Graphic Novel Review - 'The Moth Keeper' by K. O'Neill

No surprise, it is another cosmically, celestially beautiful fantasy graphic novel by K. O'Neill.

There is a moon, and moths; specifically, enchanted Moon-Moths. And a Moon-Spirit/goddess. And lanterns on sticks for Moon-Moths, who pollinate a magic tree with purple flowers called a Night-Flower once a year. Squee! This is an ideal aesthetic I never knew I possessed and preferred! There is a desert, which contains villages divided by light/day and dark/night. The themes of loneliness, isolation, low self-esteem and depression are simply yet no less wonderfully conveyed through this setting.

Currently I cannot think of any place lonelier, and more existentialist, than a big, wide, seemingly empty, uninhabited and endless desert; during the hot, suffocating and unbearable day, but especially during the dark, ceaseless night. Only the moon and stars may be there to keep one company, and it is just as easy to get lost in them and their "comfort" - their fickle, temporary, cyclical comfort - than in total darkness, alone and scared.

But fear not, for 'The Moth Keeper', as literally dark as it mostly is, is an all-ages story about hope, love, support, and overcoming loneliness and the shadows of our past. K. O'Neill is known for many things as an artist and writer - such as their LBGTQ+ inclusion, and not using villains in their coming-of-age, coming-to-light-from-grief-and-hardships stories - and one of them is that they never talk down to their audience. A lot of pages in 'The Moth Keeper' don't have dialogue at all; the art in the settings and characters' expressions tell us everything we need to know. K. O'Neill is a passionate, crafty storyteller.

Plus the characters are anthropomorphic animal people, like in 'The Tea Dragon' trilogy. So this light/dark desert fantasy world is adorable, too. Some people have animal ears and tails, some just have pointy elf ears, and some are human-sized animals with clothes on, like Madame Jaellara the story collector owl woman (story collecting, and "building your own library", à la 'The One Hundred Nights of Hero' and 'The Magic Fish', is another theme I love!). Funnily enough, the whole book makes me think of what a fantasy franchise in the 'Arthur' animated series might look like.

I adore the titular Moth Keeper, the young Anya, who is newly chosen for the role, and is struggling to put on a serious, cool and aloof front, when really, she is unsure of herself. She is desperately lonely in her duties, which she has convinced herself is right for her, as she'll be useful to everyone in her found family and home as the vitally important Moth Keeper. Her insecurities and lack of self-worth will reach a breaking point, sooner or later, in the unpredictable, mysterious desert. She, who is supposed to be the light for others against the darkness, may become as lost, and as tempted by the moon and the stars, and other warm light sources, as the Moon-Moths she has vowed to protect...

Anya's relationship with her only friend her own age, the even younger-seeming Estell, is lovely and charming. Estell is a crippled healer in training, and an optimist. She cares deeply for Anya and always works hard to look out for her, and the rest of her village. Estell's kind, selfless, caring nature is admirable, though a bit too much for such a small body. Self-care is important, as well! Both girls are determined in her own special way.

There are two elder characters who look after Anya and Estell: the former Moth Keeper and mentor Yeolen, and the healer and apothecary mentor Aimoss. They are a couple. They are just like Hesekiel and Erik from 'The Tea Dragon' series, and it is a warm, comforting, wholesome thing to add to the warm, comforting, wholesome graphic novel.

'The Moth Keeper' isn't quite as memorable as O'Neill's other works, and bizarrely there doesn't appear to be any nonbinary representation (Anya the protagonist could have fit the bill, with pronouns other than she/her, or have been genderqueer, easily). But it is still strongly K. O'Neill, so of course I recommend it. Not everything is resolved at the end, and that's okay. The book - the winsome, wistful fantasy - is about getting lost, and being found again, and how having others to love you, support you, and guide you through anything life throws at you is always a light to the darkness, both internally and externally.

No one has to be alone.



'In time, other folks who were enchanted by the stories of life beneath the stars came from across the land to join the nocturnal community.

From that night on, the folks of the desert were entrusted with the care and protection of the Moon-Moths.'


'We all have days when we can't quite remember the ratio of things. Or times when we feel unsure of our skill.

No matter how long you study, knowing when to ask for help is a form of wisdom.'


'If you look through the eyes of the stars, I'm really nothing more than a Moth myself...

If my lantern went out now...would I even exist anymore?'


'My lantern is only a tiny speck in this vast, cold desert.

But out here, I can be alone with my thoughts...free to imagine how it might feel to live beneath the sun.'


'How would life feel if I didn't have to always hold on tight against the darkness?

Who would I be if I could live in the light?'


'If I can't do the job I promised I would do, what good am I to anyone?'


'Sometimes when a plant is hurt, it grows even stronger.'



Final Score: 4.5/5