Contemporary fantasy hits its stride in Melissa Capriglione‘s and Clara W.‘s Falconhyrste, a “supernatural boarding school fantasy comic about a boy who accidentally befriends a demon.” The story follows Cei, an anime fan who has a hard time fitting in at his new school. When he awakens a demon in the forest on his first day, everything changes — for better or for worse.
In addition to Cei and Mira, the story also follows Octavia, the headstrong, larger-than-life solo member of the school journalism club, who has to find at least four other members to join her crusade against the student council if she doesn’t want the club to be disbanded at semester’s end. Cei gets roped in by default, as both he and Octavia begin to uncover the secrets of Falconhyrste, the “Marching Band Incident,” magic, and more. Not everything at the school is what it seems.
Falconhyrste has a similar vibe to Image Comics’ Moonstruck, though its characters are humans rather than monsters — with the exception of Mira, the demon girl whose strange, broken necklace contains the secret to her existence. Clara W.’s writing and lettering give the story a vibrant tone that’s matched by Capriglione’s art, even in darker or more serious story beats. It’s a delightful, queer-inclusive fantasy comic with interesting characters and plenty of mystery — including a shadowy headmistress, secret tunnels under the school, ghosts, and a student council with sinister motivations.
Capriglione and Clara W. launch a Kickstarter for Falconhyrste, Vol. 1 on September 16. You can catch up at falconhyrste.com or on Tapas before the launch, and sign up to get a notification when the campaign goes live. You can also support Capriglione and Falconhyrste on Patreon.
Check out some preview panels from Falconhyrste below, as well as the cover for the first collected volume.
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