An interesting concept with heavily-illustrated, vibrant pages. Teens are going to eat up The Heart Hunter!

A curse in Envecor has doomed its residents to stay on the island and be immortal until they find their soulmate. The king, however, sends out Heart Hunters to kill his soulmates so that he can live forever. The story follows Psyche, a Heart Hunter, and Isaac, the king’s soulmate.

This art style is so unique and not something I normally see in graphic novels. This graphic novel has a great balance of storytelling through both the words and the art. Additionally, there is such a beautiful exploration of platonic love, as well as romantic love. I highly recommend to graphic novel lovers!

I liked this better than I thought I would. I think I might buy this when it comes out since the artwork seems like it might be even better printed. I think the art was the best part of this comic. The story was a little flat sometimes, but it picked up so not boring or anything. I liked the idea of it, but I felt like it could've been longer, there was a lot to expand on.

A big thank you to Netgalley and Legendary Comics for the ARC!

TW: gore, death, suicide

"Love is only mortal. It's human. In becoming deathless, we have outgrown our own humanity."

The Heart Hunter is a visually compelling graphic novel following Psyche, a heart-hunter who specializes in killing soulmates in a world where immortality can be achieved through that means. When the king sends her to murder his soulmate, Psyche finds herself an unexpected friend and ally in her supposed victim. Together, they set on a journey to defy the curse, with Psyche learning how to mend her broken heart along the way.

I thought the overall premise was an intriguing concept. The idea of soulmates is popular in fiction but it is the way that The Heart Hunter expands upon it that sets it apart from the trope. George explores the wider ramifications of having the soulmates system in place, providing depth to worldbuilding that only makes the story more fascinating to read. I also thought the manifestation of intangible concepts such as 'indifference' or 'twist of fate' into perceivable elements in the story was a very clever decision.

Both the art and the narrative was absolutely stellar. The art style is expressive and bold, narrated through a diverse cast with strikingly distinct personalities. The art translates each characters' idiosyncrasies endearingly. Gagnon and George do not let the amusing interactions and relationships between different characters distract from the gravity of the message the story conveys. The graphic novel handles dark and gritty topics, like the loss of a loved one or suicide, with graceful tenderness. It is, in the end, a hopeful story even with the multitude of suffering, approached with great compassion and love.

The only real problem I had with this graphic novel is that sometimes the lore and the worldbuilding got too overwhelming. I understand the writers' intention of trying to create a rich plot within the confines of a limited amount of panels, but at times, I found myself lacking behind from the sheer amount of information.

Overall, this was still an excellent read. I strongly urge anyone who enjoys a good subversion of the soulmate AU to give this graphic novel a chance.

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

I really loved this standalone graphic novel. The story and world mythology were really original and the characters felt fleshed out for a story that had a lot of world building to do. The overarching theme of grief and dealing with a broken heart was woven into the story really well. The art was phenomenal and I absolutely loved the character designs and color palette.

What I really appreciated the most about this story that is focused so much on soulmates and love, is that it isn't all about straight/ heteronormative romantic love. The author has characters who are queer and also characters who experience familial and friendship love, and it all being shown as a valid form of how you feel about someone.

The art in this book was absolutely gorgeous! Every page was so beautiful and detailed, and I especially loved the more dynamic frames. I also really appreciated the idea of soulmates not just about romantic love, and the general celebration of love that centred the novel. I just wish the story relied a little less on exposition — I would have preferred getting a lot of the information through the actual story and art, rather than through long portions of text. This is also would've allowed for the author+artist to flesh out the characters a bit more. The general metaphors at the heart of the story also felt a bit heavy-handed sometimes, but I feel like that can work in a graphic novel, tbh. Still, an enjoyable read!

Envecor is an island cursed by immortality, it’s citizens wear their hearts outside their bodies in indestructible jars, the only way to break the curse it’s to find your soulmate but there’s a curse in it too because once you find them, you have to immediately leave the island, meaning abandoning your family and friends otherwise you met certain death.

The story starts with the King of Hearts employing the services of a Heart Hunter, people that had their heart broken in unimaginable ways, they are the only ones who can locate soulmates and Psyche is the best of her kind.
As it happens the King needs her services because he wants to kill his soulmate, after all it’s the only way for him to continue to be king but every single Heart Hunter he had sent after his soul mate were unable to killed him and instead were found with their hearts fully mended.

The plot is so inventive and clever it was really easy to immerse myself on this world of hearts, curses and soul mates. The beautiful thing about it, is that is not only romantic love that it’s depicted, it was really nice seeing the different types of soulmates that can exist.
The characters too were so well written, they had dimensions and I could completely understand their choices and holdbacks.
But really the best part about this comic was the art, it’s so completely beautiful, the amount of details and colors used were so well done I couldn’t help but be mesmerized and it only added to make a fantastic story.

Definitely recommend for those who want an incredible story and amazing art.

What an amazing story! It takes the concept of soulmates, curse, broken heart, and healing together and I enjoyed every second of it. The Envecor island is cursed. People have to carry their hearts outside their bodies, and do not age or die until they meet their soulmate. Only then can they leave this cursed island and grow old. Not everyone wants to find their soulmate and bond, forcing them to leave Envecor, and that's why Psyche is a heart hunter. Killing someone's heart is the only way for them to die. Psyche, who had her heart broken, goes in search for the king's soulmate, to kill his heart and allow the king to stay on Envecor to make the change he wants around the curse for the island.

My favourite things about this story are how soulmates are not necessarily romantic, the casual LGBT+ representation, the heart expressions being literally (bleeding heart, wearing your heart on your sleeve, broken heart, golden heart, etc), and, of course, Psyche's journey and her relationship with Isaac, Marius and Jez.

The island Envecor is cursed. All inhabitants’ hearts are outside their bodies and they are cursed to be immortal, until they find their soulmate. If a citizen finds their soulmate, they can leave the island together to live a normal life. But there are some who want to live forever…and these darker individuals pay Heart Hunters, people with broken hearts, to find their soul mates and kill them before they can bond with one another. In this tale, Heart Hunter Psyche has been sent by the king to kill his soulmate, under the pretence of living forever to try to break the curse for everyone. But, can Psyche fix her own broken heart?

I absolutely loved the concept of this and leant fully into the curse. Hearts outside bodies with soulmates that heal the heart? Broken hearts when a soulmate is dead? Wearing your heart on your sleeve? Just about every cliché that you’ve heard about a heart is used throughout this graphic novel and it just absolutely works. At it’s heart (hehe), this graphic novel is a dark fairy tale with the traditional elements of people being unfairly cursed and having to find a solution to the problem. Themes of learning to trust and love were entwined through the story.

The art style was lovely and fluid throughout. Visually, this novel was very soft, with a muted palette and gentle lines rather than bold defined artwork. This style worked well with the story. A slight criticism would be that, at times, the action was quite hard to follow as it wasn’t always immediately obvious which panels to read and in which order.

The cast of characters was diverse with a strong contingent of LBGT+ characters and personalities. I particularly enjoyed Jez with his heart on his sleeve and the contrast between his character and Psyche’s more closed off personality. With soulmates, I also enjoyed that the author didn’t make soulmates simply a romantic concept, the idea of platonic and familial love also shone through.

A solid concept with some interesting characterisation. 4 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Legendary Comics for providing an e-book review copy.

I really liked this graphic novel. The illustrations were beautiful and the concept was so unique. I wish it had been a little longer so we could have gotten a bit more story out of it, but overall it was great.

I honestly loved this book full-heartedly.
It's gay, and it slaps!
It's got gay characters; it's got nonbinary characters. It's got some gorgeous art.

This, at its core, is a story of self-discovery and healing.

My only sadness is that we didn't end up with a wholesome Polycule at the end.

I'll start by saying that I really liked the style of illustrations, although there were some panels that were really busy that took me a while to figure out what was happenning. The story itself was interesting and the premise engaging, I wished it would have been more developed : The trauma of Psyche was shown a bit shallowly and I would have loved to see more of the relationship with her sister, and the characters ended up being a bit one dimensional. Still it's was a quick and enjoyable read.

This book was gorgeous, both the art style and the story itself. The vibrant colors helped convey the deep emotions of the characters. The story was so unique and really touched on tough emotions we all face with matters of the heart. I wish I could rate this book higher because its a new favorite for me.

I’ve just finished this comic and besides a chapter or two where it was slightly confusing to follow what was happening (I think there was just a lot of characters to keep up with at once and some flashbacks that seemed a little out of place for the story) I genuinely really enjoyed it.

The concept was interesting, with a curse upon humanity meaning that unless you found your soulmate you were immortal - but not everyone wanted to find their soulmate! I think this was a very unique and interesting take. It was a lovely story about love and trust, including that not all love had to be romantic and that some soulmates are simply just friends/family members etc. A very wholesome and resonating message.

A nice quick read, interesting story and some likeable characters. Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in return for an honest review!

"Joy? It... aches. Why isn't it happier?"

"Joy is never shallow. If a heart is whole, it slides right off. Only deep cracks of suffering create room for it."

This unique story and gorgeous art stole my entire heart. There was truly a point I almost cried.

The Heart Hunter is a story about a town where people are immortal until they find their soulmate. At that point, they can leave and grow old together. After hundreds of years of this... not everyone wishes for a mortal life, especially those with broken hearts. We follow Psyche, who as a Heart Hunter, is sent out by the King to kill his soulmate. Only when she meets the soulmate, everything changes.

This GN was truly depicted so beautifully. The amount of emotion used in the deep and vibrant color choices really added to the characters and words on the page. The art style is phenomenal and I can't wait to read more that the artist has worked on and more from the author after this debut!

The story itself felt so one of a kind. The use of hearts in actuality, using things such as Coping Mechanisms and Bleeding Hearts, etc. as story tools was innovative and made the story easy to connect to. The story and its characters are so beautiful as they consider broken hearts, losing those you love, allowing yourself to move forward and love again. Add to that the beautiful art and this is an altogether stunning piece.

Isaac, Psyche, Jez, and Marius all have my heart.

(The story also has queer characters, possibly (?) non-binary characters (never outright stated by "they" is used in reference to them, and characters of color)

Thank you to NetGalley and Legendary Comics for my ARC!

Thank you Netgalley and Legendary Comics for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the concept of this graphic novel. It was what initially drew me towards the story itself and was both imaginative and immersive. I also enjoyed the art style of the graphic novel and the colour palette worked well with the vibe of the story. As well as this, I liked the themes and messages entwined throughout.

However, I found that the pacing of the story was off. I felt that it wrapped up much too quickly and ended up being convoluted. I was left disappointed as I thought that the world had so much more scope to it compared to what was explored. Additionally, although I liked the characters, they felt two dimensional and ultimately forgettable.

I think that this graphic novel had a lot of potential but the pace and underdeveloped story did not match the expansiveness of the world.

I really liked the concept of this and the art was absolutely gorgeous - you could really tell the passion Gagnon put into their work.

However, my only critique is that at times the story was a little hard to follow along with, but of course I read this on my phone so I would assume it might be easier to read a physical version. Despite this trouble I was still able to follow along with the story well enough to enjoy the experience.

Unfortunately, I was unable to open the file on my iPhone (even after following trouble shooting steps), so I have rated this a 3 to keep a neutral rating.

I loved the concept of this story. The idea of an island where everyone is cursed and have to wear their hearts outside of their bodies is imaginative and the world that results from this curse is well-imagined. The art work is glorious and the colour palettes are dramatic and the story is superbly drawn so it’s a real pleasure to look at. I enjoyed the story and the plot twists and turns but the main drawback for me, was the characterisation. I felt that the characters seemed very 2D and I never really engaged with them. Neither of the main protagonists felt real to me and I was more interested in Jez, the young boy who helps Psyche than the two main characters. It is a good graphic novel though and deserves its three stars.
I was able to read an advance copy of this through NetGalley in return for an honest review. Thank you to Legendary Comics for making this available.

Hmmm... Slightly clunky, and unevenly paced, this still might appeal to some of the teenaged audience it seems aimed at. It's an interesting premise – this kingdom is cursed, and the terms of the curse are that everyone stays as an adult, never ageing, with their hearts outside their bodies. If they find their soulmate, they can leave together, and they age naturally together to the natural end. Nobody else can get out, and there's actually a dark new career of heart-hunter, whereby you pay an assassin to kill off your soul-mate, thus leaving you immortal, until a new one crops up. The king is using Psyche, the first and best heart-hunter, to get rid of the bloke who's supposed to be his current soul-mate, but of course nothing is going to be that easy...

Reading this isn't easy at times – the page is deliberately made dynamic, making those peculiar frames and use of Norman arches in, say, Fables, look quite staid in comparison. Some scenes are fine, text wise; others are certainly rushed. Action scenes aren't handled very well at all. And the script forces all kind of idioms concerning the relevant organ on to the page, so we see the embodiment of a bleeding heart, a heart of gold, someone pouring out their heart... It gets really cheesy quite quickly, and smacks of those teen-friendly texts that try to dramatise the strongest of emotions by turning them into genre fantasy characters. All told it's pretty much worth a look, but in trying to work out how well this great concept had been handled, I quite quickly learnt that it wasn't that great and doable an idea in the first place. Two and a half stars.