Review by Frank Plowright

When we first meet Lily she’s just moved to a new town and is about to start a new school, on her birthday no less. If that wasn’t stressful enough, things have started going out of control around Lily. Fortunately, she immediately makes friends, and in their company discovers a museum of magic in her new town where it’s revealed the reason things go haywire around her is because she’s a witch. With the proper training she’ll be able to protect people who need her help.

The matter of fact way everything falls into place indicates Xavier Bonet’s aiming at young children, but any plotting convenience is unlikely to be noticed due to the sheer charm of Bonet’s art. It has a 3-D digital look and is fully rendered with beautiful backgrounds. Every page is a visual treat, well composed and featuring imaginative designs, especially the fearsome Grox. Lily and her pals are equally distinctive.

Any thoughts of regular school are dismissed as soon as the magic is introduced, and Bonet follows a well trodden path of magical education. Learning magic is a big step up, so difficult for Lily, but an early triumph is being bonded with a magical stone connected with a spirit guide. While all young witches are bonded with a magical stone, the moonstone is extremely rare, and it takes some while before readers discover what it’s capable of.

Bonet makes no attempt to hide his inspiration, nor to greatly distance himself from it, not least because in Spain he provides illustrations for Harry Potter translations. Crucially, though, there have been no Harry Potter graphic novels, at least not officially authorised, and Lily Halfmoon is aimed at a slightly younger audience. Characters are only visually distinct, all being cut from the same plucky and right-minded cloth, but the gorgeous art carries the series a long way, and The Witches’ Council follows.