Oni Press is quickly becoming my favourite comic/graphic novel publisher, I have yet to read something from them I didn’t adore!

*This review contains some spoilers*

Taproot follows Hamal, a gardener who can see ghosts, and Blue, a ghost who exists between the worlds of the living and the dead. When Blue realises that Hamal’s ability to see ghosts is putting him in danger, he acts quickly to protect the person he loves.

The art is stunning, and the story is so special and unique. I particularly loved the scene where in order to restore balance, Hamal places the plant inside Blue’s chest - the art here is especially beautiful.

I really loved the concept while reading, but the impact of this story really hit me while reading the afterword. The author explains the reasoning behind giving Blue his life back was to undo the wrongs of the media queer people consumed whenever we tried to see ourselves represented and all we got was suffering and death, with very little chance of a happy ending. What a powerful message.

Overall, a fantastic graphic novel! Thank you to Oni Press and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

A very sweet, charming queer graphic novel with simply the most beautiful artwork. I appreciated the cooperation as opposed to resistance storyline, and really loved seeing the body diversity in the characters - I feel like that's something we see even less in graphic novels than we do in prose fiction.

I would definitely buy myself a copy.

Thank you to NetGallery for the ARC

I love this graphic novel!! I had already read it when it first came out in 2019, and I really enjoyed rereading it (even though I was hoping for a sequel). The art is absolutely gorgeous, and the love story is adorable. I love the combination of romance with the paranormal themes, it makes such a fun story that leave you wanting more. Overall, it is a lovely read with the cutest characters, totally worth it. (Rating is more like a 4.5)

Spanish review -
Muchas gracias a NetGallery por la copia avanzada.
¡Amo esta novela gráfica!! Ya la había leído cuando salió por primera vez en 2019 y me encanto releerla (a pesar de que pensaba que iba a ser la secuela que siempre quede esperando). El arte es absolutamente precioso, y el romance es adorable. Me encanta la combinación de romance con lo paranormal, forman un balance muy divertido y te dejan con ganas de más. En general es una maravilla leerla, vale totalmente la pena. (La calificación final es un 4.5)

Taproot is a super cute LGBT+ graphic novel! I love the art style in this, the artist has done fanart for Voltron that I recognized because the characters reminded me of Hunk and Lance! But this is an original story that ends way better than Voltron did. I really liked how the Reaper was portrayed in this, although the resolution almost felt a little too easy. Big TW for bugs!

Do you like gardening, ghosts, and otherworldly adventure? This book has all of that. It has a casually witchy vibe that allows the reader to still believe in the events taking place. I loved the artwork and the intermingling of dimensions/worlds. The lack of gutter and cutting images creates a beautiful cohesion.

Such a cute story and so beautifully drawn!! I had a ton of fun reading this one and I found the characters to be relatable, sweet, and intriguing. I adore a good ghost story and this one was extra special. Overall just a fun story with compelling details - I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a lovely queer graphic novel!

People think Hamal is weird because he talks to himself so often.
They'd probably find him even weirder if they knew he is talking to ghosts.

Sweet, short, beautifully illustrated.
This was awesome, maybe too short. Could have easyly read something four times this size. And other jobs are mentioned, so I hope we'll be getting more in the future!

... zomb-bees is an amazing pun that made me laugh out loud and not many things do that.
The arc was provided by the publisher.

cute, creepy, wholesome, artistically gorgeous and delightfully queer, Taproot is a lovely, heartwarming paranormal romance. blue and hamal’s interactions are adorable and the side characters are brought to life beautifully by the gorgeous art and sharp dialogue. however, the side characters felt a bit underused and some portions of the narrative move at a too brisk pace, feeling rushed and underdeveloped but the story is simply delightful and charming nonetheless.

3.75/5 stars.

3.5 stars

A little rushed at times, but ghost found family! 🥺 Recommended for readers looking for queer fantasy graphic novels.

Wow. I can't believe I hadn't heard of this graphic novel before now. It has everything one could want - beautiful artwork, a plot that keeps things moving, and characters that make me want to read more. Blue and Hamal are fantastic, and Blue especially is a great narrator for the majority of the story. This is definitely going on my to-buy list, and I can't wait to read Young's other comic series.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.

Beautiful.
This delightful graphic novel is about a ghost and gardener who have known each other for a while. Strange things are happing to Blue and the other ghosts in town as they discover what the reason for that is.

This is the first story Young has written and while it might not have the tightest plot and some scene transitions are not clear enough in terms of time passed or starting/ending a new chapter, you can absolutely follow it and just enjoy the experience of two magical brown men falling in love.

The art is stunning. We have rich colours and detailed, rough backgrounds everywhere. The characters are consistent across each page, their facial expressions varied (and so funny at times!), the design choices well chosen. It is beautiful to look at and fits perfectly into a story that is about life and death without getting too serious. The setting in a flower shop worked out well, too: it showcased Young's artistic abilities and it adds another layer to Hamal's personality as a kindhearted, soft individual.

You can tell Blue and Hamal mean a lot too each other and I liked them together very much. But I think my favourite character is the meddlesome character that gets introduced half-way through, he worked as the perfect balance to round the story out.

So this might be a little rough around the edges but I cannot wait to check out more of their work as there is so much potentional in this one.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. It was quick, sweet, and intriguing the whole way through. The Art was gorgeous as well.

The art work was really pretty and the idea of a florist necromancer falling for a ghost is amazing. My only complaint is it moved a bit fast while not showing and of the negatives of the power and Blue coming back. It just jumped into them doing supernatural things together and getting ice cream. Overall though I really liked it and would recommend to a friend.

What cuties! I have seen this graphic novel floating around different places for a few years now, but have never had the chance to pick it up. Behold my surprise when I saw it available on Netgalley! I was super excited to be able to dive into this beautifully rendered world. I love the color pallet, the gorgeous art, and the quirky characters. The story is cute too, but it has a few moments of convenience and there are a few places where things could have been explained more. However, this is an easy recommendation from me.

Thank you to Netgalley, Oni Press, and Keezy Young for providing me with an eARC of this graphic novel! However, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Taproot is the story of a love between a ghost and a gardener and is like nothing I’ve ever read before! The artwork is one of the things that makes Taproot so special, not only the way the characters are drawn, but also the post apocalyptic depiction of the surroundings and the stunning decay of buildings and roads that have allowed for plant life to take over. The plot of the graphic novel is totally unique and held my attention throughout.

I was so excited to see this on NetGalley so I could read it again! I adore this story! I read it for the first time over four years ago (holy cow) and it hasn’t lost any of its charm. I’ve read it at least a dozen times and it always makes me cry. The catharsis and good feelings of this story!!!

There was process artwork at the end of this edition (which I hadn’t seen before) and an author’s note. Keezy talks about the healing this story brought them as a happy ending for queer characters that they never got to see growing up. I loved reading little bit about their book’s audience:

“adults too—no matter who they are—who need some hope to balance the grief.”

This is so true to what Taproot has always meant to me. It’s growth, friendship, balance, and hope. It’s really just a wonderful little graphic novel as lovely as the flowers Hamal cares for. I always recommend it!

super fast read and just super sweet to read. perfect length and speed for a graphic novel such as this. i would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves graphic novels, and young children. the artwork was also amazing, so colorful and vibrant 😍

Beautifully and vibrantly illustrated, Keezy Young pulls the reader into a magically real graphic novel that is achingly sweet and heartfelt. I was left wanting more, more of Hamal and Blue, the world they inhabit, and the story which reminds the reader of how to heal what sometimes seem broken.

taproot is a very quick read! the illustration style is enjoyable - i especially loved the detailing of the plants. the characters were charming, however i felt the plot flowed in an odd way and that the pacing was slightly off.
i was underwhelmed slightly after finishing it, but i must emphasise how pretty the colour pallet is! i’d recommend to anybody looking for a sweet, quick read!

Taproot is a cute and quick paranormal romance. In this graphic novel we follow Hamal and Blue, a gardener who sees ghosts and a ghost who's in love with him. This is a very short and digestible read that I finished in one sitting. The art is gorgeous and works very well with the story. I would love if this were longer and we got explanation into all the paranormal aspects.

Thank you to Netgalley and Oni Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.