Of Magic and Muses is dear to me.
For personal, selfish reasons: I really like the author, Batichi, with whom I’ve been good friends for most of my webcomic journey. For more artistic reasons: I really like that it is a story that takes its time to open up, and doesn’t spoonfeed you any answers. So a bunch of girls in a boarding school become infected with a spreading magical uh… Medical issue… And none of them knows how to deal with it. But they also know it may be the only questionably good, questionably genuine thing happening to them in such a heavily-controlled place.

It’s a story about magical girls!! In a boarding school!! And they don’t know what’s happening and nobody is there to help them!! And the school staff cannot be trusted after all! Oh No!

Of Magic and Muses is very full of intrigue because it just doesn’t explain itself. Oh, you wanna know how the magic works? Well, figure it out by yourself, because these characters don’t know either. Nobody’s gonna explain to you how the world works, and the powers that be would much rather oppress you and silence you. Magic is a sickness after all, and the girls are just sick! They need help! They need to be taken away! We can’t tell you where, or why! But trust me, these things absolutely have not happened before and we absolutely do not deal with infectious magics in this boarding school every now and then, no sir.

Our main character is Willow, who is not the brightest student or the best at anything but is visited by a magical rat spirit and becomes a rat magical girl. We love her because she may be small and she may be scared but she rises up for the occasion and she sticks up for her friends. She’s gonna face the bullies first and then she’s gonna face the government.

Why am I a rat?

She gets the short end of the stick and she’s not a leader. But she starts, accidentally, the whole infectious chain of events and turns 11 other girls into magical girls, and the secret of their magic can no longer be contained. Oopsie.

I HAVE ANGER ISSUES

Georgia is a bully, but she’s not… Just that. She’s got a lot of anger, but she also understands respect and all she wants is to feel she has some little bit of control over her life, as she feels trapped. Becoming magical seems like a pretty good deal for her!

I'm a goth when I'm not in prison~

Emma is reluctant at first, but she also secretly craves that adventure. She’s not a big fan of having to cooperate with her bully in order to become magic and learn how to control her skills, but she’s a tough one (and this also gives her an opportunity to figure Georgia out).

Of Magic and Muses has finished its run last September, so in my opinion this is the best time to give it a read. I know it’s got a slow start, but it really picks up the pace and I think it works in its favour at the end. The contrast is just chef’s kiss. It does end in a cliff-hanger and lets you wanting for more, which is pretty cool if you ask me.