My 1150th review!
'Muted' is one of the newest witchy webcomics, and in 2025, its first volume is out in the world in paperback form. Different editions, publishing and republishing, birth and rebirth, they are exciting, breathtaking, stunning, transformative, hopeful things.
'Muted: Volume 1' is very dynamic and dramatic, and sometimes dark and bloody, but mostly it is colourful, funny, cute, enchanting, bold and beautiful. It deals with themes of trauma - generational, family, religious, personal, the works - tragedy, domestic abuse, elitism, classism, self-worth, and nature versus nurture (emphasis on the nature part).
Even with its darkness, 'Muted: Volume 1' is easygoing, easily and steadily paced, and easily accessible. The likeable and memorable characters certainly help the reader to ease in, and follow along the journey.
The journey of a lesbian witch's tragedy and coming-of-age tale.
Set in New Orleans, 'Muted' is about Camille Severin, a beautiful redhaired young woman who comes from a rich witch family that is so set in its archaic ways that it deals in coming-of-age rituals of bloodletting and summoning demons to get richer still. At least, that is how her aunt, the Matriarch Athalie, runs it.
When Camille was a child, her mother and twin sister died in a mysterious fire in a greenhouse, and she was raised by her abusive aunt Athalie, and her only friends and confidantes are her cousins Avaline (same age, and Athalie's daughter) and Silvia (older, and distant, though I only know she's a cousin from the blurb; it's not clear from the book itself). Plus her familiar, a woodpecker named Toben, who Athalie locked in a cage away from Camille for years. Birds are common familiars to the Severins.
Now, after a disastrous bloodletting ritual, more than ever Camille has to face up to her past, what her powers and magical affinity are, and who she truly is. Where she belongs. What part of her family she belongs.
What constitutes a family, anyway?
'It is hard to be different in a family like yours, I suppose. The Severin family has never been very good about different.'
Camille learns more about other witch families, and about herself, on her own, true coming-of-age journey of self-discovery, in different ways.
And not everyone has her best interests at heart, not just her aunt...
Witches be crafty.
But also kind of cute. And sassy.
Wait.
Hold up.
A redheaded lesbian hero with a tragic childhood involving an allegedly murdered mother and twin sister. Where have I heard that before?
Anyway, Camille is a great, complex young woman and heroine. As sweet, innocent, sad, scared and oppressed as she often is - not to mention closeted, in her natural powers and sexuality, and her sexuality is power - she seems to be shifting in her moral compass towards the end of the volume, growing darker and more secretive in her development, as a witch and a person. I hope she is self-aware enough not to turn into her aunt, though the self-awareness angle does appear to be the case in this comic, based on its reflections and introspections, and its generational trauma subject matter. Its dark matter.
On a lighter side, Camille is occasionally, surprisingly funny and sassy when she wants to be.
My other favourite characters are: Silvia, a Severin with a facial scar, who wears a veil of mourning at the beginning, and who acts as a housekeeper, and contrary to Athalie's wishes, she is kind, caring, and protective of Camille - could be even more excellent and complex than her; Nyra, a woman from the Dupre witch family, and Camille's love interest, who is literally fiery, has cans of attitude and sass, and takes no bullshit; and Nana Fleur, or Harriet, an old matriarch from the Leroux witch family, who I won't reveal much about due to spoilers, but she is the sweetest, kindest, wonderful-est old lady ever.
I swear, there are no human male characters in 'Muted: Volume 1', at least not present or living. It's fantastic.
It also didn't escape my notice that the evil elitist Severin family are all white, whilst the majority of the other, "poorer" witch families we meet are BIPOC women. And they have disabled members, and members with differing body types. There is a stigma against redheads as well, which further alienates Camille from her darkhaired family (though her cousin Avaline has dyed blond hair).
'Muted: Volume 1' reminds me of an adult version of 'Sabrina the Teenage Witch' (no, not 'Chilling Adventures', it is far better than that), and Disney's 'Encanto'. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Miranda Mundt was influenced by more than a smattering of Disney films when working on their dark witchy comic. The lovely and beautiful artwork is similar to the classics (there're touches of manga, too), and I see 'Cinderella', 'The Princess and the Frog' (New Orleans, swamps, shadowy figures, dark magic, tarot cards, hello!), and 'The Little Mermaid' (for spoilery reasons, that have nothing to do with heroines with long red hair) here. Nyra's pet name for Camille is "princess". I can't unsee it.
'Muted' is one of the better witch webcomics I've read. The others I recommend are 'Witchy', 'Unfamiliar', and 'Les Normaux'. All are hugely diverse, unique, unforgettable, well written, and adorable.
Maybe I'm a weirdo, but I don't find 'Muted', labelled under 'horror', to be that scary. Though it could definitely count as a psychological horror and thriller, with its themes of abuse and psychological trauma. Fragmentation is one of its motifs.
It contains great quotes - wonderful, punching lines of dialogue - to boot. A witch's boot, that is. Under a long skirt.
I'm not sure if I'll continue following the series, despite the hell of a mystery and that cliffhanger, and the adorable bonus chapter at the end. But the first published volume is a keeper.
What a cute, cartoony, witchy webtoon!
IT REFERENCES THE 'HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE' ANIMATED FILM! COME ON, I HAVE TO LOVE IT!
Final Score: 4/5
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