Clara & the Devil: Vol. 2: A darkly romantic, beautifully illustrated fantasy graphic novel

by Olivie Blake, Little Chmura (Illustrator)

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy

Kindle Edition

Expected publication March 4, 2027

About the author

Olivie Blake is the pseudonym of Alexene Farol Follmuth, a lover and writer of stories, many of which involve the fantastic, the paranormal, or the supernatural, but not always. More often, her works revolve around what it means to be human (or not), and the endlessly interesting complexities of life and love.
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Olivie has penned several indie SFF projects, including the webtoon Clara and the Devil with illustrator Little Chmura and the viral Atlas series. As Follmuth, her young adult rom-com My Mechanical Romance releases May 2022.

Olivie lives in Los Angeles with her husband and new baby, where she is generally tolerated by her rescue pit bull.

Reviews

[Emily D]

Huge thank you to Net Galley & 23rd Street Books for this ARC!

Readers of Lore Olympus (who are mature enough to read something darker) will enjoy these graphic novels, as will general fans of dark academia and stories of sin, temptation, and human nature. Make sure you have a sweet treat handy (or that your local bakery is actually open) before you sit down for this one. Might I suggest a slice of apple pie?? 🍎

The illustrator absolutely blew me away again, blending multiple styles of art together in a way that truly maximizes the reading experience rather than detracting from it. Their art is an experience. The use of color, especially the bright blues and deep oranges of the chosen palate against all of the gloom, really have a chokehold on me. Though I liked the cover of the first volume slightly better than this one, both the illustrator and author stepped it up with this volume!

I will be purchasing a physical copy of this volume for my personal collection & recommend it as an excellent graphic novel for adult/young adult graphic novel collection development.

[Relena_reads]

These books are so unrequitedly gorgeous. The layouts, the bleeding edges of the panels, the use of typefaces for emphasis. Physically spectacular.

Clara has also grown a lot in this edition and her arc is my favorite part of this book.

Gus's arc is interesting, and I'm not at all mad he's part of the book, but introducing a new POV character requires a lot more exposition in those sections and it slows the pace of the book enough for me to round down from a 4.49 to a 4 instead of up to a 5.

I am really intrigued by the direction that seems to be revealed at the end of the text, which will keep me coming back to see what the Devil has to offer in the next edition.

Many, many thanks to NetGalley for this eARC!

[Megan]

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Volume 2 is just as stunning as Volume 1. The gorgeous color work continues with pops of blue for the devil, but what really stands out for me in this volume is the use of black drawings in the white space to make the full color panels more sinister.

I absolutely loved the theme of starvation and the idea of "being good" that permeated this volume, and I would love to see more from this universe. I was left with more questions than answers, but I'm starting to think that's just Blake's style. Either way, I'm happy to be along for the ride.

[kaite]

The art style of this series is absolutely incredible. I love the pops of the brighter colors like the blue and red as symbols. And the different fonts for the different characters is also a super nice touch. I personally enjoyed this one better than the first. The characters felt like they had more depth this time around. And Clara's character arc was much more interesting to read. I was skeptical of Gus and Gretchen being introduced at first but by the end it made sense. The last few pages left me very intrigued to see where the story will go next!

[Holly]

Another beautifully illustrated and seductive offering from Olivie Blake and Little Chmura. This time around we learn that the Devil takes more than one form and that temptation hooks some more easily than others. This has a dark feel, almost like the Sandman series but elevated in a magnetic, dreamy way. I’ll definitely be reading the next installment!

e-arc provided by Netgalley ❤️

[clicktojointhemafia]

uhmmmm the cover is so fire

[Itzy Morales]

4.5 rating

Once again, Olivie Blake and Little Chmura have done it again! Truly, transcending the game!

I absolutely love how much more lore we get in this volume regarding the Devil and the introduction to more characters. I also find it so satisfying that the Devil showed up in different forms to help the reader realize that the Devil is not one some form but rather, what you desire. That change of gender was so clever and so powerful.

The storytelling is absolutely amazing and you can definitely see Blake’s work shine through with the beautiful characterization and artistic talent that Little Chmura provides. You can see the possession, the need to know, and the excess and need for power through both the dialogue and the artwork. The Devil and even Clara are such complex characters and I’m so curious to see what happens in the upcoming installments.

Thank you to 23rd St. publishing for the ARC.