Review: Mooncakes GN

In the preface to their magical graphic novel, MOONCAKES (Lion Forge/Roar), Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker write a letter directly to their readers. In it they are clear about the identity of the main characters of their story. They are (both) Chinese American and they are queer. One is a witch and the other is werewolf and they are both coming of age. They are also falling in love with each other. The upfront and direct letter to readers is powerful and to the point. But most of all, it is courageous. Xu and Walker stake a claim ”“ at the outset of their engaging and altogether compelling work ”“ at a time when claiming identities is too often dismissed as simply being political or worse: being politically correct. MOONCAKES slips the yoke of political pejoratives and goes about the business of telling great stories in a world that is so vivid that readers will feel it in their chests.

The magic of MOONCAKES is manifold. But its best manifestation is the seamless ways that magic is woven into the fabric of the narrative. It is almost unremarkable when Nova walks a customer into the witchcraft room in the back of the bookstore operated by her grandmothers. It“s an amazing microcosm for the entire graphic novel. Black Cat Books serves as the readers“ first point of entry into a magical and beautifully queer world. Queerness, in its most profound and nuanced sense, is convention in the world of MOONCAKES. But it still is what it is. If that makes sense. Nova, a powerful witch with a hearing challenge; her grandmothers who are raising her and her ghost parents who come to visit during the holidays; and Tam her nonbinary werewolf would-be lover, are all who they are without pretense or too much pomp.

The cast of Mooncakes is almost all women. The interiority of this world is articulated through the intimate relationships between women ”“ in bookstores, in bedrooms, and in mystical realms where magic is the lingua franca. There is a tenderness in this story that is irresistible. It channels an intense sincerity about magic and a vivid depiction of the extraordinary realm of witches and mystical beings. Somehow the collaborative relationship between Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker inspires each important relationship in this novel ”“ infusing each interaction with an abiding sense of joy and the immense potential of human relationships.

In some comics these days, [insert your favorite category here] identity is incidental. In others, identity is so intentional that it feels inauthentic. In MOONCAKES, the identity of each character is organic and feels intrinsic to the story in ways that most novels (graphic or otherwise) only dream of achieving. MOONCAKES is all about the magic of witches and werewolves, but it is a bit of magic in its own right too.

SCORE: 4/5

(W) Suzanne Walker (A/CA) Wendy Xu