The Lost Heirs
What starts out as a slice-of-life story about a young man who works at a coffee shop, quickly becomes so much more as the reader discovers that Eli has magic, and the new hot guy from the coffee shop, James, catches him trying to practice in secret. James introduces Eli to the magical world that regular humans don’t know about, as well as his friends. And in the process, they start dating.
Each chapter follows one of the ensemble characters through their day, which allows readers to connect with them while the story’s mystery progresses. Each character encounters something odd, so they bring the information back to the group and discuss a strategy to uncover what the adults are trying to conceal from them. When their questions go unanswered, and they can’t find anything through their research, the group decides to summon a spirit from the past to find answers. But all they find is more questions as volume one concludes.
This story starts with chapters that show the same sequence of events but from different points of view, which I really liked and thought the rest of the story might do the same thing. However, since the other characters did not overlap as much, this was not the case. As the series title, Arcana, suggests, there is allusion to the major arcana of tarot origin in the chapter titles and portrayal of character roles within the group. One character does use tarot cards to divine events, so this does happen on the page.
The author is inclusive with characterization and artwork. The Lost Heirs features a gay dating relationship, LGBTQ+ representation in side characters, and none of it feels forced nor does the inclusion of various body types of the main ensemble. The body types (thick and thin, short and tall) are rarely mentioned in the story and are portrayed with cartoon coloring and body proportions, which works to naturalize them. The color palette is rather limited, using a brighter color to highlight an important character or emotion when necessary.
There is non-graphic, consensual sex between two young men that happens behind closed doors, so no nudity is shown (apart from naked male chests while cuddling in bed afterwards). If you are looking to diversify your graphic novel collection, and want a story that happens to have healthy LGBTQ+ relationships and characters as well as different body types, this is a great addition. Just beware that volume one ends on a cliffhanger, so readers will be wanting volume two!
The Lost Heirs
By Sam Prentice-Jones
Feiwel and Friends, 2025
ISBN: 9781250290229
Company Age Rating:Â 14-18
NFNT Age Recommendation: Older Teen (16-18)
Character Representation:Â Gay,
