NPC Tea

by Sarah Millman

Hannah;s life is turned upside down when she stumbles into Y Ddraig - a little known tea shop in the heart of Cardiff that just happens to be run by an immortal fire spirit and a stressed-out elf. Soon, the lack of customers and bizarre tasting teas become the least of their worries. When an ancient power returns to threaten the entire city, Bryn, Oz, and Hanny must unite if they are to save their business - and ultimately, the city itself.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Queer, Urban Fantasy

268 pages, Hardcover

Published June 30, 2021

About the author

Hello! I'm an illustrator and writer from Cardiff, Wales.

I'm best known for my independent comic series, NPC Tea, which is about a tea shop run by orcs and elves, set in modern day Cardiff. This series was funded on Kickstarter, with six successful campaigns running from 2017 to 2020.
I graduated from Bristol UWE with a degree in Illustration in 2011, and after that completed a Masters in Animation at the University of Glamorgan in 2012. Since then I've worked as a freelance artist, with clients from the comics and games industries.

Reviews

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hecka cute graphic novel about magical beings running a tea shop. For such a simple story, I found it surprisingly difficult to follow / remember what was going on, but I enjoyed it anyway. Good characters, liked the premise, could have done with a bit more cosy, tea-slurping action, and perhaps greater clarity on what was actually going on.

[Max Greeves · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Rhyannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I met the author at Swansea Comic and Gaming Con. lovely to speak to I asked her to sign my copy to Barb, as I was dressed as the Stranger Things character. Sarah gave the vibe of being someone I’d want to be mates with. She was friendly and warm and I instantly felt safe in her company. That doesn’t happen often.

So I bought her book, Volume 1 of NPC Tea and I’ve only now got round to reading it. I devoured it in two evenings. I actually stayed up past 1am this morning finishing it. I was fully engrossed and sucked into the world Sarah has created.

It was wonderful to see representation in the comic too. I’m not from Cardiff but I am Welsh and have visited the capital loads of times. So seeing the areas I know and reading place names I recognise led to a sense of belonging… ymdeimlad o berthyn. Not only that but I saw myself in many of the characters too and valued seeing pan/bisexuality represented too.

The story is fantastic but it’s the characters who dragged me in, Hannah, Iro and Oz specifically. Sarah had me caring about every character in a very short space of time. Please 🙏🏻 I need more of these characters and this story. I do hope there’s more to come 💕

[Patrick Scattergood · Rating 5 out of 5]

After picking up issue one of the series at a comic con, I was extremely eager to read the entire series again.

NPC TEA, is a superb graphic novel. One of the things I like the most is it’s utterly unique with how it tells the story and makes sure you care about the characters.

One of the ways Millman does this is with the changing of the background colours. I’d never seen it done that before and it works beautifully here with the art on show. The changes denote the different places, points of views of the characters, even the emotions too.

There are also some wonderfully heartfelt moments in the story that really stay with you after you’ve finished the story and some very well written LGBTQ rep as well.

NPC TEA is one of those types of books that you can read again and again, noticing something new each and every time.

[Sarah Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first few issues after MCM London Comic Con so I was really excited to get all 8 issues in one volume through the kickstarter. I love it. The characters are interesting and the mythology of the world is something I would happily dive into. I appreciate that the story doesn't get bogged down by tons of world building, giving a good balance between story and providing the context so we understand what's happening. The background colours of the panels change throughout the story and I thought it was clever to use them to separate out the different perspectives and story threads.
I hope I get to read more when it happens!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Purchased at Thought Bubble convention 2022. A fun, enjoyable story of magical shenangians set in Cardiff, including at university and in a tea shop, featuring a diverse and delightful group of characters. I liked the art, including the use of shading to show the change in location / character POV. Personally I would have liked even more tea and Cardiff, but I did enjoy the magic and I loved the characters. Will read volume 2!

[Anna Glover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightfully drawn, but more importantly, a really engrossing story! I am sorry I didn't buy the book, but borrowed it from a friend knowing nothing about it. But what a lovely surprise! Sometimes you can tell that an author is just a lovely person through the writing. I love the characters, I love the world, I love that it's set in Cardiff. Can't wait to read more!

[Etola · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was lent to me by a friend and it was a delight to read. The character art was solid, the story and characters engaging, and I particularly liked the artist's use of colorwork to denote scene & location changes. Definitely worth picking up!

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great characters and world building. I look forward to volume 2.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5ish stars

Loved the characters and the casual queerness, but wish the pacing were a bit tighter and the storyline a bit more clear

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story but I found it hard to follow at times. Felt like it was jumping all over the place. That being said I enjoyed it and would read the next continuation if that happened.

[Izzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were parts where it was difficult to follow what was happening, but other than that I loved it!

[Ellie Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this at UK Games Expo last year and it's such a charming graphic novel. I found the artwork really lovely, the plot interesting (although a bit hard to track in some places but I am not a DND aficionado) and the vibes immaculate. [taps table] more please.