myself and got a bit upset when I came to the end. Lucky for me, there's gonna be more volumes so I get to immerse myself in Celeste's story again one day.

[Ashley Love Sellers · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was a teenager I was obsessed with manga, and as I've grown older that obsession has bled over into comic books, graphic novels, and web comics. The Unicorn Legacy held immediate appeal with the stunning cover artwork, and I was happily delighted to see the same caliber of work throughout this book.

The reader is quickly introduced to Celeste, the youngest princess of Lemuria. Today she will be undertaking a huge task - to travel to the Temple of the Goddess, and ask for her blessing of peace, prosperity, and protection for her kingdom. This quest takes place every hundred years by a chosen heiress, and since Astra, the oldest sister of Lemuria is chronically ill the responsibility falls to Celeste. She will journey on her own with only magical weapons to assist her in her greatest hour of need. (Think Sailor Moon or Magic Knight Rayearth, but with unicorns.) Along the way she meets Nell, Rama, Orya, and Izadre, and together they plan to venture to the Temple of the Goddess to fulfill their duty. Other stunning or amusing characters include Celeste's grandmother, adorable Howler beasts, the mystical unicorns Cerotis and Sadalbari, and the hysterical half-people clan.

This book really ticked all the right boxes for me: stunning illustrations, a great story line, interesting characters (Rama is my current favorite, but I love them all), a heavy dose of cuteness, magic, and unicorns. I highly enjoyed the story myself, but I plan to share it with my boys, and my oldest niece - this seems right up her alley. The main characters are duty-bound, but also want to do the right thing because they have a strong moral code. Rama demonstrates this strongly several times, saying she doesn't like others being referred to as monsters. Book one ended with a new villain entering the scene, and perhaps a new ally? I can't wait for the second book to come out so I can find out!

[Lastblossom]

tl;dr
Stunning artwork and fun characters, with the promise of more adventures to come.

Thoughts
Let's start with the art, because it is absolutely gorgeous. Graphic novels can sometimes have a stunning cover that can hide interior work that doesn't quite match up - but this entire book is lovely to look at. Several panels feel like standalone art pieces, and I loved the composition, colors, designs, everything really. Characters and their respective unicorns all have bright, distinct designs that I would have been entirely obsessed with if this had been on TV when I was a kid. And likening it to a TV show is probably the best way I can describe this book. The entire thing runs a good deal like a pilot episode, taking time to explain the world and rules, briefly introducing our heroes, throwing them into a somewhat minor kerfuffle, and then hinting at a villain waiting in the shadows. It's a very lightweight adventure with little to complain about, but little to truly review in terms of plot. Overall a fun pilot episode, and I look forward to seeing where the story goes from here.

Thanks to NetGalley and Europe Comics for a review copy! All thoughts in this review are my own.

[Mehsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from Netgalley/publisher in exchange of an honest review.


I just HAD to click on the read now button when I saw this one along with other graphic novels by Europe Comics. I mean Unicorn girls? Sign me up! And that blurb also sounds interesting. I am always in the mood for more fantasy and unicorn magic.
PLUS, I am happy to say that this 4 book is also not a dud! That means 2 were and 2 weren’t. That makes me happy, I was so worried when the first two graphic novels I wanted to read were duds.

In this gorgeous, really GORGEOUS, graphic novel we follow the heiricorns, aka the unicorn heiresses. For a while we follow Celeste, princess of Lemuria. Well, officially it was her sister’s journey, but she is sick so it is up to Celeste to go to the temple of the goddess and do her wish/prayer. I did think it was interesting that Celeste didn’t seem to know much about her heritage, mostly just doing it away as dreams/fantasies, until the moment that she needs her inner unicorn and finds out everything is actually true!

But after that introduction, including an introduction to another heiricorn (or is she, because given what we see I have some doubts) we just travel to another realm to meet another heiricorn and see them start their journey and then we are back to Nell/Celeste and then we meet another heiricorn, see the heiricorn from the previous part, and oh yes, there are halflings and they are baddies and there is a fight, and so on. I was just so confused. I mean, it just didn’t flow. It just didn’t match together. It felt like separate chapters/parts being slotted together only not neat and tidy, but just disorganised. I mean, I just would have rather had more flow. Better introductions. Less BOOM BOOM BOOM here is the next part. I think this one may just work a bit better as animation rather than a book.

I am curious about the baddie at the end, that is the one we were warned for, and I wonder what her motivations are (I mean, every baddie has one, right). I do love her character design, so ominous!

Despite this, I am still curious about what is next for these girls + also what will happen now the baddie knows about their journey! I love the transformation of the girls and see their unicorns, I love how inventive they are and how they kick some major butt. Plus, I love how much nostalgia vibes this one gives me! I love that we get some extra character information at the end for Celeste and Rama along with their wishes, countries, and unicorns, I am guessing that in the next volumes we will learn of the others.
And the art, OMG the art! That was just absolutely gorgeous, I love the colours used, and I love how diverse the cast is.

But yeah, I cannot rate it more than 3 stars because the story just popped from one to another thing. If the story was just a bit better this could have easily been 4 stars!

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Angelica Dominguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all I want to thank netgalley for providing me with this graphic novel.

Every hundred years, the kingdom of Lemuria sends its heiress to the temple of the goddess Aurora to ask for her protection and to make a wish. For the new heiress, Celeste, the road will be long and full of pitfalls, but she is endowed with the arms of Lemuria as well as the unicorn Sadalbari. What she doesn't yet know is that her glorious destiny is not unique: she will share it with four other unicorn heiresses…

Our protagonist is presented to us as the heir princess of her kingdom since her older sister cannot fulfill that role due to an illness, so she must go to the temple to ask for help. However, here we are presented with another heiress with similar abilities, who She also seeks blessing, as she progresses she realizes that she is not the only one looking for help, and all of them must join together to achieve their goals. Something that I liked about the story is that it reminds me of the shojo magical girl anime series, from the transformations to the design of the characters, this is a first part so it serves to introduce the protagonists and so that we empathize with their cause However, at times it was a bit chaotic.

But I liked the reading, it was easy for me to finish, it reads quite quickly.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars

[Freya · Rating 3 out of 5]

We follow princess Celeste on her journey to the temple of the Goddess, to ask her to protect the kingdom and assure peace and prosperity. And she may also include a personal wish. It is her duty as heiress of Lemuria, a duty that has to be fulfilled once every hundred years. Or actually it was supposed to be her older sister’s duty but she fell ill.

Perfect color choices and the whole thing looks and feels like something from Disney.

I loved the hilarious confused grandma and I didn’t trust the regent.

I’m glad Celeste is very soon joined by one heiress after the other, all from other places and each like her, able to summon a unicorn to help them if needed.

Celeste doesn’t take the journey and the warnings very seriously and that’s part of what makes the story lighthearted and fun. There are some short battles and an evil witch and her orkons who try to stop them but never anything really scary.

I loved the funny moments and the cute animals and the unicorns of course!

The story ends in the middle of their journey. I don’t think I’m going to read the next volume because this was nice but not engaging/special enough to get me excited to read more.

I was too late to download this from NetGalley so I’m reviewing a copy I purchased.

[Emelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely LOVED this; it is adorable!! The illustration style is beautiful, and I love the use of softer colors so that the reader isn't overwhelmed. I also love the characters; it already seems like an eclectic group of heroes that will really make the comic pop.

THE UNICORN LEGACY is about a group of girls/princesses who are traveling to the Goddess' Temple in order to save each other peoples' as well as make a wish for themselves. However, there's an evil group of witches that will do anything to stop them.

Overall, it's a great comic for kids. The plot is fairly straightforward and the illustrations are engaging. At the same time, I think older kids might also like this because it has a very similar feel to SHE-RA AND THE PRINCESSES OF POWER. It has potential to deal with darker themes that might appeal to older kids a little more while still maintaining that childlike innocence.

[Theediscerning · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well with no English version of Book 2 yet – and I assume Book 3 coming out in French in the spring of 2025, as per the last two April release dates – there's little reason to bother with this series opener. It wasn't something that had to be rushed out into English anyway, a childish fantasy of an heiress on a mission, able to evoke the magic and skills of a special unicorn avatar – and finding along the way that there are several similar lasses to gang up with. The fact the daft baddies are doing the bidding of a badder character – like, great choice, woman – is just a smidge of the poor logic and decisions made in this cheap and cheerless splurge of colour.

[Angustia⋆Cósmica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was instantly lured by the amazing artstyle and stayed by the genuinely interesting plot.
I'm just weak for unicorn stories and magical girls, sue me.

Celeste takes on her ill sister's duty to leave the country on a journey all by herself, aiming to reach the temple of Goddess Aurora and wish for her kingdom's peace and prosperity. During her journey she will meet other heiresses with the same task, forging new alliances as they aim for their goal.
And also there's unicorn and magical transformations, I'm all set.

I loved this. LOVED this.
Sometimes you just need to read a bit of everything that's good with fantasy.

[Nessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley and Europe Comics for the eARC! I saw the cover and had to read it. I loved the art style, and thought the plot was really interesting! I was a bit confused in the beginning when we'd switch POVs, but it made more sense by the end. I hope the characters also get more of an individual personality throughout the series, because they all seem a bit similar, aside from Rama. The part with the halflings was fun, and I thought the little romance was hilarious and cute. I want to continue the series to see what happens next, but I didn't love the story as much as I expected.

[Cursed Cuddles · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is understandable why Princess Celeste is furious. It is her duty as the heir to Lemuria to travel alone to the goddess' temple and request her assistance in guarding the realm. She must travel in order for the kingdom to be at peace and develop. So, no pressure or anything of the sort. In The Unicorn Legacy Vol. 1: Call of the Goddess, she is about to learn that the trip she is about to embark on is not one she will undertake totally alone. Writer Kid Toussaint and artist Verónica Alvarez weave a fun fantasy tale in the first graphic novel of a whole new series for Europe Comics