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Nothing Special #1
Nothing Special, Vol. 1: Through the Elder Woods
Two not-so-human teenagers and a friendly ghost radish face the fantasy adventure of a lifetime in this captivating graphic novel, featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes material, from the inimitable Katie Cook.
In the grand scheme of the worlds at large, Callie thinks she's nothing special. Sure, she's friends with the ghost of a radish and her dad owns a magical antique shop--but she's spent her life in the human world. Her dad won't let her join him on his collection trips in the magical realm “for her own protection”, so she’s only caught glimpses of that world through the gates of the town where her father’s store is.
On her seventeenth birthday, Callie goes home with her friend Declan to find her home in disarray and her dad missing. Signs of a struggle point to the portal to the magical realm and when there are signs, you follow them. Now it's up to Callie, Declan, and Radish to band together and bring him home. As they face creatures good and bad, and all sorts of adventure, Callie and Declan may just find out that they are both special in their own ways after all.
The first season of mayhem, magic, vegetables and adventure from Katie Cook's beloved Webtoon, Nothing Special , is collected in this gorgeous graphic novel, which also features exclusive behind-the-scenes content.
In the grand scheme of the worlds at large, Callie thinks she's nothing special. Sure, she's friends with the ghost of a radish and her dad owns a magical antique shop--but she's spent her life in the human world. Her dad won't let her join him on his collection trips in the magical realm “for her own protection”, so she’s only caught glimpses of that world through the gates of the town where her father’s store is.
On her seventeenth birthday, Callie goes home with her friend Declan to find her home in disarray and her dad missing. Signs of a struggle point to the portal to the magical realm and when there are signs, you follow them. Now it's up to Callie, Declan, and Radish to band together and bring him home. As they face creatures good and bad, and all sorts of adventure, Callie and Declan may just find out that they are both special in their own ways after all.
The first season of mayhem, magic, vegetables and adventure from Katie Cook's beloved Webtoon, Nothing Special , is collected in this gorgeous graphic novel, which also features exclusive behind-the-scenes content.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published March 5, 2024
35 people are currently reading
8009 people want to read
About the author
Katie Cook
234 books174 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
I graduated from the College for Creative Studies in 2004 with a BFA in illustration, my love of cartooning and comics has led me to where i am today.
I've done licensed work for DC, Marvel, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, My Little Pony:Friendship is Magic, Fraggle Rock and more. I love being a nerd, so being able to draw nerdy things for a living is the best thing ever.
I'm married to the best guy ever. Ryan keeps me grounded.
I have a daughter, Grayson, who is my booger-y little destroyer of worlds.
I like my cats... a LOT.
...Our dog isn't too bad.
I live in a state shaped like a mitten.
The constant support of my family, pets, friends, and even complete strangers, is what drives me to succeed in art. Thank you everyone, because of you, I am what I am.
Which means... I'm all your fault.
I graduated from the College for Creative Studies in 2004 with a BFA in illustration, my love of cartooning and comics has led me to where i am today.
I've done licensed work for DC, Marvel, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, My Little Pony:Friendship is Magic, Fraggle Rock and more. I love being a nerd, so being able to draw nerdy things for a living is the best thing ever.
I'm married to the best guy ever. Ryan keeps me grounded.
I have a daughter, Grayson, who is my booger-y little destroyer of worlds.
I like my cats... a LOT.
...Our dog isn't too bad.
I live in a state shaped like a mitten.
The constant support of my family, pets, friends, and even complete strangers, is what drives me to succeed in art. Thank you everyone, because of you, I am what I am.
Which means... I'm all your fault.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 235 reviews
March 31, 2024
I love following a group of misfits and that's exactly what this book delivers. It's filled with fun banter, a wild adventure, & fantastic illustrations.
June 12, 2025
Riddle time.
What’s the size of a golf ball, protects you like a possessive shih tzu, third wheels your romantic relationship, and could make all of Germany’s dead philosophers spin in their graves with its existential rants?
It’s Radish! The ghost of a vegetable that died while serving as a party platter garnish, never receiving the fame and recognition that its clingy personality deserved.
Radish is one of the numerous ghosts of dead plants trapped in the realm of the living. You’ve seen those, right? They’re:
attentive,
protective,
eloquent,
and will absolutely use their knowledge of nutrition
to make sure
that you eat
the best vitamins that soil has to offer:
And if you don’t like their offer of friendship,
then, sure, yeah, go ahead and reject it.
Just don’t come crying into my DMs later when you regret it.
Callie, the 17-year-old protagonist of Nothing Special, has the good sense to accept the friendship of plant spirits like Radish. She has lived between the human and the magical worlds with her Dad, who, for some unknown reason, won't let Callie venture outside her small magical town's gate.
Besides befriending Radish, Callie is also friendly with the guy who’s had a cru-…uhhhh… seat behind her in biology class since, like, Kindergarten. He’s been failing all his classes because, for some weird reason, he can never see the board behind Callie’s ponytail (just kidding, his grades are probably good considering that he insists on studying for a physics final with her. But this series isn’t about school, so it doesn’t matter).
It’s a cozy adventure with cuteness and laughs in a fantasy world.
There is also a something about a spark between Callie and that classmate of hers, Declan:
The plant spirits and other magical creatures were my favorite part of this book. I didn’t find the relationships to be very deep here, and I particularly wished for Declan’s character to have a more developed backstory. If his initial interactions with Callie happened in real life, their relationship would fizzle fast. So, maybe, you know, treat this as innocent fiction and not an interpersonal psychology textbook.
Nothing Special, Volume 1, covers the first season of the webtoon Nothing Special and has now been published in physical form. Some panels in the print edition are enhanced compared to the web version. For instance, the earthquake scene has been re-rendered and looks more dynamic in the book.
The experience of full-page spreads is different by nature from a webtoon, too. I’m a fan of the webtoon format because there’s never questions about panel order, and at times I find graphic novels to be visually chaotic and overwhelming. Not so with the layout of Nothing Special -- its use of negative space guided my eye through the adventure well.
An absolute delight.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to write a letter to webtoon about a certain series I would sprint to buy as a hard copy. Don’t ask me which one because I won’t say unless we’re close friends. Although if you work at webtoon, please ask. I’ll be offended if you don’t.
Thanks to Katie Cook and Ten Speed Press for a free Netgalley advance reader copy of Nothing Special, Volume 1, in exchange for an honest review.
What’s the size of a golf ball, protects you like a possessive shih tzu, third wheels your romantic relationship, and could make all of Germany’s dead philosophers spin in their graves with its existential rants?
It’s Radish! The ghost of a vegetable that died while serving as a party platter garnish, never receiving the fame and recognition that its clingy personality deserved.
Radish is one of the numerous ghosts of dead plants trapped in the realm of the living. You’ve seen those, right? They’re:
attentive,
protective,
eloquent,
and will absolutely use their knowledge of nutrition
to make sure
that you eat
the best vitamins that soil has to offer:
And if you don’t like their offer of friendship,
then, sure, yeah, go ahead and reject it.
Just don’t come crying into my DMs later when you regret it.
Callie, the 17-year-old protagonist of Nothing Special, has the good sense to accept the friendship of plant spirits like Radish. She has lived between the human and the magical worlds with her Dad, who, for some unknown reason, won't let Callie venture outside her small magical town's gate.
Besides befriending Radish, Callie is also friendly with the guy who’s had a cru-…uhhhh… seat behind her in biology class since, like, Kindergarten. He’s been failing all his classes because, for some weird reason, he can never see the board behind Callie’s ponytail (just kidding, his grades are probably good considering that he insists on studying for a physics final with her. But this series isn’t about school, so it doesn’t matter).
It’s a cozy adventure with cuteness and laughs in a fantasy world.
There is also a something about a spark between Callie and that classmate of hers, Declan:
The plant spirits and other magical creatures were my favorite part of this book. I didn’t find the relationships to be very deep here, and I particularly wished for Declan’s character to have a more developed backstory. If his initial interactions with Callie happened in real life, their relationship would fizzle fast. So, maybe, you know, treat this as innocent fiction and not an interpersonal psychology textbook.
Nothing Special, Volume 1, covers the first season of the webtoon Nothing Special and has now been published in physical form. Some panels in the print edition are enhanced compared to the web version. For instance, the earthquake scene has been re-rendered and looks more dynamic in the book.
The experience of full-page spreads is different by nature from a webtoon, too. I’m a fan of the webtoon format because there’s never questions about panel order, and at times I find graphic novels to be visually chaotic and overwhelming. Not so with the layout of Nothing Special -- its use of negative space guided my eye through the adventure well.
An absolute delight.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to write a letter to webtoon about a certain series I would sprint to buy as a hard copy. Don’t ask me which one because I won’t say unless we’re close friends. Although if you work at webtoon, please ask. I’ll be offended if you don’t.
Thanks to Katie Cook and Ten Speed Press for a free Netgalley advance reader copy of Nothing Special, Volume 1, in exchange for an honest review.
December 19, 2023
This was an adorable cozy fantasy! Each character stole my heart in their own way, but Radish was the obvious favorite. I loved seeing each of these characters face their insecurities and go on this adventure together to find Callie's dad.
February 21, 2025
Huomasin Nothing Special kirjan toisen osan kirjastossa ja kiinnostuin siitä. Kirjastotäti ystävällisesti löysi tämän ensimmäisen osa, koska ymmärsin, että nämä pitäisi lukea ilmestymisjärjestyksessä. Näin varmaan onkin, sillä tämä osa pyöri melko pitkälle hahmojen ja ympäristön esittelyn ympärillä. Toisaalta ymmärrän sen hyvin, koska tässä on todella erikoisia hahmoja ja ympäristö on todella luova.
Mutta... Se jotenkin hidasti itse juonta ja ajoittain tuntui kuin juoni olisi hieman unohtunut ja jäi pahasti taka-alalle, jolloin lukukokemus kärsi. Halusin pitää tästä, mutta jotenkin tämä kaikki jäi kovin pinnalliseksi. Lisäksi esim. kasvienhaamut herättivät tässä lukijassa enemmän kysymyksiä kuin tarina antoi vastauksia.
Mielenkiinnolla tartun seuraavaan osaa. Josko se aukeaisi paremmin. Toivottavasti, koska tuntuu kuin oltaisiin jonkun kivan ja kiinnostavan äärellä.
Mutta... Se jotenkin hidasti itse juonta ja ajoittain tuntui kuin juoni olisi hieman unohtunut ja jäi pahasti taka-alalle, jolloin lukukokemus kärsi. Halusin pitää tästä, mutta jotenkin tämä kaikki jäi kovin pinnalliseksi. Lisäksi esim. kasvienhaamut herättivät tässä lukijassa enemmän kysymyksiä kuin tarina antoi vastauksia.
Mielenkiinnolla tartun seuraavaan osaa. Josko se aukeaisi paremmin. Toivottavasti, koska tuntuu kuin oltaisiin jonkun kivan ja kiinnostavan äärellä.
March 16, 2024
Incredibly fun and cute graphic novel! I love the characters and story of this one and Vol 1 was such a great length to really get in to meat of this fantasy-realism mixed plot. I absolutely love the little spirits, Radish is the best of the best! All the characters are sweet and enjoyable and I will definitely keep reading to see more of this world that Cook has created!
November 17, 2024
Content warning: mentions of sexual harassment and assault. This review, as well as this comic, is not for children to read.
So let me get this straight:
The story ends with the "heroine", Callie, murdering her mother, whom she (and the reader) literally just met, and is literally the only other female character in the entire book, and this is witnessed and encouraged by four "good" male characters, three of which want to have sex with Callie (yes I'm counting the talking radish ghost in this, as he is extremely possessive, clingy, and acts as a knight to her, arising jealousy in the main male love interest, I-can't-believe-my-biggest-competition-is-a-dead-vegetable-actual-quote Declan), and the fourth is her overprotective father. The mother, who is a tree (yes just go with it), is apparently the main villain all along, even though her introduction comes way too late into the story, and she is barely foreshadowed at all, and she wants to kill everyone and everything to absorb and possess their spirits, or something, and for funzies. Not only does Callie feel no remorse whatsoever upon brutally murdering her mother - stabbing her in the chest, where there is blood, despite her, you know, being a tree, albeit a fantastical one - her mother, whom, reminder, the girl had no idea even existed about five minutes ago, but it is played for laughs. The whole climax of the story is played for laughs. The reader can't take anything seriously, and it is underwhelming, barely a payoff. No emotions, except tee-hee, murder!, and the conclusion to the love story between Callie and Declan. Meanwhile, the other three male characters, including two who have been obnoxiously vying for Callie's affections throughout the book (because she's a "muse", a super special magical snowflake (quite literally as she has white hair), and a device for others to use despite her supposedly being the main character in both this story and in her own right, but this turns out to be not that important), they make stupid and annoying comments on the side.
Callie may not belong to her "crazy", murderous, monstrous tree mother, but she surely belongs to her smart, secretive, "kindly" human father, and her persistent, clingy dude love interests!
The volume teases a sequel (yeah, sorry, but I don't care about any of these annoying, self-absorbed pests). It ends on a cliffhanger: Declan and Lasser, who is a chauvinistic demon prince who inexplicably becomes friends with Callie and Declan despite sexually harassing Callie at every turn and to whom the word boundaries is set a universe away from his dictionary, these two boys rush to save Callie from the advances of one of Lasser's eighty six brothers, as it is a foregone conclusion that he would also want to sexually harass and even assault her because she's a super special "muse".
Wow. I did not expect anything published in 2024 to be so blatantly antifeminist.
And it was created by a woman, and a mother!
'Nothing Special' may try to pretend that Callie is a hero and her own person, not letting anyone control her, dictate her life, or tell her what to do and influence her, but I've read the comic, and I can tell you that none of these informed attributes are true. She is reactionary, is pushed and pulled by the weak, limp, insubstantial plot, and she constantly needs help from the males in her life and on her quest. The only agency and drive she shows is when she sets out to find her missing father, but that's all the reader gets in making them care about her.
I want the Callie from the very beginning of the comic, where she's a little girl and running around all excited and playful and curious and funny and creative, before her overprotective and secretive father puts a stop to all that. Likely unintentional on the comic's part, he is the one who crushes Callie's spirit and sense of adventure, up to her late teens, before he disappears and sets the quest in motion. His highly questionable parenting is also treated lightly and played for laughs, for very little he appears.
Callie's fellow supernatural friend in high school (in apparently our own normie world, containing modern pop culture... the book doesn't worldbuild well or explain how different realms work at all) and love interest, Declan, who is keeping secrets from her as well, is kind of sweet, in a typical nerdy fashion, and is certainly the best option for Callie in the stupid love quadrangle. But that's not saying much, as he is a Nice GuyTM, obsessed with Callie physically (and has been for over ten years) and wanting her as his prize, as more than friendship. This is at its most clear when Lasser complains to him that Callie kept asking to be taken back to him when Lasser kidnapped her (yes, this happens, complete with a forced bridal gown, and still they become companions), like, why? when "wimpy" Nice GuyTM Declan is no one special, not like the demon prince with a vast inferiority complex and insecurities. Declan smiles at this. She chose him over her kidnapper, so obviously she must feel the same way towards him as he does her. This must make her his prize. Priorities! While this is happening, while the two boys are talking about her, Callie is sleeping right in front of them. Nothing creepy there! Nothing reminding me of 'Twilight' about that!
I can't stress enough how creepy and invasive Lasser is towards Callie. Among the things I already mentioned about him - that he's her stalker, kidnapper, and sexual harasser - he constantly refers to her parents as his future in-laws, despite being told repeatedly not to. He is obsessed with her. He treats her like an object; to him, she is not a person with her own wants, thoughts and feelings. He consistently, persistently ignores her rejections to his advances, her protests and spurnings. He never accepts no as an answer. At one point he affirms they sleep together to "conserve body heat", before he is slapped away by Declan, the jealous Nice GuyTM, not her.
This isn't funny. It's sick. I feel sick just typing it out. None of this should be treated as comedic relief. In something made in the early 2020s.
To the bitter end Lasser insists that Callie is his and his alone; his muse and future bride, his inspiration, his woman-behind-every-great-man (another actual quote from the comic) in his own "heroic story". Callie is far too lenient and tolerant to him, and I have no effing clue why. Eff off, Lasser. The MeToo movement would like to have a word with you.
Callie is seventeen-years-old, too, and while the comic gives no info on how old Lasser is supposed to be, the fact that he is a supernatural, 100% nonhuman creature, a demon or something similar, means he could be any age, including over hundreds of years old, or a thousand. Even if he is considered to be young, a "boy", in his species' years, how old he is in comparison to human years needs to be addressed. Either way, and even disregarding this problem in the myriad sea of problematic crap that is Lasser's treatment of Callie, he seriously could not be any more of a creep.
Another thing I don't like about 'Nothing Special' is the use of mild-to-moderate swear words throughout, and the F-word is almost said a few times towards the end. It's not funny or clever, not in the slightest. This is marketed as a children's/middle grade comic, at least by Goodreads. It is not for young children, stop it.
'Nothing Special' isn't nearly as funny as it clearly thinks it is, either. The humour is as obnoxious as most of the "characters".
AND WTF: Apparently a fight with a unicorn happened on Callie and Declan's quest (I refuse to acknowledge Lasser), and it's off-page! All the reader is given is the aftermath and the characters talking about it, no transitions indicated. Well, screw you too, comic. I mean, is this supposed to be funny? Show me the unicorn! Show me the unicorn fight! What is this?! I thought this is an epic fantasy story - why all the shortcuts and low effort put in! Show me something more than tiny vegetable spirits, sexual assaulter demons, and genocidal, sociopathic tree mums! The blink-and-you-miss-it montage containing one-panel spirit bucks and chimeras hardly count.
Oh, and how did Callie's dad go missing in the first place? Who took him? Was he taken, as is implied when Callie first discovers him missing from their home? But then the tree mum (whose name is Lyla, but whatever, literally who cares), upon finally showing up near the end, says he was in her territory, so she took him in and absorbed him into her mossy roots (why she didn't just kill him right away when that was her plan all along, I don't know). How did the tree mum get a hold of him? Wait, what was he doing around her territory to begin with? He had stayed well away from her for years to protect Callie, so... what? How did the human and the tree meet and become close enough to produce a child? And without the mum killing the extremely-poor-judge-of-character dad, as she's wont to do? I don't understand. Character motivation, consistent character motivations, reasons to care about character motivations - I need these in my stories! Everything is so contrived, and messy and poorly planned out.
There's overexplaining things in fantasy stories, and then there's not really explaining anything when it is needed in fantasy stories, and 'Nothing Special' does the latter in spades.
So, there you go: my middling, random, confused review of the middling, random, confused 'Nothing Special'. It is unfortunately my 'The Last Witch: Fear & Fire' of 2024, in that I don't get how an "all-ages" (justification needed) epic fantasy comic this muddled and carelessly thought-out could be so well received and well liked. And it, along with 'Hooky', is another published epic fantasy webtoon comic that I hate and everybody else seems to like.
The few positives I can give 'Nothing Special' are the swift, clean, polished cartoony artwork (though I don't get why everyone looks like they are always blushing), and the relationship between Callie and Declan, which is nice and sweet sometimes, if you can overlook the Nice GuyTM-ness dynamic of it. I long for a guy to call me "enthralling" someday...
Regardless, I can't condone heteronormative, rape culture-fuelled, antifeminist works of fiction like this in 2024. We've done better by now; for, like, over ten years.
No doubt the author worked very hard on creating 'Nothing Special'. Sadly, despite it being a fantasy with a female lead, it is definitely not for me.
Final Score: 2/5
EDIT: A couple more criticisms: At the beginning of the story, when Declan explains to Callie that his grandmother took him to see a therapist when he started seeing vegetable ghosts, the word therapist is emphasised, in bold text. Why? Again this is a 2024 publication, there should absolutely be no shock, stigma and shame in seeking help for mental and emotional health problems. It's thrown in there, and oh what a surprise it's never mentioned again. And in another explanation that Declan gives Callie much later on, about his mysterious fairy wings, he says he must have gotten them from his mother's side of the family. There is no reason given whatsoever why he assumes it's his mother and not his father (or both) that he got his supernatural traits from; both his parents died before he could remember them. It's beyond vague and lazy. It's not good writing, is what I'm saying.
So let me get this straight:
The story ends with the "heroine", Callie, murdering her mother, whom she (and the reader) literally just met, and is literally the only other female character in the entire book, and this is witnessed and encouraged by four "good" male characters, three of which want to have sex with Callie (yes I'm counting the talking radish ghost in this, as he is extremely possessive, clingy, and acts as a knight to her, arising jealousy in the main male love interest, I-can't-believe-my-biggest-competition-is-a-dead-vegetable-actual-quote Declan), and the fourth is her overprotective father. The mother, who is a tree (yes just go with it), is apparently the main villain all along, even though her introduction comes way too late into the story, and she is barely foreshadowed at all, and she wants to kill everyone and everything to absorb and possess their spirits, or something, and for funzies. Not only does Callie feel no remorse whatsoever upon brutally murdering her mother - stabbing her in the chest, where there is blood, despite her, you know, being a tree, albeit a fantastical one - her mother, whom, reminder, the girl had no idea even existed about five minutes ago, but it is played for laughs. The whole climax of the story is played for laughs. The reader can't take anything seriously, and it is underwhelming, barely a payoff. No emotions, except tee-hee, murder!, and the conclusion to the love story between Callie and Declan. Meanwhile, the other three male characters, including two who have been obnoxiously vying for Callie's affections throughout the book (because she's a "muse", a super special magical snowflake (quite literally as she has white hair), and a device for others to use despite her supposedly being the main character in both this story and in her own right, but this turns out to be not that important), they make stupid and annoying comments on the side.
Callie may not belong to her "crazy", murderous, monstrous tree mother, but she surely belongs to her smart, secretive, "kindly" human father, and her persistent, clingy dude love interests!
The volume teases a sequel (yeah, sorry, but I don't care about any of these annoying, self-absorbed pests). It ends on a cliffhanger: Declan and Lasser, who is a chauvinistic demon prince who inexplicably becomes friends with Callie and Declan despite sexually harassing Callie at every turn and to whom the word boundaries is set a universe away from his dictionary, these two boys rush to save Callie from the advances of one of Lasser's eighty six brothers, as it is a foregone conclusion that he would also want to sexually harass and even assault her because she's a super special "muse".
Wow. I did not expect anything published in 2024 to be so blatantly antifeminist.
And it was created by a woman, and a mother!
'Nothing Special' may try to pretend that Callie is a hero and her own person, not letting anyone control her, dictate her life, or tell her what to do and influence her, but I've read the comic, and I can tell you that none of these informed attributes are true. She is reactionary, is pushed and pulled by the weak, limp, insubstantial plot, and she constantly needs help from the males in her life and on her quest. The only agency and drive she shows is when she sets out to find her missing father, but that's all the reader gets in making them care about her.
I want the Callie from the very beginning of the comic, where she's a little girl and running around all excited and playful and curious and funny and creative, before her overprotective and secretive father puts a stop to all that. Likely unintentional on the comic's part, he is the one who crushes Callie's spirit and sense of adventure, up to her late teens, before he disappears and sets the quest in motion. His highly questionable parenting is also treated lightly and played for laughs, for very little he appears.
Callie's fellow supernatural friend in high school (in apparently our own normie world, containing modern pop culture... the book doesn't worldbuild well or explain how different realms work at all) and love interest, Declan, who is keeping secrets from her as well, is kind of sweet, in a typical nerdy fashion, and is certainly the best option for Callie in the stupid love quadrangle. But that's not saying much, as he is a Nice GuyTM, obsessed with Callie physically (and has been for over ten years) and wanting her as his prize, as more than friendship. This is at its most clear when Lasser complains to him that Callie kept asking to be taken back to him when Lasser kidnapped her (yes, this happens, complete with a forced bridal gown, and still they become companions), like, why? when "wimpy" Nice GuyTM Declan is no one special, not like the demon prince with a vast inferiority complex and insecurities. Declan smiles at this. She chose him over her kidnapper, so obviously she must feel the same way towards him as he does her. This must make her his prize. Priorities! While this is happening, while the two boys are talking about her, Callie is sleeping right in front of them. Nothing creepy there! Nothing reminding me of 'Twilight' about that!
I can't stress enough how creepy and invasive Lasser is towards Callie. Among the things I already mentioned about him - that he's her stalker, kidnapper, and sexual harasser - he constantly refers to her parents as his future in-laws, despite being told repeatedly not to. He is obsessed with her. He treats her like an object; to him, she is not a person with her own wants, thoughts and feelings. He consistently, persistently ignores her rejections to his advances, her protests and spurnings. He never accepts no as an answer. At one point he affirms they sleep together to "conserve body heat", before he is slapped away by Declan, the jealous Nice GuyTM, not her.
This isn't funny. It's sick. I feel sick just typing it out. None of this should be treated as comedic relief. In something made in the early 2020s.
To the bitter end Lasser insists that Callie is his and his alone; his muse and future bride, his inspiration, his woman-behind-every-great-man (another actual quote from the comic) in his own "heroic story". Callie is far too lenient and tolerant to him, and I have no effing clue why. Eff off, Lasser. The MeToo movement would like to have a word with you.
Callie is seventeen-years-old, too, and while the comic gives no info on how old Lasser is supposed to be, the fact that he is a supernatural, 100% nonhuman creature, a demon or something similar, means he could be any age, including over hundreds of years old, or a thousand. Even if he is considered to be young, a "boy", in his species' years, how old he is in comparison to human years needs to be addressed. Either way, and even disregarding this problem in the myriad sea of problematic crap that is Lasser's treatment of Callie, he seriously could not be any more of a creep.
Another thing I don't like about 'Nothing Special' is the use of mild-to-moderate swear words throughout, and the F-word is almost said a few times towards the end. It's not funny or clever, not in the slightest. This is marketed as a children's/middle grade comic, at least by Goodreads. It is not for young children, stop it.
'Nothing Special' isn't nearly as funny as it clearly thinks it is, either. The humour is as obnoxious as most of the "characters".
AND WTF: Apparently a fight with a unicorn happened on Callie and Declan's quest (I refuse to acknowledge Lasser), and it's off-page! All the reader is given is the aftermath and the characters talking about it, no transitions indicated. Well, screw you too, comic. I mean, is this supposed to be funny? Show me the unicorn! Show me the unicorn fight! What is this?! I thought this is an epic fantasy story - why all the shortcuts and low effort put in! Show me something more than tiny vegetable spirits, sexual assaulter demons, and genocidal, sociopathic tree mums! The blink-and-you-miss-it montage containing one-panel spirit bucks and chimeras hardly count.
Oh, and how did Callie's dad go missing in the first place? Who took him? Was he taken, as is implied when Callie first discovers him missing from their home? But then the tree mum (whose name is Lyla, but whatever, literally who cares), upon finally showing up near the end, says he was in her territory, so she took him in and absorbed him into her mossy roots (why she didn't just kill him right away when that was her plan all along, I don't know). How did the tree mum get a hold of him? Wait, what was he doing around her territory to begin with? He had stayed well away from her for years to protect Callie, so... what? How did the human and the tree meet and become close enough to produce a child? And without the mum killing the extremely-poor-judge-of-character dad, as she's wont to do? I don't understand. Character motivation, consistent character motivations, reasons to care about character motivations - I need these in my stories! Everything is so contrived, and messy and poorly planned out.
There's overexplaining things in fantasy stories, and then there's not really explaining anything when it is needed in fantasy stories, and 'Nothing Special' does the latter in spades.
So, there you go: my middling, random, confused review of the middling, random, confused 'Nothing Special'. It is unfortunately my 'The Last Witch: Fear & Fire' of 2024, in that I don't get how an "all-ages" (justification needed) epic fantasy comic this muddled and carelessly thought-out could be so well received and well liked. And it, along with 'Hooky', is another published epic fantasy webtoon comic that I hate and everybody else seems to like.
The few positives I can give 'Nothing Special' are the swift, clean, polished cartoony artwork (though I don't get why everyone looks like they are always blushing), and the relationship between Callie and Declan, which is nice and sweet sometimes, if you can overlook the Nice GuyTM-ness dynamic of it. I long for a guy to call me "enthralling" someday...
Regardless, I can't condone heteronormative, rape culture-fuelled, antifeminist works of fiction like this in 2024. We've done better by now; for, like, over ten years.
No doubt the author worked very hard on creating 'Nothing Special'. Sadly, despite it being a fantasy with a female lead, it is definitely not for me.
Final Score: 2/5
EDIT: A couple more criticisms: At the beginning of the story, when Declan explains to Callie that his grandmother took him to see a therapist when he started seeing vegetable ghosts, the word therapist is emphasised, in bold text. Why? Again this is a 2024 publication, there should absolutely be no shock, stigma and shame in seeking help for mental and emotional health problems. It's thrown in there, and oh what a surprise it's never mentioned again. And in another explanation that Declan gives Callie much later on, about his mysterious fairy wings, he says he must have gotten them from his mother's side of the family. There is no reason given whatsoever why he assumes it's his mother and not his father (or both) that he got his supernatural traits from; both his parents died before he could remember them. It's beyond vague and lazy. It's not good writing, is what I'm saying.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 13, 2024
This was adorable. First of all, I loved each and every character, but Radish and Lasser were definitely my faves.
This is a cozy adventure within a whimsical fantasy world, and learning about the characters along with them was fun, especially Callie. Declan is a slight mystery, simply because he doesn’t know his parents or anything about his history yet. I thoroughly enjoyed and loved the little ghostly plants. They’re beyond adorable and bring so much cuteness to the panels. Radish is lovely. He protects. He attacks. But most importantly, he brought snacks. Just eat the dirt, y’all. He’s looking out for you and your health. 👌🏾😹
The romance in this doesn’t overshadow the rest of the story, so that’s a plus. The art style is beautiful and the story was interesting. I look forward to the next book.
This is a cozy adventure within a whimsical fantasy world, and learning about the characters along with them was fun, especially Callie. Declan is a slight mystery, simply because he doesn’t know his parents or anything about his history yet. I thoroughly enjoyed and loved the little ghostly plants. They’re beyond adorable and bring so much cuteness to the panels. Radish is lovely. He protects. He attacks. But most importantly, he brought snacks. Just eat the dirt, y’all. He’s looking out for you and your health. 👌🏾😹
The romance in this doesn’t overshadow the rest of the story, so that’s a plus. The art style is beautiful and the story was interesting. I look forward to the next book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 23, 2025
This was so cute and wholesome!! Can't wait to read next volume🥹🥹
August 14, 2024
Nothing Special, Volume One: Through the Elder Woods by Katie Cook is a compilation of chapters from a webtoon (I should know what that is) put into a graphic novel format. Great artwork, wonderful characters and just an entertaining story. When I was a youngster, I was hooked on comics. As an old guy, I'm finding myself drawn to these entertaining young adult graphic novels.
So what's this one about? Callie, a teenage girl, lives with her dad who runs a magical antique shop. He regularly goes on trips (somewhere) to gather material for his shop, leaving Callie to go to school. Callie doesn't know a lot, or even anything, about her missing mother. Callie is somewhat different as she seems to be able to see the spirits of 'plants' and can talk with them. One, a radish, attaches itself to her. Callie discovers, to her surprise, that one of her school mates, Declan, now turned 17, has discovered that he too can now see and hear plant spirits. A friendship develops.
She takes Declan home to meet her dad, as he always returns home on her birthday. They discover, the antique shop turned upside down and Callie's dad nowhere to be found. It turns out that Callies' dad left her a magical crystal that links the two so she decides to head off into the fantasy world to find him. Declan and Radish accompany her. Along the way, they meet Lasser, a demon, who wants Callie to be his wife; it turns out she's a Muse, and he feels that with her at his side, he can take over from his father, the King.
So there is your story, a journey in this fantasy world to try and find Callie's Dad and along the way to discover their feelings for each other and also to develop good friendships. There are many surprises along the way; more about who Declan really is, about Callie's mother, but you have to read the story to find that out.
The characters are all well-developed; funny, independent, smart and just beautifully drawn. The story moves along nicely, with many excellent pop culture references. It's all fascinating, fun and filled with love and caring and... adventure. The 2nd volume doesn't come out until October but I've got it on order. Most enjoyable. (3.5 stars)
So what's this one about? Callie, a teenage girl, lives with her dad who runs a magical antique shop. He regularly goes on trips (somewhere) to gather material for his shop, leaving Callie to go to school. Callie doesn't know a lot, or even anything, about her missing mother. Callie is somewhat different as she seems to be able to see the spirits of 'plants' and can talk with them. One, a radish, attaches itself to her. Callie discovers, to her surprise, that one of her school mates, Declan, now turned 17, has discovered that he too can now see and hear plant spirits. A friendship develops.
She takes Declan home to meet her dad, as he always returns home on her birthday. They discover, the antique shop turned upside down and Callie's dad nowhere to be found. It turns out that Callies' dad left her a magical crystal that links the two so she decides to head off into the fantasy world to find him. Declan and Radish accompany her. Along the way, they meet Lasser, a demon, who wants Callie to be his wife; it turns out she's a Muse, and he feels that with her at his side, he can take over from his father, the King.
So there is your story, a journey in this fantasy world to try and find Callie's Dad and along the way to discover their feelings for each other and also to develop good friendships. There are many surprises along the way; more about who Declan really is, about Callie's mother, but you have to read the story to find that out.
The characters are all well-developed; funny, independent, smart and just beautifully drawn. The story moves along nicely, with many excellent pop culture references. It's all fascinating, fun and filled with love and caring and... adventure. The 2nd volume doesn't come out until October but I've got it on order. Most enjoyable. (3.5 stars)
December 1, 2024
Omg, this book was absolutely incredible. I loved the characters, I loved the story, and the art style was so adorable. Declan and Callie were a great pairing, and I loved their development throughout the story. It reminded me a lot of my relationship, which was super sweet and wholesome. The twists were also great, and I'm so excited to see where this series will go next!
April 6, 2024
So sweet and cute! I loved every second!
June 14, 2024
This was a delight to read, I loved the fantasy world created here and the main characters were so great. Definitely going to need more asap, there’s so many stories you can tell in this world and this could act as an amazing precursor to them.
April 8, 2024
I just love a cute story with adorable art work. I hope there are more of these to read in the future.
March 7, 2024
I originally read this on webtoon and loved it then. This is a story about a girl who knows about this whole other world that her father works in. There is only one rule, don't cross the gate. One day her dad is taken and she goes on an adventure to find her dad and ends up finding so much more. This is a great story, and would be great for even preteens and teenagers as it would be relatable in some of the things that are in this story. The art is very pretty as well, very well drawn and brings the story to life.
March 8, 2024
Thanks to Ten Speed Graphic for the review copy of this book. I may receive commissions for links in this post.
Being a dad who reads, I have always encouraged my children to engage with books. From birth my children have been read to and, thankfully, have both come to love reading (and yes, audiobooks count!). I created This Dad Reads at a time in my life when I needed something that was exclusively my own but now, three years in, my children are older and naturally life looks different. Thus, a new era in This Dad Reads has arrived, buddy reviews with my kids! Me and one of my children will read an (age appropriate) book and I’ll include their thoughts in my written review. Let’s kick things off!
This dad and son read Nothing Special Vol. 1: Through the Elder Woods by Katie Cook, a middle grade fantasy graphic novel. Teenager Callie lives a fairly sheltered life; her dad’s super protective and her only friends are ghost radishes only she can see. That all changes when Declan (my son Jack’s favorite character) enters her life, he too can see the radishes and they become fast friends. One fateful day Callie and Declan discover her home in disarray and her father missing. These two best friends venture into a magical world and find just what they’re both made of.
Author Katie Cook wastes no time thrusting readers into Nothing Special’s world of fantastical whimsy. Callie and Declan both have distinctive personalities that are relatable to readers of all ages: Callie the shy shoe-gazer and Declan the confident nerd. Cook’s art style suits her story to a tee, it’s the perfect amalgamation of Disney/Japanese cuteness.
The story itself is fairly light, with ample time dedicated to developing the budding romantic relationship between Callie and Declan while never losing sight of the overall mission of rescuing her father. For as bulky as the printed version of the story is I was surprised how succinct a tale is told, a small qualm but with so many pages filled with visuals instead of text, it’s a tiny gripe.
From a 9-year-old’s perspective, the revelation of Declan’s true identity is one key moment of the book. The inclusion of humor was also very appreciated as one particular scene including a flying dagger at a radish was particularly memorable. Utilizing the radishes to introduce each chapter was also high on the list of Jack’s favorite parts of Nothing Special.
Both me and my son think Nothing Special is perfect for kids aged 9 years and above who are fans of magical stories like Harry Potter. There is some PG language though, just something for families to be aware of. For younger aged readers, Jack thinks Nothing Special is particularly enjoyable because, unlike prose, graphic novels offer plenty of visual elements to enjoy and makes the story more fun.
Being a dad who reads, I have always encouraged my children to engage with books. From birth my children have been read to and, thankfully, have both come to love reading (and yes, audiobooks count!). I created This Dad Reads at a time in my life when I needed something that was exclusively my own but now, three years in, my children are older and naturally life looks different. Thus, a new era in This Dad Reads has arrived, buddy reviews with my kids! Me and one of my children will read an (age appropriate) book and I’ll include their thoughts in my written review. Let’s kick things off!
This dad and son read Nothing Special Vol. 1: Through the Elder Woods by Katie Cook, a middle grade fantasy graphic novel. Teenager Callie lives a fairly sheltered life; her dad’s super protective and her only friends are ghost radishes only she can see. That all changes when Declan (my son Jack’s favorite character) enters her life, he too can see the radishes and they become fast friends. One fateful day Callie and Declan discover her home in disarray and her father missing. These two best friends venture into a magical world and find just what they’re both made of.
Author Katie Cook wastes no time thrusting readers into Nothing Special’s world of fantastical whimsy. Callie and Declan both have distinctive personalities that are relatable to readers of all ages: Callie the shy shoe-gazer and Declan the confident nerd. Cook’s art style suits her story to a tee, it’s the perfect amalgamation of Disney/Japanese cuteness.
The story itself is fairly light, with ample time dedicated to developing the budding romantic relationship between Callie and Declan while never losing sight of the overall mission of rescuing her father. For as bulky as the printed version of the story is I was surprised how succinct a tale is told, a small qualm but with so many pages filled with visuals instead of text, it’s a tiny gripe.
From a 9-year-old’s perspective, the revelation of Declan’s true identity is one key moment of the book. The inclusion of humor was also very appreciated as one particular scene including a flying dagger at a radish was particularly memorable. Utilizing the radishes to introduce each chapter was also high on the list of Jack’s favorite parts of Nothing Special.
Both me and my son think Nothing Special is perfect for kids aged 9 years and above who are fans of magical stories like Harry Potter. There is some PG language though, just something for families to be aware of. For younger aged readers, Jack thinks Nothing Special is particularly enjoyable because, unlike prose, graphic novels offer plenty of visual elements to enjoy and makes the story more fun.
October 3, 2023
3.5 rounded up. To make it clear early on I am biased as I devoured season one and most of season two of this webtoon back in high school. I am very excited this got a physical printing! Its a wonderful story. It is decidedly an adventure story and not an action story. It might lack a lot of friction with its main conflict being very distant for much of its length but the focus is put on the fun character dynamics of Callie, Declan, Lasser, and Radish. Their dynamics carry the story and I'm so glad Katie Cook oriented the story structure around that.
The art is nice but a bit acquired. It gives a bit of "How to Draw Manga" vibes. While some snuff their nose at that style I see it as a style with merit. Katie also admits to enjoying having her characters blush with them doing so in nearly all the panels. Its just a fun adventure romp with clean and crisp emotive art (albeit with some slightly awkward mannequin-esque posing). I will say I dislike how the panels are handled. They feel too loose with too much white space. It's an issue for many printed webtoons but it's especially harsh here at times.
The art is nice but a bit acquired. It gives a bit of "How to Draw Manga" vibes. While some snuff their nose at that style I see it as a style with merit. Katie also admits to enjoying having her characters blush with them doing so in nearly all the panels. Its just a fun adventure romp with clean and crisp emotive art (albeit with some slightly awkward mannequin-esque posing). I will say I dislike how the panels are handled. They feel too loose with too much white space. It's an issue for many printed webtoons but it's especially harsh here at times.
January 13, 2024
It's a very sweet book. I quite like the art style and the general 'vibe' of the story telling, it was very enjoyable and reasonably unique. It wasn't an EXCITING story, but I mean that in the nicest way. There were a few points of danger, but I never really felt like anyone wasn't going to make it. Cozy, without being all in one location.
January 16, 2024
A very sweet story for kids with beautiful art. I really enjoyed the art style as it was what intrigued me about the book. The story is pretty simple and straight forward. A fast read. Would recommend for anyone that enjoys children books.
February 15, 2024
EEEEEP!! I’m SO excited!!
I once reviewed Katie Cook's Nothing Special, a comic series that I’d read on the Webtoon platform, and very explicitly stated that the only complaint I had about the series was the fact that I could not purchase a physical copy of it as a graphic novel. This egregious oversight has now been corrected!
Nothing Special is a story about a teenage girl who has always felt like somewhat of an outcast in the human world and prefers to talk to the spirits of plants all non-humans can see than the humans around her. Callie Benson's life changes when one of her fellow students begins seeing the plant spirits as well and realizes that she knows what they are. And when her father suddenly goes is kidnapped, Callie and her new best friend, Declan Hickey, set off on a dangerous adventure to find and rescue him.
Despite the somewhat dark nature of Callie's father's disappearance—there was a mild amount of blood on the walls!—Nothing Special is actually an incredibly cute comic and story. The macabre of the tale is handled in such a way that it’s kind of more cute than anything else. The flow of the tale and the adorable cartoonish quality of the artwork allows for the dark aspects and characters to come off as rather light-hearted in the most fascinating of ways. And best of all, you fall in love with the characters super quickly.
From Callie, to Declan, to Raddish, and even to Lasser—whom you do initially sort of hate; but don't worry, he really grows on you!—everyone in this wonderful series is so easy to adore. Honestly, I'd be really surprised if anyone could legitimately say that they don't love the amazing personalities that lead the adventures held within the pages of this book.
The story is episodic in nature, a rather quick and brilliant read, complete with light-hearted darkness and a wonderful cutesy feel to it. You leave this book eager for the sequel, but also feeling as though the main plot is wrapped up quite nicely in a very sparkly and swirly bow.
I happened to love this story so much when I first found it online that in the span of two months, I’d already read it more than five times. So, naturally, I was more than thrilled to see it on NetGalley and even more excited to submit multiple preorders (gifts, anyone?).
I would highly encourage, especially if the artwork looks like it could be your style, to pick this one up and give it a read. I’m of the mind that it’s a choice impossible to regret!
I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review—and it was as brilliant as I remember it being!
I once reviewed Katie Cook's Nothing Special, a comic series that I’d read on the Webtoon platform, and very explicitly stated that the only complaint I had about the series was the fact that I could not purchase a physical copy of it as a graphic novel. This egregious oversight has now been corrected!
Nothing Special is a story about a teenage girl who has always felt like somewhat of an outcast in the human world and prefers to talk to the spirits of plants all non-humans can see than the humans around her. Callie Benson's life changes when one of her fellow students begins seeing the plant spirits as well and realizes that she knows what they are. And when her father suddenly goes is kidnapped, Callie and her new best friend, Declan Hickey, set off on a dangerous adventure to find and rescue him.
Despite the somewhat dark nature of Callie's father's disappearance—there was a mild amount of blood on the walls!—Nothing Special is actually an incredibly cute comic and story. The macabre of the tale is handled in such a way that it’s kind of more cute than anything else. The flow of the tale and the adorable cartoonish quality of the artwork allows for the dark aspects and characters to come off as rather light-hearted in the most fascinating of ways. And best of all, you fall in love with the characters super quickly.
From Callie, to Declan, to Raddish, and even to Lasser—whom you do initially sort of hate; but don't worry, he really grows on you!—everyone in this wonderful series is so easy to adore. Honestly, I'd be really surprised if anyone could legitimately say that they don't love the amazing personalities that lead the adventures held within the pages of this book.
The story is episodic in nature, a rather quick and brilliant read, complete with light-hearted darkness and a wonderful cutesy feel to it. You leave this book eager for the sequel, but also feeling as though the main plot is wrapped up quite nicely in a very sparkly and swirly bow.
I happened to love this story so much when I first found it online that in the span of two months, I’d already read it more than five times. So, naturally, I was more than thrilled to see it on NetGalley and even more excited to submit multiple preorders (gifts, anyone?).
I would highly encourage, especially if the artwork looks like it could be your style, to pick this one up and give it a read. I’m of the mind that it’s a choice impossible to regret!
I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review—and it was as brilliant as I remember it being!
March 12, 2024
I loved this adorable and heartfelt fantasy adventure with the cutest little (and sometimes quite big!) plant based spirits. Nothing Special is definitely very special, the art is great and the romance gave me the warm and fuzzies. I now find myself with a newfound love of radishes!
April 4, 2024
A ghost radish.
GHOST. RADISH.
This was the most fun I've had while reading in a while. Just a silly, cosy fantasy graphic novel filled with adventure, adorable cast of characters and incredibly funny dialogue between a magical boy and a ghost radish
GHOST. RADISH.
This was the most fun I've had while reading in a while. Just a silly, cosy fantasy graphic novel filled with adventure, adorable cast of characters and incredibly funny dialogue between a magical boy and a ghost radish
May 23, 2024
This...was pretty freaking adorable. I wasn't sure if I was going to like it...it was a very random shelf grab at the library...but it's so stinking cute. Very cozy and magical....great characters and artwork. Definitely recommend if that sounds up your alley.
March 5, 2024
freaking adorable!!! Declan?? My heart❤️ RADISH??? The best character! And the art is amazing:) I met the author, Katie, in person. Katie is so incredibly nice!!! Please read this if you’re into graphic novels and want cute cozy vibes!
April 7, 2024
3.5 stars
April 27, 2024
I absolutely loved this, the illustrations where 🤌🏼 ~Chef’s Kiss~ so adorable and such a cute story with good suttle adult humor. Good for anyone who loves a good Magical graphic novel !!
June 11, 2024
It was a fun short read. It was such a cute story!
December 9, 2024
Katie's work is always so much fun. The art has been updated from the original web comic, and it's absolutely amazing.
The characters are charming, the story is fun, and I just love all of it.
The characters are charming, the story is fun, and I just love all of it.
January 6, 2025
This was an adorable and amazing adventure. I loved all the LOTR references.
January 14, 2025
This was kind of funny at times. It reminded me of something, but I can’t even think of what it is atm.
April 27, 2025
This was so much fun, from the art to the characters to the story. Can’t wait to read the next book!! Radish spirits rock 🤘🏻
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