Aurora: Volume 1

Aurora #1

by Red

Fans of the hit webcomic Aurora will delight in the first series installment in print, which follows a found family of heroes on a journey to save a god from an immortal witch.

The shining city of Vash in the world of Aurora is protected by a great and powerful god of the same name, but even Vash’s incarnation cannot withstand the Collector, an immortal sorceress bent on unmaking the world. Vash’s city is destroyed and his soul abducted, leaving only ruins and the wounded, empty body of his incarnation. When newborn soul Kendal awakens in the body, he is driven to rescue the imprisoned Vash. Now Kendal must grapple with living as a mortal and defeating a force powerful enough to sunder the gods.

Kendal is aided by the friends he makes along the way: Alinua, a volatile elven hermit terrified of her uncontrollable life magic; Erin, the prideful Elemental Magus, master of all six elements, who is burdened with a world-shattering curse; and Falst, a surly beastman trying to find his way in a world that hates him. Together, they will journey through magic and mystery, explore perilous environments, and confront ancient forces. Stars dance beyond the shimmering curtains of Aurora; it is time to draw those curtains back . . .

With exclusive author commentary and bonus story content, Aurora (Volume 1) has plenty for both fans and new readers to enjoy.

Genres: Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Comics, Young Adult, Fiction

373 pages, Paperback

First published July 29, 2025

Reviews

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a fan of Overly Sarcastic Productions for (*checks youtube history) 8 YEARS. So yes, reading this was a special kind of treat. I probably wouldn't give this five stars under normal circumstances (I prefer a less kitchen sink-y style of worldbuilding [although Red's recent video on elemental magic systems really made me appreciate the parts I did like]), but come on! Red and Blue got me through high school AND college. Plus the plotting and character work is really good... soooo. 5 Stars!

[D.T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The major problem with this book is the WORDINESS. There are exposition dumps too often, which I’m sure was the learning pains of writing a story/webcomic for the first time.

BUT the character interactions and the plot have left me very intrigued. I must add this webcomic to my already long list to follow. The “found family” aspect is endearing here.

The main antagonist, “The Collector,” is unnerving and fun to watch. So many of the supernatural characters have their own hidden motives that we’re trying to find out along with the main cast.

4.5

[Elyse Burgess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read the digital version of this comic before and found it fun but confusing. For whatever reason (maybe just the fact that it's my second read through, maybe because of updates/edits for the print version, maybe because holding the print version forced me to slow down and focus a bit more, maybe a combination) reading this in a physical book form hit different, in a very good way. Kendal and Alinua are such wonderful characters, and several themes hit unexpectedly hard. Kendal is in some ways like Data from Star Trek – he is a character wrestling with what his purpose is and what it means to be human. However, he's also the story's Christ figure in a lot of ways, and what an excellent heroic and compassionate paragon protagonist he is. Alinua's arc of healing from believing that she would hurt the people around her is also definitely a story I needed to read today.

I also appreciate how rooted this story is in both mythology and D&D tropes and lore. The D&D feel wasn't something I loved about it my first time through, but now that I've actually played more TTRPGs it actually made the story feel like it was following a familiar formula (in a good way.)

I should say that there are some elements I'm not wild about in later chapters of the webcomic, but everything in this first print volume is wonderful.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading Aurora for several months now online (where it updates on Mon, Wed, and Fri) and I was SO EXCITED when Red announced she was releasing Volume 1 in print!

For anyone else who's been reading at https://comicaurora.com/ , the print volume includes some concept sketches and entries from Erin's diaries. The little extras make having this comic in print even better. :)

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The city of Vash has fallen to a mysterious mage known as the Collector, who has taken the soul of its god. Kendal, the city's sole survivor, has been tasked to retrieve said god. He soon encounters Alinua, a hermit who is finally free to see the world. The two set off on an adventure neither of them could have predicted- of gods and monsters, of mages and horrors as old as time, of allies, and of enemies.
The world has shook once before. It will do so again.

This book is almost the definition of what I enjoy in fantasy. Hard worldbuilding and magic, subtly subversive, character arcs that actually make me emotional.
First- the magic system! You've seen four elements, you've probably seen five... but have you seen six? I've seen it once before, but this book manages to avoid the pitfall the other fell into- that of scope creep and unestablished limits. Here, there is a definitive number of elements. Each can do a list of specific things and can't go beyond that. And that forces the characters- at least, those who have magic- to get creative.
And the plot! This book mostly serves as an introduction to the major characters, including antagonists. But it still manages to make sense and is fairly easy to follow- more so if you take your time, unlike what I did. The division into chapters makes that significantly easier compared to most graphic novels.
We don't see much of a single character arc in this book. Kendal's is the longest, but by far the slowest; Erin is a close second. Falst is introduced too late to get anything meaningful- but Alinua's is certainly strong. Again, though, it's still early in the story- most of her arc has been discussing this and that existential crisis. But how they're handled is awesome, and healthy in a way I don't see too often.
I've already managed to convince about half a dozen of my friends to read this. And they've convinced others to read it too. It's that good.

[John Driscoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn't read the webcomic, but I follow OSP on YouTube and have enjoyed Red's videos for years. I enjoyed this, but I think I had my hopes a little too high, given Red's deep and oft-demonstrated insights into storytelling and mythology. It was fun, but I'm not sure how much it'll stick with me long-term.

Let's start off with things I like:
-The art is pretty good, and the characters are easily recognizable and distinguishable.
-Despite leaning on some classic fantasy storytelling tropes, it manages to make them feel fresh and new.
-Characters act with emotional intelligence and the solution is often something other than killing.
-Even though there's an ancient creation story, a bygone race of ancients whose powers are mostly lost or poorly understood, it's still done in a way that makes the world feel relatively young.

But here are some things I like less:
-I find some of the action scenes hard to follow. This may be a me problem more than a fault of the art, because I run into this same thing in some other comics and especially manga, but it definitely impacted my enjoyment, especially early on.
-The characters are a bit simply drawn - not so much in terms of art but in complexity of character. They feel less like people than they do a D&D party, each with their backstory and hook, but not a lot that makes them feel real.

I dunno, I'd definitely read more. This feels like it's got plenty of room to go, and I'm inclined to like Red's work.

[Sparrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars/5 stars

Reading Aurora, Volume 1 was an intriguing time because of the fact that I have read the entirety of the first arc, the first half of which this book contains, in the webcomic format. Thus, I already knew that I loved the story and characters. In particular, Kendal learning how to actually exist beyond just his “purpose” was particularly resonating and engaging. A number of quests in a fantastical world with a found family meant that there was almost no way that I would not love this.

The only reason that this physical book did not get a full 5 stars is because there were certain panels that were so dark that I couldn’t see what was going on. As far as I recollect, this was not an issue with the webcomic, and it is something that I hope is not continued in future volumes.

[Jame_EReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

👧🏻 review: This graphic novel is a bit The Six and Zelda crossover with a few superpower themes. This big darkish illustrations got me through my boredom quickly. I wasn’t expecting it quite intrigued with the cover and definitely has that manga-ish feel. As mentioned the illustrations are clear and stunning while the storyline and plots kept building. I love manga and Zelda, so this hits the spot. I like it!

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are so many infodumps into the world building here and 90% of it is completely unnecessary. the gist is that a magician is able to defeat one of the many gods of this world and this spawns off a piece of his avatar into a new being that's trying to ultimately defeat this woman. I'm not sure why that story itself is so much more convoluted than it needs to be. Overall this is OK, but it's long at 400 pages and that's only the first volume.

[Merenwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was a bit hard to follow, but given that it was originally a web comic I tried to give it a chance. Another snag with it being originally a web comic is that some of the scenes were really, really dark and hard to see what was going on. I've read graphic novels with dark cells, but this was especially difficult. I think these scenes would look better on a screen, and it's probably the fault of the publisher for printing in a glossy format rather than matte pages.

[Elizrd]

I have not actually read the book version of this; I read the webcomic online for a book club (up to chapter 16) and wanted to record it. The first few chapters of set-up were bit confusing because of all the (necessary) info-dumping but once I got past that I was completely hooked. The characters were the real draw and I'm in love with each and every one of them. Also, floofy hair!

[Jessie B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read the entirety of the webcomic multiple times through (well, everything that is currently out) and absolutely love it. I am so excited that part is now in print, and the extra content is really neat!

[Sugarpop · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning is a bit heavy on world building but it gets into action quick too, keeping a good pacing.
The characters are lovable and I can't decide whom I like more.
It's fun and entertaining and nice to look at too.

[Marcie · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 / 5 stars!

[Eli Kwake · Rating 5 out of 5]

YES

Look so you should really just read this it’s really good. Red definitely and unsurprisingly knows what she’s doing with her writing

[LoKat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing story and characters. I enjoyed it a lot, except that so many of the panels were just too dark to see well - maybe a printing problem?

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not perfect, but I love these characters and this world so much.