Conspiracy of Ravens

by Leah Moore, John Reppion, Sally Jane Thompson (Illustrator)

Teen schoolgirl Anne unexpectedly inherits a mysterious locket and a crumbing English mansion estate from her long-lost aunt. She unearths the family secret that she's part of a magical legacy that gives her fantastic abilities, and she isn't the only girl whose family is involved. But not all the girls are so willing to use their new powers for good...

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Comics, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

136 pages, Hardcover

Published October 16, 2018

About the author

LEAH MOORE is an author born in Northampton, England in 1978.

Leah's comic writing career began in 2002 with stories for America's Best Comics. Most recently her solo comics scripting has appeared as part of Dynamite Entertainment's Gail Simone masterminded crossover series Swords of Sorrow (2015, with Francesco Manna).

In 2006 Leah wrote the story and copy to accompany The Royal Mail's 40th anniversary Christmas Stamps. She has written columns and articles for The Big Issue, Lifetime TV online, and Comic Heroes Magazine.

In 2013 Leah was the Project Manager of digital comics reading platform Electricomics. She was also the contributing editor of Electricomics flagship release, co-writing the sci-fi story Sway, with art by Nicola Scott.

Leah and her husband, John Reppion, have been scripting comics together since 2003, writing for the likes of 2000 AD, Channel 4 Education, Dark Horse, DC Comics, Dynamite Entertainment, Electricomics, IDW, and Self Made Hero.

They have written established characters such as Doctor Who (The Whispering Gallery, 2008 with Ben Templesmith) and Sherlock Holmes (The Trial of Sherlock Holmes, 2009 with Aaron Campbell, and The Liverpool Demon, 2012 with Matt Triano), as well as creating their own including Brit-Cit Psi Division, Judge Lillian Storm (Storm Warning, 2015 with Tom Foster).

Together they have faithfully adapted notable works by Lewis Carroll (The Complete Alice, 2010), H. P. Lovecraft (The Shadow Over Innsmouth, 2012), Bram Stoker (The Complete Dracula, 2009), and M. R. James (Ghost Stories of an Antiquary Vol 1, and 2) into comics and graphic novels.

Most recently she wrote an adaptation of The Doors Morrison Hotel album , and Motley Crue, The Dirt Declassified, for Z2 comics, as well as stories for their Joan Jett Anthology and the Tori Amos Little Earthquakes Anthology. She is currently working on The Tarot Circle for Liminal 11, as well as several other books yet to be announced.

Reviews

[Wren]

The ending kind of ruined this for me. Everything was really good, I liked the art and the characters and the plot was interesting, but the ending went off the rails. There was suddenly a villain introduced that had been around for 100 years, there was a random mix of magic and technology that wasn't explained, and these girls that had no idea how to use their powers were able to hold back the villain.

If this had been split into two volumes, one where we're introduced to the character and the story and another when the villainous stuff kicks off, it would have flowed better. Instead we get the last 20 pages jam-packed full of action with no explanations.

[Práxedes Rivera]

This is a fun story about the descendants of heroines who find each other generations after their foremothers' confederacy was dissolved. The cyan, black, and white coloring gives this graphic novel a cool feel. There were some gaps in the plot which could have been fixed prior to publication, but the narrative still works as is.

[Hannah]

Edgar Allen Poe meets Sailor Moon.

[Rebecca]

This is an enchanting, endearing and genuinely exciting graphic novel, that adults and young readers will enjoy.
It is a tale of magic, of friendship, of family, of secrets, of danger, and of birds. The Corvid family of bird species, to be exact.
It is a unique and refreshing twist on the teenage girls, magic items, superpowers and superhero genre. All captured in elegant yet simple tones of black, white and blue.
It is modern in that the band of unlikely heroines come from all backgrounds, race, class, personality and each with their own unique strengths and weaknesses and an array of very modern life problems.
It is well humoured, has strong moments of drama, alluring moments of mystery and is something I can totally see as a TV series, the kind of TV I would enjoy watching growing up.
But the real highlight for me which placed this in my heart is how I share a name, profession and even a love of cheesy pasta with one of the characters - and a character who sadly doesn't get her own magic, but still 'kicks-ass' when needed.
I would strongly recommend reading it for those who like a bit of nostalgia of when anything was possible, in the 'Queen's Nose Magic 50p' kind of way, and for young girls (able readers) who like magic, mystery and adventure.

[Ksenia (vaenn)]

А коміксів про життєдайну суперсилу дівочої дружби все більшає і більшає! Оце от - типова історія про пробудження, воно ж самоусвідомлення, майбутніх супергероїнь та здолання злобного зла, але має свої симпатичні плюсики і це у нас:

* едвардіанський ретрофутуризм (дія відбувається нині, але більшість шпигунсько-супергеройських технологій родом з початку ХХ століття;
* готична естетика;
* трохи британських реалій та британських жартиків (школа-пансіон VS звичайна школа в тому числі);
* уся дія крутиться навколо легенд про лискучих і прекрасних представників родини воронових - а круків забагато не буває, сорок - також;
* ну і дівочу дружби завжди приємно подивитися.

А що воно метушливе і незграбне трохи - то хто в цьому жанрі без гріха.

[char forrest]

Very fast paced and it switched POVs without warning so reading this when I was tired was probs not a good thing but I really like the concept :-)
I also think there were too many characters introduced for a book that wasn’t that long.. yes this is a graphic novel but there was a lot of reading to it so I couldn’t enjoy the pictures yk? But anyway good read :)

(I got this book from a street library)

[Shay]

The illustrations in this book are so moody & beautiful, and the back cover honestly made me wish I'd been able to enjoy more of it in color to really do it justice. There were a lot of characters & it was too short a book to really engage with any of it past very surface level/bare bones information. Otherwise it's a nice, quick read about girls who discover they are descendants of a powerful matriarchy, and who wouldn't enjoy that?

[Sesana]

I just couldn't get into this, which is weird. On paper, this sort of Poe-meets-Sailor-Moon concept should be my exact thing.

[paige turner]

very confusing

[Demyana]

I was liking it so much, dark vibes, secrets and mystery but The ending ruined it unfortunately with nonsense explained to the werid mix of tech and magic ( I am not kidding I actually understand nothing) . It could be better if it was more than one volume to know the characters more ..

the cover is super beautiful I like the art so so so much unique and amazing!

[Eric Orchard]

Wonderful, spooky supernatural tale.

[Zwart Raafje]

3,5*

[Luna MoonBear]

Great story and link to forbids and fantastic illustrations

[Erica Pehrson]

I thought the art was cute and I loved the concept of these bird powers. but I thought the story was lacking purpose. this random group of teen crime fighters I guess now? what do they do? who do they fight? I think I would have liked this better as some sort of occult secret society or guardians of a magical repository or something rather than superheroes.

[Jenny]

This is a beautifully written and drawn all-ages graphic novel that really does suit the name of that category- it would really appeal to children, teens and adults. Sally Jane Thompson’s artwork is absolutely stunning and the use of one spot colour really helps to portray a gothic sense of ‘the other’ that suits the storyline.
The artwork and setting feel similar (to an extent) to that in Locke and Key although there is an innate Britishness rather than the New England sensibility in Hill’s work. The themes of inheritance, myths, hidden powers and secrets (plus the birds) reminded me of Alan Garner’s The Owl Service. However, this is not to say that the story is derivative- it really isn’t! Moore and Reppion take these familiar tropes and spin them into a new-feeling superhero team origin tale with a diverse cast of characters.
I really hope that this isn’t the only story featuring the Dissimulation! I can’t wait to read more!

[Menna]

Disappointing👎

[Paul]

Told with humor, stylishly drawn illustrations, and inclusivity, Conspiracy of Ravens is a graphic novel that should find its way into many hands. I found enjoyment in this novel as would many of my students. The narrative is left open-ended, and my hope is that Moore and Reppion continue the “conspiracy” story.

For my full review: https://paulspicks.blog/2018/11/28/co...

For all my reviews: https://paulspicks.blog

[Maja]

The authors describe this as 'Sailor Moon meets Poe', and ... not really? Having ravens in it doesn't make it like a Poe work, people. They don't even talk, they're just there and kind of magical and it's not very well explained (what's up with the white raven? is it a human? Why is it so smart??). That said, this is a cute magical girl team-up story with pretty art. Annie inherits a magical amulet things, gathers a group of other girls with powers, and they fight a villain. It's pretty standard stuff (which isn't a bad thing necessarily!). I do think it's a shame that the girls themselves are not very fleshed-out as characters, and the story of how they meet and gather as team felt extremely rushed to me. It's supposed to be about their friendship! Or I guess not, but then I don't know what it *is* supposed to be about. Similarly, the plot itself moves way too fast after the initial premise is introduced – I feel like this would have worked much, much better as an ongoing series that allowed them to introduce their world more slowly. Instead, things happen really fast and are explained very poorly, with a couple of elements being introduced without any kind of explanation whatsoever. It's a quick read, and I liked looking at the art, but it could have been a lot more.

[Jennifer]

This book had a lot of potential and I really wanted to like it. The artwork is nice. The premise is interesting. But the plot was too rushed and full of gaps. I found myself repeatedly checking to see if I'd missed a page because the book jumped to something and it didn't make sense. I then thought maybe that's because I didn't read the book but I'm pretty sure there is no book. And the multiple authors (?) shouldn't be the reason for this.

I checked with my teen who had requested the book and she felt the same way. She was confused about how the powers worked for the girls on top of our shared confusion around how the girls went from not together to being in a "coven," what happened with Eve, how adder and the colonel fit in, and the ending with Crow.

Maybe this should have been spaced out in some way or maybe the story should have been mapped so it was more cohesive. As it stands I give it 2 stars only because it hurt to give something with great potential a one star.

[Ash]

Originally published on Flickering Myth: https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2018/1...

Would give it a 2.5/4, but per Goodreads system I will round it up to a 3/5. Tl;dr, gorgeous artwork hampered by an overly-fast paced story that doesn't flesh out its characters beyond typical fantasy tropes.

With all the recent announcements regarding the upcoming Birds of Prey film in the DC Extended Universe, I’ve been wracking my brain for a way to make a quip out of the fact that I finished reading a graphic novel that focuses on a team of women who also have avian-based personas. Alas, I was unable to come up anything, so this introductory paragraph will stand as a sign of my comedic failure.

Pathetic attempts at joking aside, Conspiracy of Ravens is a significantly different project from a conventional superhero comic. Though it features some similar tropes like superpowers and costumes, it’s much more akin to a Jane Austen novel, depicting women slyly rebelling against the constraints of society as they deal with personal development, education, family, and the reality of their situations. Published by Dark Horse Comics, Conspiracy of Ravens was written by Leah Moore and John Reppion, with most of the art done by Sally Jane Thompson. The question is, does this fowl-themed work prove the robustness of the indie comic market, or is it a letdown? The short answer is it’s too familiar and overstuffed, but is almost saved by gorgeous penciling. If you want the long answer, read on!

Conspiracy of Ravens follows a collegiate girl named Anne Ravenhall who, upon inheriting her great-great-great-aunt’s estate, uncovers a family secret: her relative was a part of an intricate vigilante group called the Dissimulation. If this sounds oddly similar I would not blame you- as I just said above, the biggest problem with Conspiracy of Ravens is that it rehashes previous templates in the fantasy genre. Kid discovering a crazy magical thing about their family? Try Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, or even something as recent as Skulduggery Pleasant. I get it, it’s a common story idea because it works, but as a writer in this day and age, you have to go above and beyond to make this notion unique to your own self. I am firmly of the belief that every person has a one-of-a-kind imagination, and with that comes the responsibility of passionate creativity.

I don’t doubt that Moore and Reppion had good intentions with Conspiracy of Ravens (and I’ll go into detail about those intentions below), but the execution wasn’t the best here, and it definitely failed to differentiate itself significantly from other fantasy titles. I could talk about the other cliches implemented in the comic, from the “main character’s best friend is a tech wiz” to “everyone needs to band together to be at full power” to “protagonist falls in love with friend’s sibling,” but that would drag out this review.

Instead, I want to speak about a second facet present here that hurts the storytelling potential of Conspiracy of Ravens, and that is its faltering to the Kagome Effect. This is a term I’ve coined to describe sci-fi/fantasy stories that throw their protagonists into bizarre circumstances and have them blindly accept said circumstances without questioning them much or exhibiting anything resembling a realistic reaction. The name comes from the first time I consciously saw this, and that was during my reading of the first volume of Inuyasha wherein the main heroine, Kagome Higurashi, gets transported to the Sengoku period of Japan and doesn’t panic in the slightest.

Such is the case here. Anne finds out that, as a member of the Dissimulation, she has genetic access to a gemstone of her aunt’s that grants her control over an enchanted unkindness of ravens, which she inadvertently uses to swiftly transport herself between locations. Though a little startled, she quickly embraces this, as well as the consequent history and mythology concerning her family’s past. For a story that is deliberately set in the real world, this makes for a slightly jarring development, and one that is mimicked three other times by three other girls of the future Dissimulation. You would be correct in noting that I missed one member, and that is because that particular one does show some resistance to the idea, but, as a result of time skips and forced happenings that I cannot go into for fear of spoilers, she quickly accepts things as well.

And that last part exposes another major issue with Conspiracy of Ravens, which is that it has way too big a cast. As we learned from last year’s Justice League movie, when you are introducing new characters to audiences, you have to take the time to flesh them out so fans can get invested in them. Otherwise they don’t end up caring about what happens. Obviously releasing individual solo entries are one method of subverting this, but doing everything in one masterstroke isn’t impossible, and Conspiracy of Ravens is far from being the first solo project to take on such a task.

The two options are this- either develop a select number of the cast while giving everyone else a mini arc, or make the overall work long enough that everyone can be given a chance to shine. For an example of the former, look at the first Incredibles: most of the movie was centered around Bob and Helen escaping from their suburban and marital downsides, while Dash and Violet were given their own side-plots of being true to themselves. Were the latter two perfect under a smaller spotlight? Of course not, as shown by Violet mastering her force field power in the nick of time. But everything was well-paced and strong enough that this flaw didn’t matter.

An example of the latter, on the other hand, is Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s seminal Watchmen. Dropping readers into a brand new world headed by six main figures and numerous secondary ones was an ambitious project, but Moore and Gibbons successfully handled it by spreading the plot out over the course of 12 issues and over 400 pages, giving the creators more than enough time and space to delve into what made their characters tick. In contrast, Conspiracy of Ravens hits about 130 pages, yet has us deal with a similar number of characters. That doesn’t bode well for the story, and having read it I can say that almost no one gets anything resembling character development, which is a shame because that Austenian DNA mentioned before lends itself to some potentially interesting situations. You see a lot of family issues at play in the comic, from the constant control exhibited by Anne’s divorced parents to fellow Dissimulation teammate Jen’s conflicted relationship with her father to the social pressure other Dissimulation member Felicity is hinted at carrying. There was a lot of room for growth here, yet Moore and Reppion seemed more intent on just moving the narrative from point A to point B.

Now, I did mention that the two writers had good intentions, and that is completely true. Despite my complaints about the story and characters, I can’t help but admire the writers for crafting something that is clearly intended to appeal to young girls. This is not an adult comic (there’s no sex, no real violence, and all the enemies are non-human in some capacity), instead being meant to be read by female audiences, primarily children, tweens, and teens. It’s always good to give that underserved demographic role models, and Conspiracy of Ravens at least succeeds at that part. These characters are partially relatable, fun to watch, and blend well enough. And though the majority of them lack any discernible flaws, they’re far from being Mary Sues.

Where Conspiracy of Ravens deserves unanimous praise, however, is in the Sally Jane Thompson’s art. When I initially saw a page from Conspiracy of Ravens, the first thought that came into my head was that it reminded me of Craig Thompson’s Blankets. Both feature detailed facial expressions, great use of inking, and a kind of “simplistic” approach to rendering their characters, with more effort put towards emotional conveyance and less towards skin texture.

If you liked Blankets, you’ll love Thompson’s approach to drawing, but even that comparison doesn’t do justice to the artwork on the pages. Outside of a periwinkle tint applied to the work as a whole, all the coloring is restricted to a monochrome scheme. And yet, for a comic that is full of lavish apparel, diverse personas, chimeric imagery, and natural and man-made vistas, it somehow works. This is a book that should have been lush with colors and tones, however Thompson (assisted by Niki Smith, Anita Magaña, and Allyson Haller) somehow manages to convey the same thing with solid blacks, whites, and blues. It’s a true testament to her talents as an artist, and Moore and Reppion’s own communication skills.

Overall, though, Conspiracy of Ravens was a mixed bag for me. I understand that I’m not in the intended audience for this Dark Horse publication, but it’s not like the rehashed concepts were hard to spot, and it doesn’t make them any less boring to see. Conspiracy of Ravens feels more like it was created to rush through all the exposition and worldbuilding to set up a more interesting or wacky sequel, leaving us with a beautifully drawn story that is ultimately unexceptional.

However, I could see very well see how parents interested in purchasing a non-superhero comic for their daughters would find this graphic novel inviting. Like I claimed above, these tropes persist in today’s fiction because they work. And let’s face it, with all the darkness going on in today’s world, escapism provided by stories like Conspiracy of Ravens helps keep us sane by providing another terrene to jump into for an hour or so. Plus, the art is just a true labor of love, and anything with that much effort put into it is worth supporting.

At $15.00 SRP, you’re technically getting your money’s worth. The question is, will it engage you specifically?

[Artemis Crescent]

Here it is, my first negative review of 2025, as early as January.

I don't like being negative, but I feel I have to put my honest thoughts on this obscure and unique graphic novel out there. So let's begin.

I first stumbled upon 'Conspiracy of Ravens' in my local library, and then I heard it being described as "Sailor Moon meets Edgar Allan Poe". Now that is an interesting combination and idea.

I'd love to see how it would actually look, because 'Conspiracy of Ravens' isn't it.

Instead, it is a huge mess.

It's a shame, because 'Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon' has pretty much shaped my entire personality and brain since early childhood - it is one of my biggest fangirl obsessions, and that's not even doing it justice - and I can never resist anything to do with Magical GirlsTM. I also love ravens, and my goth girl side will always have an admiration and appreciation for Edgar Allan Poe.

'Conspiracy of Ravens' is British, too; another reason it seemed made for me.

The plot, in its most basic, unravelled, core description, is:

Fifteen-year-old British boarding schoolgirl Anne Ravenhall has inherited a mansion and estate from her great-aunt, whom she never knew existed until her death. Also from Anne's great-aunt is a locket with a magic stone with a bird on it, that Anne can summon ravens from, and the birds - the conspiracy of ravens - transport her to places. There are other girls in her school, plus girls founded on the outside, with bird stone family heirlooms that give them powers. These mark them as descended from the female members, themselves descended from a legend of a king and a white raven woman, of a supernatural and scientific secret organisation/rookery/dissimulation/superheroine squad, solving spooky cases like Scooby-Doo.

It's a whole lot of weirdness and stuff that makes no sense. Such as:

Everyone is just cool with it? With magic and the supernatural existing? No one appropriately freaks out and has major life crises? They just take it in stride? No one laments about not having a normal life anymore? In being in constant danger and having enemies try to kill them?

Anne Ravenhall, who represents the corvid bird raven (obviously), barely reacts to the first time her locket glows and ravens suddenly appear and carry her off in the middle of the night. She's fine with it all, immediately dismissing the idea of her dreaming it. There's no attempt at rationalising any of it.

One of the magical dissimulation bird girls, Jenny, who represents the jackdaw, is even thrilled by it. She's ecstatic. She can jump high from buildings, perform gymnastics in the air, and is super fast like Sonic the Hedgehog, and she isn't the least fazed.

Hell, one magical girl from the outside, Emily, representing the magpie, is contacted online by Anne and her friend Rebecca, or "Binky", and Emily instantly drops everything to see them and join them in the secret dissimulation headquarters in Anne's great-aunt's old mansion. She takes the whole supernatural spy business in stride, too! Believing everything these complete strangers tell her, in this highly likely kidnapping situation! Emily makes the magical girls' costumes a couple days later. How would she even know them well enough to know their sizes?!

Presenting chatrooms in a positive light, and believing strangers on the internet and going out to meet them just like that - what a fantastic message for a middle grade graphic novel to send to kids!

The closest human reaction to the magic crap happening is from Felicity, the jay of the group (her surname is also Jay, *sigh*, and Jenny is Jenny Dore, *heavy sigh*). Felicity is a popular girl at the boarding school, and at first she refuses to have anything to do with the bird girls, wanting normality. She is the spoiled, classist, stubborn, princess type, and yet I like her more than the other girls, because she is the most realistic and believable out of all of them. But she isn't given nearly enough page time and development for this to mean jack(daw) diddly.

As far as I can tell, Binky is not exactly a member of the dissimulation, as she isn't descended from any of the previous members, nor does she possess a bird stone heirloom. Despite this, she is a member and magical girl, just like that, no questions asked. Is she the crow, the "intelligence" bird, then? Or is that one of the previous dissimulation group's automatons, called Crow? Oh yeah, there are automatons in this "magical-girls-meets-Poe" story. It's... it's a lot. A lot of random, ill-fitting ideas crammed in.

Anyway, Binky has no magical powers, but she is smart, and a librarian and a good researcher and investigator, making her a valuable asset, regardless of bloodline. But still, no thought whatsoever to how she fits in in this conspiracy of ravens?

Does this mirror Binky's place as a scholarship kid at a boarding school full of rich girls? Is it connected to how she had to earn her position instead of inheriting it, without relying on life's cheat code and net safety of privilege? No comment is made on this aspect to Binky's character. Nothing is alluded to it. It is possible that any nepotism-vs- earning-through-hard-work subtext and parallels are accidental.

On that note, the rich girls who bully Binky for being on a scholarship are truly pathetic. Like their parents' money makes them better and superior to her. It is always better (for society) to be a scholarship kid than a trust fund kid. Take that crap on capitalism.

Anyway, another question:

Who is William Adder, the snake man who wants the mansion and magic stones? Where did he come from? How does he know about the stones? What exactly does he want with them? World domination? Are there other snake people - multiple snakes transforming into one human - like him out there? Are there other supernatural animal people out there? Why is no one concerned about this? Why is no one asking these questions?

Additionally, what about the other men who are looking into the mysteries of Anne's great-aunt's mansion, who don't work for the snake man? Are they the police? The military? MI5? MI6? A rival secret intelligence organisation? Insurance salesmen!? Why are they suddenly trusted by the dissimulation by the end? The main man, first introduced at the beginning, is a "Colonel" Barnabus, but that's the most we'll ever know about him. Barnabus and his force only appear in, like, seven pages tops, and they don't do anything! We don't know who they are or what they do or anything!

I know I am being rather vague about 'Conspiracy of Ravens', and I will try not to spoil its ending - but really, all this is because I am confused and don't know what's going on in the comic. I don't even know what happened at the end! It's so rushed and weird.

Like, in the past, in the early 1900s, the magical dissimulation spy organisation also had automaton members. Sentient automatons that are so advanced they speed past steampunk and into a future in technology we can't even begin to imagine yet. Are they powered by magic?

How do magic and science and technology work together in this book? It's random and hokeypokey.

It's lazy writing, and lazy worldbuilding; worldbuilding that is so haphazard it seems to exist like barely-standing, crumbling pillars, and scattered scaffolding, not able to hold up the story and characters and character motivations much longer.

One example of bad, random worldbuilding detail is: near the beginning, Binky researches and explains the legend of the king and the white raven, which is the foundation of the magical girl/spy/superhero dissimulation (and its mansion and headquarters are where the king's castle once stood). The story goes: the king is given a magic crown by his beloved white raven queen, that he uses to defeat his enemies. The crown seems to be important, but then it is brought up only once, and never again. It's just the (corvid) bird stones (from the crown? So what's the significance of the "magical crown" itself?) containing the white raven's magic that are presented as the ultimate power for the magical girls, and they are what drives what plot there is.

The girls' individual powers aren't fully utilised, either. Especially not at the anticlimactic ending. Some of their potentially very useful powers are outright forgotten about. Felicity's mind reading abilities? Never brought up again after it is introduced. Emily's glamour to make her look like different people? Same. It's not mentioned again. She makes duplicates of people, and shows illusions and flashbacks (I think?), and that's it for her usefulness, except in the costume department.

Even the action scenes are badly edited and confusing. For example, before the first major battle, taking place in the mansion, and out of the secret dissimulation headquarters - a major battle where the magical bird girls first let their powers combine/combine their W.I.T.C.H. Guardian powers/do a Power of Three spell/form a Sailor Senshi group attack on the bizarre snake man - Anne falls through a door and lands somewhere outside. She says, "What happened? Where am I?"... None of those questions are ever answered. The next time we see Anne is four pages later, where she is suddenly inside the mansion again and is attacking the snake man with her whirlwind of ravens, with no indication, no explanation, of how she got there, or where she'd been.

What is with these decisions? Was the comic made up via mad libs as it went along?

Oh. I almost forgot: There's a scant-existing side romance between Anne and Jenny's brother, Michael. They see each other once, and boom, instant attraction. It's as generic and unnecessary as you can get. Nothing would be lost if it was cut.

The possible development of Michael finding out about the girls' dissimulation is dropped and goes nowhere, further cementing his character's pointlessness.

On a related note, 'Conspiracy of Ravens' has no overt LBGTQ+ representation in the slightest. This modern, magical girl power graphic novel has nothing sapphic in it. How disappointing. I shake my head and wag my finger at 'Conspiracy of Ravens' for its generic, safe mediocrity.

Not helping the meagre diverse rep is Felicity, the only POC character in the whole book, and she's the spoiled mean girl and steadfastly reluctant outsider of the magical girl group. We never see her wear Emily's costume; Emily makes her one, it is in a box... that never opens. We never see it! It's yet another detail that's forgotten about. Sucks for Felicity to be the odd duck out of the flock!

Okay, now onto the positives:

The artwork is nice, cute, and serviceable, with its blue, white and black colour scheme. Though the action scenes are often drawn as haphazardly and half-arsedly as the plotting, and whilst reading, sometimes I couldn't tell the characters apart.

My favourite character is Eve, the dissimulation's housekeeper/butler/driver/information automaton. She's hilarious, upbeat, smiley, and interesting, with an interesting history, as she's worked for the past dissimulation. Pity that not a lot of that history is revealed to the reader. Eve is supposedly an emotionless android, programmed to perform the bare minimum, a glorified maidservant, but she clearly cares for the girls and their wellbeing, as well as taking care to keep the secret of the dissimulation safe. The inclusion of a running gag where Eve is a fast and reckless driver of a very old car makes her stand out exceptionally. It says a lot about the other characters that she is the best and most developed one.

Wait--wait a minute - how the hell can another dissimulation automaton character, Crow, visit one of the girls in her dreams? Is it magic? When Crow's entire character is trying not to use magic? WAIT--SHE WORKS FOR COLONEL BARNABUS?! SINCE WHEN? HOW?! WHY?!

AAAARRRGGHHH!!!!!!!

My head hurts when I try to make sense - and heads, tails and wings - of this comic.

Every little, forgotten and abandoned detail in it makes my face flush in indignation. Like, on the first page, why is Binky so flippant about mock exams? She's on a scholarship, she should feel the pressure; feel compelled to take all schoolwork seriously and study harder than anyone! And why does she talk about Anne having an awesome private tutor? We never see that tutor, and, you guessed it, it is not brought up again.

So much happens, and details, big and small, about the magical girls' personal lives are revealed. But they are arbitrary, and mean nothing in the grand scheme of things, and by the end of the comic. Resolutions to problems are either rushed, or are made nonexistent. So they don't flesh anything or anyone out properly. They are erroneously wiped clean from the slate.

As far as anyone knows, the small comic is a standalone, so the excuse of "It'll come up and be developed and possibly resolved in the sequel", doesn't cut it.

It seems the writers hardly cared.

'Conspiracy of Ravens' is an underdeveloped, frustrating mess.

I don't like to negatively criticise and put down another content creator's hard work, which managed to get published - by a big, renowned publisher like Dark Horse Comics, no less. That's a miracle in of itself. But I'm sorry, I have to be honest. I find 'Conspiracy of Ravens' to be not very well executed in its premise, and it screams wasted opportunity and potential. The planning and plotting are confusing, capricious, helter-skelter, and erratic, and most of the characters are unmemorable, underdeveloped, unsolid, airy-fairy, and bland.

Sadly, this Magical GirlTM product is a dud to me.

I could end this review on an Edgar Allan Poe quote, or a mention of the ever-classic "Nevermore". However, since 'Conspiracy of Ravens' in fact has nothing to do with everyone's favourite gothic poet, I won't bother.

It'll be me alone, Artemis Crescent, Magical GirlTM connoisseur - cackling, cawing and crowing, not screeching, screaming or crying, as it's not worth it - using my depleting critiquing powers, and magical stone and crystal powers, and finally, tapping out.

I am free. As a bird, a raven, in the night sky, the crescent moon and stars behind me.

Final Score: 2/5

[Susannah]

Anne Ravenhall is studying at boarding school when she is left a mysterious old mansion in her great aunt's will. The gift of a locket leads Anne to learn about powers she never knew she had, and to make new and unexpected friends.
This was a charming young adult/early teen story. I like Gothic mysteries, so I was drawn to the plot, and the cover art. Just a word of warning: the artwork inside is not in colour; it is only in blue, black and white. This is disappointing after the promise of the cover art, and makes the action a little harder to discern at times. Still, it is an enjoyable story, and the characters are well-delineated for the most part. It is also nice to see stories about girls being friends and banding together. Sometimes the story hops around, and changes tack abruptly, which makes it a little hard to follow.
However, I enjoyed reading this, and I would like to read more installments.

[Francine]

Adorable!

I love the term "juvenile fiction" (that's what it says on the back cover, lol) - I'm a big fan of fantasy middle grade books because they still have that magical childlike quality and start to explore themes of self/group identity with hope, as opposed to the cynicism often found in adult works.

This book hits upon a lot of cool themes that I like: black birds, magical girl outfits, Victorian aesthetic, female friendships... I also really liked the art style.

My biggest problem with the book was the pacing, from one page to another: sometimes I felt like I was missing a few panels to take me from one situation to the next... It gave the book a kind of webcomic feel. It could have done with some extra panels of down time, or maybe some cool splash pages.

If there's a sequel to this I would love to read it!

[Becky B]

When Anne Ravenhall inherits her great-aunt's estate, she finds herself one of 5 descendants of the family who holds a powerful item that gives her superpowers. She must find the other heirs to reinstate the Dissimulation that fought evil with their powers.

Kind of a cool twist on the superheroes idea. This story is pretty quick. Perhaps a little too quick at times, the part with Crow got a little muddled because it happened so fast. I would like to see a prequel about the original Dissimulation and their activities. They seem fascinating. A quick graphic novel read recommended for boarding school story fans and superhero ladies.

Notes on content: No language issues that I remember. No sexual content. Perilous situations but those who get most seriously hurt aren't humans.

[Bryan]

Very cute and fun book about a teen inheriting an old English mansion from a great great aunt...and fantastical events begin. I bought this primarily because I adore Sally Jane Thompson’s style, but the title also drew me in as I love ravens. The book’s illustrations utilize a cool bluish tone that gave me cool vibes while reading. Sky blue is one of my favorite shades of blue. The characters are also all very likable and as this does take place in the UK there is lots of English slang and phrasing that I always find very enjoyable to read. This would make an adorable animated feature.

Thank you Leah Moore and Sally Jane Thompson!

[Jean]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ Mostly for vibes. Things felt a little bit crazy and rushed and confusing at the end, plus there were some plot holes and bits where I had to pause and really inspect the illustrations to figure out what was going on. But I adored the premise of 5 girls throughout each generation, each representing a different member of the corvid family and inheriting their associated traits as super powers. And the secret hideout and robot housemaid. Delightful 😊 My only real complaint is that there isn’t more! It felt like a wonderful set up for a series but I can’t see any planned sequels! I’d love to see the Dissimulation grow as a team and learn to work together on future cases.

[Liesl]

Leah Moore describes this project in the endnotes as "magical girls meets Edgar Allen Poe" and that's a pretty good summary of why I enjoyed this book. It's the perfect fusion of girls developing magical powers, old-fashioned boarding school antics and Gothic novels. Plus the art is stunning. The denouement was a bit more steampunk than I was expecting and the ending felt like the beginning of something new rather than a definitive end, but there's a lot of promise here. I hope we get more adventures of Anne and her friends in future!

[Courtney]

2.5?

*sigh* aunt does not equal great-great aunt, ‘The Head’ should have introduced it as ‘distant relative’, what an insensitive person. Oh and she’s mandated to go to her funeral, not ‘your parent would like you to go’ or ‘you’re expected to go’.
Thank goodness Miss Pippit keeps misplacing things so Anne can have these ‘curious’ moments with strangers.

Who says dude at an all girls school?

Kind of weak in story/writing, art was decent. Characters were ok, I think it’s a little difficult with so many, so not bad overall.

[Sarah Anderson]

I think perhaps other reviewers are a touch too hard on this graphic novel, as I understand what a triumph it can be to get a comic adventure like this published, with a higher page count or another volume not a guarantee. I do think it's best if you have some familiarity with and enjoyment of Sailor Moon, as that is an acknowledged influence on the text and it is easy to see in the five girls who come together to fight various threats as they emerge.

As for myself, I had fun with it! The magic passed down from female relative to female relative is interesting, as is the mage spy angle!

[mari]

Cute and girly, so not quite my thing. Certainly get why some would love this, especially younger readers, but for me being a fan of Alan Moore's work and wanting to see what Leah is doing was the wrong reason to pick this up. I liked the birds, sense of mystery, costumes, Lovelace reference and all the blue though! Would require added length and depth, horror and much more text to cater to my taste, but it's perfectly fine that this novel just isn't for me.