The magical veterinarians of Hex Vet turn their attention to a waterborne illness ahead of their animated debut on Nickelodeon!
A seemingly normal day at the clinic turns strange when a magical creature begins making wild prophecies, when he usually just predicts the weather and helps find lost household items! Meanwhile, a mysterious magic in the water makes river creatures, both magical and normal, behave in odd ways. Beavers build elaborate wood houses teetering on the edge of collapse, kelpies cast aside their magical disguises when trying lure people to the water, and ice swans make ear-piercing mating calls and freeze chunks of water solid–all similar to the creature at the clinic. The creature’s owner may have something to do with this whimsical madness, so Nan and Clarion must quickly work together to brew a solution and set things right! Creator Sam Davies with cartoonist Lisa Moore continue the witchy misadventures of Nan and Clarion, the inspiration behind the Nickelodeon animated series, who continue their close-knit practice of helping animals… by trying to be the best veterinarian witches they can!
Comic artist and illustrator in Oxford, UK. I enjoy monsters, ocean dwellers, soft creatures and sad ghosts. author of the Hexvet series for boom and the long running silent webcomic Stutterhug~
How? Random pull at the library -- I'll take out anything with either an animal or magic on the cover for the kiddo.
What? Two apprentice witch vets -- one nervously preparing for an exam, the other dealing with her ne'er-do-well brother -- get tasked with helping the river spirit because something is making all the animals act weirdly... self-confident. (The beavers are building an over-elaborate dam, the murderous kelpie tries to lure people without her glamour on (so she looks just like a demonic skeleton horse.) What could be the problem?
Yeah, so? Spoiler here, but the problem is a witch who is accidentally polluting the river with her confidence potion because she has stage fright -- she never even wanted to be in the play, she just liked hanging out with her friend. (Oof, hard relate, sister.) But as soon as she learns she's the problem, she jumps to make amends and everything is OK.
And I tell you all this because I think knowing the story will help describe how sort of cozy and light and personal the whole thing is. This was apparently book 3 in the series, and we've already ordered the first two.
This Hex Vet story is about waters! We get to see beavers, kelpies, all sorts of water-based creatures and they're all very cute. And the story is all about our characters trying to do their jobs and not feeling confident they can do vet stuff on their own, pass their test, etc. So trying to solve this problem with the rivers may lead to them becoming more confident in their own abilities! That's a nice message. I like the cute animals.
The interns are filling in for the doctor to try to help water sprites figure out what’s happen to the creatures in the rivers water. It was good but dang, this one was kind of dark. Pollution, addiction and redemption are themes that are covered in this series. It felt more mature and serious. It does have its charm and the mystery is fun. But I miss the sweet moment from the first. And maybe a bit more banter between the two characters would help.
Cute story as usual. This time our vet interns have to figure out why the creatures in the water are acting strange... plus there's a strange creature that is roaming the woods at night. Love the characters and the illustrations.
I liked this more than the first one. Art worked better for me this time, loved all the blues. And a fun One Health mystery. The bits about the brother felt a bit clunky but the rest of the tale had fun world building.
A pretty cute midlegrade graphic novel featuring women in veterinary fields, characters learning a new career, and a wealth of imaginative creatures. The story flow feels a little too simple, but I know this will be a perfect read for many kids. Also, loved the beavers.