The Heart Hunter from Legendary Comics is an achingly heartwarming graphic novel about finding love and healing from heartbreak. This is the second title from Legendary Comics' new YA imprint and it is now available for purchase.
Written by Mickey George with art by V. Gagnon, The Heart Hunter is a YA story that explores the highs and lows of love - both romantic and platonic - in a high-stakes adventure. As the title states, it follows a heart hunter; a bounty hunter of sorts, who seeks out a person's soulmate in order to kill them and prevent a match from happening. This fantasy adventure takes the stereotypes of love and twists them into a beautiful exploration of the heart.
Envecor is a cursed island that no one can leave without their soulmate. The island's inhabitants are immortal, but unable to have children without leaving the island - and everyone carries their heart outside of their body. Psyche, a heart hunter, is like many other heart hunters. Her heart is broken and she must be cautious with it. The king of the island, Marius, asks her to locate his soulmate and kill them so he never has to leave the island and can work on breaking its curse. Psyche finds the target easily enough, but the journey they take is one that will change each of them - and the island - forever.
The Heart Hunter examines love from many angles that readers are sure to relate to. Young readers will find themselves learning more about the complexities of love and heartache as they follow Psyche's journey of loss and healing. Bleeding hearts, wearing your heart on your sleeve, a heart of gold and a heart of steel are all clichés that find new (generally literal) life in this graphic novel. The visualizations of connection, the progression of each character, and the complexity of the curse illustrate the hardships that love can present, but also the comfort and peace it brings.
Love and loss go hand in hand, which The Heart Hunter doesn't hesitate to tackle head-on. There are definitely tear-jerking moments, though overall it leaves a heartwarming impression and a sense of hopefulness. Envecor is a strange place that requires a lot of set-up, but which only gets deeper and richer as the story continues. This is a graphic novel that can be revisited throughout a reader's life as love is a long, winding path that continually brings challenges and victories of different intensities. This title from Legendary Comics also incorporates familial love and loss, an equal chance of love for everyone, prominent representation of LGBTQ+ and nonbinary characters, and the importance of allowing oneself to walk with others.
This is Mickey George's debut graphic novel, though she also works on an LGBTQ+ steampunk webcomic, The King of Trouble. This is a beautiful debut that shows the emotional depth that George brings to her work, which pairs magically with V. Gagnon's striking and colorful artwork that brings Envecor to life. This is a magical journey that is sure to warm hearts and bring hope - along with a few tears. Legendary Comics' The Heart Hunter is a must-read YA graphic novel for all the romantics - and budding romantics - in the comic community.
