I have had Mage and the Endless Unknown saved in my online reader copies folder since probably 2022 or at least early 2023. I am not sure why it was still available, but it was. And SJ Miller’s graphic novel is about a typical innocent who goes into the world only to find out how cruel and evil the story is. And of course, Mage, marvels how beautiful things are, but soon realizes everything in it wants to destroy them. Things are big, bad, scary and really dangerous. I am terribly disappointed that the cute octopus legged, classic sheeted ghosts turn out they way they did. Or the Plague Doctor like creatures acted the way they did. Talk about wanting to destroy someone!
We follow three main characters, (at the end we learn their names are Mage, Double, and Fortune). There is a strong supporting main character who has the only speech in this mostly wordless graphic novel. Several images are disturbing and could be triggering as they are fantasy violence. Though they are interesting as they are minimalistic in some areas, they are active in others. As it is wordless you might need to backtrack to find out things, or clarify things as I did with (SPOILER) the loss of one of the Mages arms. It is easy to “look too quickly” at the illustrations.
The story arc has a spiritual aspect, but not necessarily a Christian or of a particular faith. The idea also has an environmental element with how the Mage can manipulate the flora, and how the elements are part of the action. Which, by using action, is a bit misleading. There is action (fighting the elements, the magic, the villainous beings) but at the same time it is not the traditional battles.