%20(1).png)
GRAPHIC NOVEL REVIEW: The Order of The Circle (Dead Sky Publishing)
- The Curator
- Mar 5
- 3 min read
About The Order of The Circle
Writer: Levi Cory
Artist: Elisabeth Mkheidze
Colorist: Eva De La Cruz
Letterer: Maria Letizia Mirabella
Publisher: Dead Sky Publishing
Genre: Supernatural Horror
Release date: February 18th, 2025
Synopsis: The Order of the Circle is a graphic novel about a grieving widow who seeks revenge against a secret agency of mages and witches. The widow, Dorothy Schafer, is determined to dismantle The Circle, who sentenced her husband to Hell. She forges a weapon to take on their magic and face Hell itself.
The Order of The Circle Review
I don’t know about you guys but it’s been a while since I’ve seen Drag Me to Hell. A horror movie that, for me, proved that Sam Raimi still has the horror chops he proudly displayed with the Evil Dead trilogy. A movie that had all the haunting of The Ring and the weird horror of Evil Dead 2. It was penultimate to Raimi’s career. So it’s refreshing to see a horror graphic novel which borrows from that Drag Me to Hell concept and builds upon it a period piece dystopian threat filled looming threat of witches, revenge and the memory of what has been lost.
The Order of the Circle follows Dorothy who’s out for revenge against The Circle, a coven of witches charged with protecting the realm, who frame her husband for murder and cast a binding spell, preventing Dorothy from ever speaking again. Which begs the question “how does she eat?” Betrayed and cast into the world by The Circle, she begins gathering items to craft a weapon in her fight against those who betrayed her.
On the way, she is haunted and guided by the memory of her husband, who keeps her from straying from the path by ensuring she knows what mission is. Which adds a gothic horror feeling of loss and loneliness that’ll make you empathise for how she was betrayed. As Dorothy makes moves to gather all the pieces she needs to exact her revenge, the B-plot focuses on a deadly smog that has enveloped all of London and is causing disease and sickness. As it clogs up hospitals and doctor’s waiting rooms we soon learn The Circle who are charged with finding a solution to the problem are the very ones who caused it in the first place. Adding an air of conspiracy to this occultic police force.
When Dorothy finally gets unblinded from the spell preventing her from speaking which, ironic to my Sam Raimi reference earlier, involves a chainsaw and lots of gore, The Order of the Circle find out about her involvement and summon forth the same demon who dragged her husband to hell - to deal with her. With a supernatural dagger crafted, allies helping Dorothy, and a face off against the demon Astaroth, the third act feels perilous and apocalyptic, as she fights for her life and vengeance.
My biggest gripe is the lack of narrative blocks (boxes) which would've done well in linking each consecutive scene to the next. Because, as it stands, The Order of the Circle is very dialogue driven and can lose you if you don't persist. Not exactly a fault of the writer but the editor should've picked up on this.
Otherwise, The Order of the Circle feels darkly adventurous and morbidly cinematic. There’s plenty to like here for fans of supernatural horror stories involving witches as there’s plenty of spell casting going on. But, thanks to Levi Cory’s writing and Elisabeth Mkheidze’s, the atmosphere adds a level of fear that’ll keep you reading on the edge of the seat. Don’t put the graphic novel down, keep reading, ‘else Astaroth will drag you to hell.
When’s the next one coming out? I’m fucking hooked.
My Kind Of Weird Score:
8/10
Preview Art:
