DESTINY, NY is a 120-page graphic novel about love, loss, magic, cats, coffee, sex, growing up, and the way we build our own destinies every day.
This is going to be a bit of a Squee - you have been warned.
I first heard of DESTINY, NY when I was scrolling through Kickstarter and decided to back Vol. 2. Magical girls in love? Sign. Me. Up.
Fast forward a bit, and I've got a digital copy of DESTINY, NY (Vol. 1) waiting for me on the iPad. I had a terrible day yesterday. Not going to get into specifics, but trust me, I needed a pick-me-up.
Turns out, DESTINY, NY was just the thing! The original GN is 160 black & white pages, with two different art styles - one for present and one for flashbacks. I loved both styles, and really dug the blurred, surreal feel of the flashbacks, particularly the magical aspects.
Magic, you say? The main characters are both part of a group of young people identified by seers as having a "destiny." They go to a special school to learn about their destinies and prepare them for the challenges to come. After they've completed their destiny, the school provides them with the training they need to re-enter society at large and get on with their lives. Logan, the main heroine, fulfilled her destiny when was just thirteen years old, which has made the last decade of her life rather... unfulfilling. She's lost the love of her life, she's working as a barista, and she's pretty unhappy. Then she meets Lilith, our second heroine, and her life tips upside down.
First things first: this story is definitely a romance. Lilith and Logan have a pretty great meet-cute, followed by a hot and tumultuous relationship. The ending is somewhat ambiguous, but I choose to believe their Happy-For-Now will be a Happily-Ever-After. (Volume 2 explores this, but I don't have my hands on it yet.)
No matter how much I liked Logan and Lilith, the secondary characters really steal the show here. Gia, a fat girl with a scary destiny, is really well done. I loved that her size isn't "a thing," and that she was unapologetically into sex and love and friendship. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to see characters who don't fit the the "ideal" living full lives.
My biggest (only?) criticism is that the "big bad" felt undeveloped. She's evil from the time she's a little kid, which doesn't tell me much about her motivations. She is definitely awful, however, and it's quite satisfying to see her get her due.
Tl;DR - I loved DESTINY, NY and can't wait for Volume 2. The first volume proved to be exactly what I needed at the end of a rotten day, and I hope it gives you the same feels. Rated R for nudity, sexual situations, violence, language.
Before he met Batman, Dick Grayson discovered the power of young love-and its staggering cost-at the magical Lost Carnival.
Haly's traveling circus no longer has the allure of its glamorous past, but it still has one main attraction: the Flying Graysons, a family of trapeze artists featuring a teenage Dick Grayson. The only problem is that Dick loathes spending his summers performing tired routines for dwindling crowds.
When the Lost Carnival opens nearby and threatens to pull Haly's remaining customers, Dick is among those drawn to its nighttime glow. But there are ancient forces at work at the Lost Carnival, and when Dick meets the mysterious Luciana and her nomadic family, he may be too mesmerized to recognize the danger ahead.
Beneath the carnival's dazzling fireworks, Dick must decide between who he is and who he wants to be-choosing either loyalty to his family history or a glittering future with new friends and romance. Author Michael Moreci and illustrator Sas Milledge will suspend readers from a tightrope in this graphic novel, redefining Dick Grayson for a new generation.