Apprentice Lord of Darkness: A Graphic Novel

A.S.T. - L'Apprenti Seigneur des Ténèbres #1-5

by Cédric Asna

"Just the thing for readers who think they've seen it all."-- Kirkus Reviews

In this fantasy world filled with heroes, monsters, and royalty, a minuscule antihero wants to become the most terrible and dreaded Dark Lord of all the time ... the only problem is, she's broke, has no henchmen, no evil lair, and no plan. But would that stop ten-year-old Apprentice Lord of Darkness in this hilarious (and adorable) graphic novel? No way!

It's been 200 years since the Master of Evil was driven out of the Alkyll lands, and everyone is living happy, peaceful lives...everyone except tiny, ten-year-old Apprentice Lord of Darkness. She is so bored without any mischief around and is looking to make a name for herself by causing a little bit of chaos and disruption. But first, she needs an evil lair, then a group of loyal henchmen, and finally a plot to kidnap the princess. But as events unfold, Apprentice Lord of Darkness and her silly crew bite off more than they can chew. The Master of Evil returns, they compete for the throne, search for the powerful Hand of Fate, battle a barbarian, and eventual realize that they may not be as evil as they thought!

This hilarious graphic novel combines humor and fantasy with irresistibly cute illustrations. The short scenes are perfect for new graphic novel readers, and the jokes will keep older audiences laughing and turning pages with delight. Our anti-heroine is as adorable as she is snarky and will make a fan out of boy and girl readers alike.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Humor, Fiction, Comics, Middle Grade, Childrens

200 pages, Paperback

First published July 5, 2022

Reviews

[Spencer Orey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great illustrations. The story is fun, if at times a bit random. For whatever reason, the jokes didn’t always land, and the mostly single page format felt a little old school (usually a punchline in the last panel).

But my kid adored this book, and we had a blast reading it together.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very fun!

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Apprentice Lord of Darkness = Invader Zim, but make it medieval. Young readers will love the nonstop antics, slapstick comedy, and constant failures of the wannabe Dark Lord. Adults who spent too much time in Hot Topic & doing their best Gir impressions (read: me) will also fall in love with this graphic novel.

[D.T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming! I love that despite the episodic nature, character development is still there. The ending is fitting, but I would read more.

[Ilsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did like the villain shenanigans that the group would get into. I thought some jokes were funny and I loved the art style. But I thought this was just ok and I got bored quickly because things would just shift too quickly and some jokes would just repeat making it not funny anymore. But I thought the concept was cute but I’ve read better graphic novels.

[Dolores · Rating 5 out of 5]

200 years ago, the dreaded Master of Evil was banished from the lands of Alkyll, and everyone has been living safely and happily since. But, that is about to change. Because there is a new Lord of Darkness on the scene. Well, an Apprentice LD, they're only ten. But they have great plans. All they need is an evil lair, some henchmen and a little luck and they will terrorize the heck out of Alkyll. Too bad things don't go quite to plan. This one was hilarious. I loved the characters and the little family that grew from a nefarious plot.

[Colleen Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

It reads like a weekly Sunday comic so while the story goes on continually, each page has a start and finish moment to the strip. If you don't know what I mean, find a newspaper and go read the funnies (aka comic strips section).

Quite comical and leaves you with a heart warming ending where the "evil ones" realize they're really the good ones. Pre-read it for my own children's sake, definitely an okay read for my youngest (7yrs old).

[Gladimore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This dragged for me, sadly.

[Nathan Bartos]

DNF @ 10%
I didn’t realize this was basically a bunch of 1-2 page comics pushed together into a general narrative with a punch line every page or two. Not really what I’m looking for.

[Caroline Phipps · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this stupid comic. It’s giving Invader Zim in the Middle Ages

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A punch line on every page. The Chronicles of Claudette was a story in the same vein but Claudette was a bit more cohesive.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I didn’t really get into this book my 8-year old was absolutely thrilled with it, so I’ve rated it from his viewpoint and not mine.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute comic full of mischief and comedy.

[Tiegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seriously funny! The sense of humor that went into this graphic novel was right up my alley. If you're looking for a goofy romp with a group of misfits trying to be evil, but not being very good at it, this is the book for you!

[Erica Schimmel · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[April Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good gravy, this was fun! The story was quite an adventure, full of mayhem, evil intentions, and not-so-evil outcomes (plans go awry when your henchmen can't remember them for more than two seconds). The art is adorkable and so perfect for the story! There's an Invader Zim flavor to this, I feel like Zim and ALD (Apprentice Lord of Darkness, dontcha know) would get along well - they have stuff in common, such as incompetent minions and way more bluster than they can back up. ALD never wavers from their plans for evildoing and world domination, but somehow things just keep going wrong! The humor is silly and slapsticky, the characters are fleshed-out well, and the ending is satisfying. I really enjoyed this one!

[Jesse Baggs · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lil guy wants to be an evil overlord but is undermined by his inherent adorableness. While the premise isn’t very original, the art is fun, and there’s potential for a story to develop. Unfortunately, “Apprentice Lord of Darkness” is a collection of gag strips, and having each page introduce the premise and end with a joke ruins the narrative momentum. Worse, the jokes aren’t that funny. To be fair, most comic strips aren’t very funny, and there’s plenty here to charm the right reader.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

An absolutely ridiculous and hilarous adventure about trying to become the most fearsome ruler that has ever lived (with many detours and hurdles along the way).

Generally recommended online for ages 8-12 and grades 3rd-7th

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed digital review copies of this book through Edelweiss.